Robert Altman's Popeye Gets a Critical Reappraisal From Popular YouTube Channel
Was Popeye really all that bad?
Popeye, a movie that disappointed at the box office but did pretty well on home video, has gone down in history as an expensive bomb. Its primary legacy is Popeye Village, a series of shacks in Malta that were originally built as sets for the movie, but still -- improbably -- stand. The film, which starred Robin Williams and was directed by Robert Altman, took a highly stylized approach to telling the story of the iconic sailor, who first appeared almost 95 years ago. The movie earned $60 million against a reported budget of $20 million -- not a bad haul -- but was saddled with comparisons to Superman: The Movie, which has exploded at the box office a couple of years prior.
That's a bit of irony, when you consider Williams was close friends with Superman star Christopher Reeve. The movie also only came to exist because of one producer's attempt to compete with Annie, the musical that would actually end up releasing after Popeye rather than before.
You can see the video below.
The video tracks the chaotic production of Popeye, as well as its (arguably unfair) reputation as a box office failure. There are also insights into what might have been, with alternate castings for Popeye and Olive that almost happened both discussed within the video. The Popeye breakdown is the latest in a series of videos about cult classic (and "Almost Cult Classics") by Hats Off Entertainment, the YouTube channel that posted this deep dive.
In the late seventies, Reeve landed his first leading movie role as Superman. In the early eighties, Williams landed his first leading movie role as Popeye.
During a Reddit AMA in 2013, Williams recalled his best memories of Christopher Reeve, writing, "Him being such a great friend to me at Juillard, literally feeding me because I don't think I literally had money for food or my student loan hadn't come in yet, and he would share his food with me. And then later after the accident, just seeing him beaming and just, seeing what he meant to so many people."
If you're interested in seeing the movie itself, Popeye is available on disc and digital. It streams for free on YouTube Movies and TV.