Popeye

Sunday, August 11 - Thursday, August 15, 2024

Based on the long-running comic strip created by E.C. Segar (and less on the animated cartoons created by Max Fleischer, which were decidedly different in tone and approach), Popeye follows the sailor man with the mighty arms (played by Robin Williams in his first major film role) as he arrives in the seaside community of Sweethaven in search of his long-lost father. Popeye meets and quickly falls for the slender Olive Oyl (Shelley Duvall, in the role she was born to play), but Olive’s hand has already been promised to the hulking Bluto (Paul Smith), of whom Olive can say little except, well, he’s large. Director Robert Altman in no way tempered his trademark style for this big-budget family opus, crowding the screen with a variety of characters and allowing his cast to overlap as much dialogue as they want.

Preceded by the  restored Popeye cartoon “The Paneless Window Washer” (1937, Dave Fleischer): High above the city, Popeye and Bluto get into a quarrel over who gets to wash Olive Oyl’s windows. Special thanks to Fleischer Studios.

Screening as part of our series Defamed to Acclaimed

See more and save! Get a Defamed to Acclaimed Pack (3-ticket pack: $30 for IFC Center members and $45 for non-members). Ticket packs are good for any shows in the series lasting from August 2-15, 2024.

• Country USA
• Year 1980
• Running Time 114 minutes
• Format DCP
• Distributor Paramount Pictures
• Director Robert Altman
• Cast Robin Williams, Shelley Duval, Ray Walston, Paul Dooley, Paul L. Smith
• Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.