Tag Archives: Popeye
1980 film Popeye with Robin Williams on Blu-ray December
– Amazon Commissions Earned –
The 1980 film adaption of “Popeye“ starring the late Robin Williams is making its debut to Blu-ray Disc on December 1st, via Paramount, to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The film, directed by Robert Altman and based on the characters created by E.C. Segar, co-starred Shelley Duvall (as “Olive Oyl”), Paul L. Smith (as “Bluto”), Ray Walston, Paul Dooley, Richard Libertini, Donald Moffat, and Wesley Ivan Hurt. Tech specs for the release have not yet been detailed, but stay tuned for an update on that. UPDATE: The Blu-ray is now available for preorder over at Amazon.
The release will come with a digital code (copy) of the film, as well as the bonus material detailed below.
“The new Blu-ray includes access to a Digital copy of the film, along with nearly 30 minutes of all-new bonus content featuring excerpts from one of Robin Williams’ final interviews, an interview with director Robert Altman from 2014, as well as a newly conducted interview with Stephen Altman. The full list of bonus features is below:”
- Return to Sweethaven: A Look Back with Robin and the Altmans
- The Popeye Company Players
- Popeye’s Premiere
- The Sailor Man Medleys
- Theatrical Trailer
Further below, after the break, you can find the full announcement regarding the Blu-ray debut of this film.
Popeye The Sailor: The 1940s Vol. 2 Blu-ray in June
More of the classic colored cartoon theatrical shorts of “Popeye The Sailor: The 1940s Volume 2“ are coming to Blu-ray Disc on June 18th via Warner Archive. Tech specs for the release include full 1080p HD video in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 sound. All of the shorts have been remastered in 4K from the original camera negatives. The 15 shorts set to be included on the release are as follows:
- House Tricks?
- Service with a Guile
- Klondike Casanova
- Peep in the Deep
- Rocket to Mars
- Rodeo Romeo
- The Fistic Mystic
- The Island Fling
- Abusement Park
- I’ll Be Skiing Ya
- Popeye and the Pirates
- The Royal-Four Flusher
- Wotta Knight
- Safari So Good
- All’s Fair at the Fair
UPDATE: The Blu-ray Disc is now available to pre-order from Amazon and directly from WBShop. Further below, after the break, you can find some info Warner Archive has regarding this upcoming Blu-ray release.
“Popeye The Sailor: The 1940s Volume 1” on Blu-ray via Warner in December
The original 1940s “Popeye The Sailor” color cartoon theatrical shorts have been scanned in 4K for high definition release via “Popeye The Sailor: The 1940s Volume 1“ coming to Blu-ray Disc on December 11th via Warner Archive. The release will include a total of 14 color theatrical shorts spanning from 1943 to 1945. The shorts set to be included are as follows:
- Her Honor The Mare
- The Marry-Go-Round
- We’re On Our Way To Rio
- The Anvil Chorus Girl
- Spinach Packin’ Popeye
- Puppet Love
- Pitchin’ Woo At The Zoo
- Moving Aweigh
- She-Sick Sailors
- Pop-Pie A La Mode
- Tops In The Big Top
- Shape Ahoy
- For Better Or Nurse
- Mess Production
Tech specs for this release include 1080p video in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio with DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio sound. The video here comes from new 4K scans of the original nitrate technicolor film negatives. Here’s a bit more info on that (quoted from the press release):
“Popeye is one of the all-time great cartoon characters, but he hadn’t gotten a fair shake in the world of home entertainment until Warner released all of his black & white shorts,” said Leonard Maltin, animation historian, and author of Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. “What came next? The first Technicolor Popeye cartoons were also the last ones made under the aegis of the Fleischer Brothers, Max and Dave. Animation aficionados should welcome the opportunity to see these long-forgotten cartoons in such pristine condition, taken from the original 35mm negatives.”
“This is the first time anyone has gone back to the master nitrate negatives to ensure a crisper picture and vivid colors – nor have these films ever sounded so good,” said respected animation historian and author Jerry Beck. “The animators at this time, during the war years, were allowed to push the Popeye character forward, creating particularly zany plot lines and funny situations beyond the classic Popeye/Bluto rivalry for Olive Oyl. I’m particularly tickled over the cartoon where Bluto becomes a pseudo-Superman (courtesy of a licensed tie-in with DC Comics) and another where Popeye and Bluto romance Olive as marionette puppets. This was the ‘Golden Age’ of animation – and these are particularly strong cartoons that have been long in demand by animation buffs.”
This upcoming Blu-ray release can already be pre-ordered over at Warner Archive and Amazon. Below after the break you can find the official announcement regarding this upcoming release with lots of further details.
