God Will Always Bless Sweethaven
June 7, 2018 2:30 PM Subscribe
Sweethaven, the ramshackle provincial seaport which was the setting for 1980's Popeye, persists to this day. On the island nation of Malta, the set from the film still stands and has been repurposed into the theme park of Popeye Village. It is much more welcoming to visitors today than as it was depicted in the film.
Always here for Robert Altman’s Popeye the Sailor Man.
(I think I saw it in the cinema as a tiny child and was bored out of my mind. Not really ready for that peak Altman experience I guess)
posted by Artw at 3:00 PM on June 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
(I think I saw it in the cinema as a tiny child and was bored out of my mind. Not really ready for that peak Altman experience I guess)
posted by Artw at 3:00 PM on June 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
I loved this movie when I was a kid, watched it dozens of times! I guess I'll be searching for it on streaming now.
posted by scose at 3:07 PM on June 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by scose at 3:07 PM on June 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
Imagine booking, paying for, and undertaking a voyage to Malta to see the set for the 1980 live-action Popeye movie.
posted by Krawczak at 3:38 PM on June 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Krawczak at 3:38 PM on June 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
Maybe someone will do a M*A*S*H themepark in a patch of mud in the hills outside Santa Monica.
posted by Artw at 3:41 PM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:41 PM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
God must really love it here
'Cause why else would he strand us here
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 3:45 PM on June 7, 2018
'Cause why else would he strand us here
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 3:45 PM on June 7, 2018
Popeye was the first movie I was taken to see in a theater when I was very little. Perhaps, one day, I will go to Popeye Village to die!
posted by prize bull octorok at 4:05 PM on June 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 4:05 PM on June 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
Via Twitter: ahahahaha I love this stupid shirt so much.
posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 4:27 PM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 4:27 PM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh man, as an eight-year-old I ate up that Popeye movie. In my 3rd grade class, it was, for a long time, the shit. Looking back now I see just how weird a movie it is, very much a Robert Altman film and not actually geared towards kids in most ways. This was on the cusp of the "movies-as-entertainment" mentality that dominated Hollywood in the 80s; with this director it was a real 70s auteur aesthetic. The movie doesn't really work, but it's hard to deny its uniqueness.
And yeah, next time I'm in Malta, I would love to check this out. Now I've got to come up with an excuse to go to Malta.
posted by zardoz at 4:34 PM on June 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
And yeah, next time I'm in Malta, I would love to check this out. Now I've got to come up with an excuse to go to Malta.
posted by zardoz at 4:34 PM on June 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
Love this movie; it stands up really well to a re-watch - it's quirkier than Wes Anderson. It is too pot-fueled to make a lot of sense or have a lot of focus, but it's clever and entertaining.
posted by Miko at 4:40 PM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Miko at 4:40 PM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Maybe someone will do a M*A*S*H themepark in a patch of mud in the hills outside Santa Monica.
Well, you're probably confused because that's The Santa Monica Mountains, but M*A*S*H was filed in the "hills" outside Malibu and was quite a drive from Santa Monica. There's a couple rusted out military vehicles still there, but it's a really nice hike and I recommend it.
But, looking at that recent-ish hiking report, it appears someone has dragged a "new" 1/2 ton military truck up there. So, no longer just a rusted out Willys or whatever that was.
posted by sideshow at 5:18 PM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Well, you're probably confused because that's The Santa Monica Mountains, but M*A*S*H was filed in the "hills" outside Malibu and was quite a drive from Santa Monica. There's a couple rusted out military vehicles still there, but it's a really nice hike and I recommend it.
But, looking at that recent-ish hiking report, it appears someone has dragged a "new" 1/2 ton military truck up there. So, no longer just a rusted out Willys or whatever that was.
posted by sideshow at 5:18 PM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
My son and I watched this recently and you know it isn't a great Altman film but it certainly isn't terrible. One pleasant thing it reminded me of is my honeymoon on Malta (which is an awesome place - it has some incredible prehistoric sites) many moons ago. While we travelled around the island, for a laugh, we stopped by this ramshackle (there's no other word for it) village but didn't stay long (my wife had never even heard of the movie which added to my amusement)... for some reason the village was filled with adult Russians wandering around.
On the same trip, we went by the bar where Oliver Reed died in to pay our respects. My wife also had no idea who Oliver Reed was.
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:21 PM on June 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
On the same trip, we went by the bar where Oliver Reed died in to pay our respects. My wife also had no idea who Oliver Reed was.
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:21 PM on June 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
Nice post - that actor does an amazingly good vocal imitation of Popeye in the "visitors today" link.
Also on: FanFare (this is me work and it is all that I yam!)
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 5:59 PM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also on: FanFare (this is me work and it is all that I yam!)
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 5:59 PM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
I missed this both times I visited Malta.
Malta is splendid, btw.
posted by doctornemo at 6:27 PM on June 7, 2018
Malta is splendid, btw.
posted by doctornemo at 6:27 PM on June 7, 2018
There's an amazing album of Harry Nilsson's demo versions of the weird-ass songs from this movie. Youtube playlist
posted by moonmilk at 6:33 PM on June 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by moonmilk at 6:33 PM on June 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
Popeye wasn't the first movie I was taken to, but it is the first one I remember going to. We had planned to see The Aristocats (not the one with an "r") but it had just left that day; grateful to Mom for sticking through it as I ate it up. I probably listened to the soundtrack album more than any other when I was seven years old.
That said, the first movie I think of when I think of American/Maltese cinema is Final Justice. Sometimes it takes a Joe Don Baker to really make an island shine.
posted by Dr. Grue at 6:57 PM on June 7, 2018
That said, the first movie I think of when I think of American/Maltese cinema is Final Justice. Sometimes it takes a Joe Don Baker to really make an island shine.
posted by Dr. Grue at 6:57 PM on June 7, 2018
I was asked to accompany Jules Feiffer for a few hours as a student tourguide when he visited my school in 1978. He was a charming, very considerate man who patiently endured my wide-eyed admiration, even offering to look at some of my own drawings and giving excellent feedback and advice.
When I inquired as to how he was, at the time, occupying himself (apart from his syndicated comic strip) he sighed deeply and confessed that he’d agreed to do a script for Robert Altman (whose Brewster McCloud and Nashville had completely blown my young mind) which he was finding extremely difficult. On pressure from me, he reluctantly said it was for a live-action version of Popeye, and said he was having a lot of trouble.
As my faithful childhood companion had been a stuffed Popeye doll, and my favorite animations growing up were vintage black-and-white Popeyes, I felt oddly qualified to offer Feiffer advice, and what followed was a surprisingly animated exchange. We agreed that the surreal quality of the early shorts, paired with the idiosyncratic vocal stylings of the main characters, would be very challenging things to translate.
I recall the conversation fondly as it did not feel like the usual polite musings that would be shared by a professional adult with an impressionable student. Feiffer listened closely to my comments and shared his own frustration with elements of the script. It was fascinating and educational.
When the film came out, I loved it in spite of its obvious flaws and it pleases me greatly that one small souvenir of its production continues to exist, even if interest in the film has vanished.
posted by kinnakeet at 7:04 PM on June 7, 2018 [21 favorites]
When I inquired as to how he was, at the time, occupying himself (apart from his syndicated comic strip) he sighed deeply and confessed that he’d agreed to do a script for Robert Altman (whose Brewster McCloud and Nashville had completely blown my young mind) which he was finding extremely difficult. On pressure from me, he reluctantly said it was for a live-action version of Popeye, and said he was having a lot of trouble.
As my faithful childhood companion had been a stuffed Popeye doll, and my favorite animations growing up were vintage black-and-white Popeyes, I felt oddly qualified to offer Feiffer advice, and what followed was a surprisingly animated exchange. We agreed that the surreal quality of the early shorts, paired with the idiosyncratic vocal stylings of the main characters, would be very challenging things to translate.
I recall the conversation fondly as it did not feel like the usual polite musings that would be shared by a professional adult with an impressionable student. Feiffer listened closely to my comments and shared his own frustration with elements of the script. It was fascinating and educational.
When the film came out, I loved it in spite of its obvious flaws and it pleases me greatly that one small souvenir of its production continues to exist, even if interest in the film has vanished.
posted by kinnakeet at 7:04 PM on June 7, 2018 [21 favorites]
Popeye has always been a thing for me and my wife for some reason. Odd, because we're not fans of musicals but the oddness of it, Shelly's Olive, the off kilter lyrics that we still quote now and then..it just works for us despite it being a mess of a film.
In short, Malta just made it onto our bucket list.
posted by Ber at 7:39 PM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
In short, Malta just made it onto our bucket list.
posted by Ber at 7:39 PM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
He's laaaarge, and he's mine."
"Well you can have him."
Me and my wife use thisxas a private joke, whenever we find ourselves discussing my utility or appropriacy as a husband.
Of course she never saw the film, let alone knew who Popeye was.
posted by Meatbomb at 7:49 PM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Well you can have him."
Me and my wife use thisxas a private joke, whenever we find ourselves discussing my utility or appropriacy as a husband.
Of course she never saw the film, let alone knew who Popeye was.
posted by Meatbomb at 7:49 PM on June 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
It is too pot-fueled
According to oral history, errrrm not pot. Altman, Williams, and Nilsson (who recorded in a makeshift studio on-set) and the entire crew had copius booger sugar.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:06 PM on June 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
According to oral history, errrrm not pot. Altman, Williams, and Nilsson (who recorded in a makeshift studio on-set) and the entire crew had copius booger sugar.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:06 PM on June 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
Long before streaming video was a glint in anyone's eye, my new girlfriend and I were getting kind of serious so we got a shared netflix account. Three DVDs at a time! We could play them on my PS2! At any rate, we queued up our first three discs and I picked out Popeye and she picked out Secretary. Honestly, I'm not sure what sort of message we we're trying to send each other.
Some time later, we fly halfway across the country so she can meet my dad and he's got a stack of netflix envelopes in his kitchen. The one on top? Fucking Popeye. She was so pissed at me for what was so obviously a setup.
Reader, she married me. Or I married her. At any rate, there was marriage. And my dad is turning 70 and wants to take us on a trip anywhere in the world and said girlfriend-now-wife has now categorically ruled out Malta and I'm pissed.
posted by stet at 9:06 PM on June 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
Some time later, we fly halfway across the country so she can meet my dad and he's got a stack of netflix envelopes in his kitchen. The one on top? Fucking Popeye. She was so pissed at me for what was so obviously a setup.
Reader, she married me. Or I married her. At any rate, there was marriage. And my dad is turning 70 and wants to take us on a trip anywhere in the world and said girlfriend-now-wife has now categorically ruled out Malta and I'm pissed.
posted by stet at 9:06 PM on June 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
On the list of movies that I was surprised to find out were musicals. See also: original Wicker Man
posted by Ferreous at 9:54 PM on June 7, 2018
posted by Ferreous at 9:54 PM on June 7, 2018
But... But... We'll always have Me no Popeye, you no Olive Oyl !
posted by y2karl at 9:56 PM on June 7, 2018
posted by y2karl at 9:56 PM on June 7, 2018
I still use words like ‘disgustipated’.
Robin was fantastic, and Shelly was born to play Olive.
posted by MtDewd at 2:52 AM on June 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Robin was fantastic, and Shelly was born to play Olive.
posted by MtDewd at 2:52 AM on June 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
I've wanted to live in Sweethaven since I first saw the movie as a wee lad.
One hamburger chiseler's tax.
posted by ian1977 at 6:35 AM on June 8, 2018
One hamburger chiseler's tax.
posted by ian1977 at 6:35 AM on June 8, 2018
Imagine booking, paying for, and undertaking a voyage to Malta to see the set for the 1980 live-action Popeye movie.
Imagine having that conversation with your wife who is very patient but still has limits.
posted by ian1977 at 6:42 AM on June 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Imagine having that conversation with your wife who is very patient but still has limits.
posted by ian1977 at 6:42 AM on June 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm a wife and I would be completely down for that trip.
posted by Miko at 8:24 AM on June 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Miko at 8:24 AM on June 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
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Remember, the Popeye movie with Robin Williams is a musical.
posted by mikelieman at 2:55 PM on June 7, 2018 [3 favorites]