What happens when an auteur-driven comic strip adaptation takes on a sun-drenched, high-concept rock opera? On this episode of The Essential Cut, we pit Robert Altman’s Popeye (1980) against Norman Jewison’s Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) in a battle for watchlist survival.
We dive deep into the rust-and-timber making of Popeye, exploring how Altman skipped standard Hollywood extras to hire real-world circus clowns and vaudevillians, constructed the full town of Sweethaven on the cliffs of Malta (which you can still visit today), and drew out a transcendent, career-best performance from Shelley Duvall. Plus, we unpack the movie's surprisingly bleak portrayal of an oppressed town and its contrast between Popeye’s gentle fatherhood and Poopdeck Pappy’s toxic legacy.
Then, we trek into the Israeli desert for Jesus Christ Superstar. We break down its origins as a hit concept album, its shock box-office performance, and why co-host Michael found himself completely alienated by its lack of narrative engine, agonizing songs, and wooden acting. Only one film makes the cut—and one gets permanently cast out.
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