Search - Popeye: The Sailor Man (75th Anniversary Collectors Edition) restored. on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 8/30/2023...

I'm Popeye the Sailor man! A must for everyone!

Waaal, blow me down! A worthy Popeye DVD at latsk!

Laughing Gravy | Sacramento, CA United States | 05/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This "75th Anniversary Collector's Edition" 2-disc set of POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN classic cartoons is well worth having, at least for the first disc.Casual fans may not know that there has never been an "official" release of the classic Popeye cartoons, on VHS or DVD, in the history of home video. The best the one-eyed sailor's fans could ever get were either iffy bootleg collections or a handful of murky public-domain short subjects. VCI's set is also comprised of PD shorts, but some work has been done to them and the package has been treated with the respect it deserves (except for the simple and rather disappointing cover, which belies the quality within. Too bad Leslie Cabarga - a cartoonist and author of "The Fleischer Story" - wasn't brought in to do a better one). The stars of the package are the three Technicolor 2-reelers created by Max and Dave Fleischer in the later 1930s, POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS SINDBAD THE SAILOR, POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS ALI BABA's FORTY THIEVES, and ALADDIN AND HIS WONDERFUL LAMP. These are three of the grandest, most colorful, and most imaginative cartoons of the golden era, and they've been restored and color-corrected and look - while not perfect - at least better than they have in a long while. As usual, ALADDIN is in somewhat worse shape than the first two, but it still looks better than I've ever seen it before. These cartoons feature some of the Fleischers' finest animation and deepest and most creative backgrounds (including 3D effects). SINDBAD in particular is a favorite.In addition, six other Fleischer Popeyes are included, all from the late `30s B&W series. Titles include I'M IN THE ARMY NOW, LITTLE SWEE' PEA (another favorite), I NEVER CHANGES MY ALTITUDE, PANELESS WINDOW WASHER, DATE TO SKATE, and CUSTOMERS WANTED. They look varying degrees of good, but again, better than they have in many years. The second disc contains 25 Popeye adventures from the Famous Studios years; ME MUSICAL NEPHEWS (1942) is in B&W, while the rest are in Technicolor and represent the years 1952-1957. Frankly, I have no interest in these things. They look fine, though (the B&W one is the worst), but they make my skin crawl. BIG BAD SINBAD (1952) gets most of its footage from the earlier Fleischer 2-reeler (without credit), and even worse, POPEYE'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY (1954) uses footage from later, and lesser, Famous Studios offerings (although it does have a cartoon Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, and Martin & Lewis offering tributes to Popeye). I don't see any reason to list (or watch) these cartoons, but they are there if you want them.Cartoon fan supreme Jerry Beck contributed to the package, and provides commentary on the 3 Technicolor Fleischers, and the package liner notes. Frankly, I didn't find his commentary all that fascinating (sorry, Mr. Beck), but casual fans might.The SRP is $19.99 and it's worth it. On the other hand, there's another 75th Anniversary Popeye DVD set out there, this one from Koch. It's got 3 discs and 85 cartoons, all from the TV era of the 1960s. It's $30, and I wouldn't buy it for a tenth of that, so there ya are."

Poor execution by VCI...these need a studio release

Yarby | Medina, OH United States | 09/14/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"VCI should be commended for their attempt, if not their execution. The Fleischer cartoons look pretty good, especially considering their age. Certain points in the black and white cartoons don't have enough contrast, but the two-reel color cartoons look great. I had no problems viewing the cartoons on disc one (which, fortunately, contains the most important cartoons...the Fleischer Studio releases). However, the Famous Studio cartoons on disk two are riddled with transfer problems. There are numerous places where the screen goes blank, the picture pixilates, or the picture flickers. These are issues that are a result of transfer, not of source, so they are inexcusable.

Another problem with the set...when selecting individual episodes, the DVD continues to the next episode instead of returning to the menu, at the completion of the selected episode.

If you want a cheap way to see some old Fleischer Popeyes without any added sound effects (as on the Good Times release) this is probably the way to go.

Just don't set your expectations too high."

The best there is until King Features and WB come to terms.

G. Flinn | Flint MI | 08/05/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"All of the Fleischer/Famous Popeye cartoons which are in the public domain are in this two CD set. This is the best Popeye collection available until King Features (which owns the rights to the Popeye characters) and Warner Bros. (which owns the Fleischer/Famous Popeye cartoons) finally make a deal to release the Fleischer/Famous Popeye cartoons on DVD. Warner has been restoring the cartoons in anticipation of this."