The 1990 “Captain America” film gets its DVD release and while it is a bad film, I’m sure there are Marvel/Captain America fans who have a fondness towards this film. Still, it is much better than the late ’70s made-for-TV films…
© 1992 Orion Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: Captain America
MOVIE RELEASE DATE: 1990
DURATION: 97 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Full Frame (1:33:1), Dolby Digital
COMPANY: MGM/Twentieth Century Fox
RATED: PG-13
RELEASE DATE: August 23, 2011
Directed by Albert Pyun
Characters by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
Story by Stephen Tolkin, Lawrence Block
Screenplay by Stephen Tolkin
Produced by Menahem Golan
Executive Producer: Joseph Calamari, Stan Lee
Associate Producer: Stephen Tolkin
Line Producer: Tom Karnowski
Music by Barry Goldberg
Cinematography by Philip Alan Waters
Edited by Jon Poll
Casting by Ann Bell, Teri Blythe
Production Design by Douglas H. Leonard
Art Direction by Ivo Husnjak
Costume Design by Heidi Kaczenski
Starring:
Matt Salinger as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Ronny Cox as Tom Kimball
Ned Beatty as Sam Kolawetz
Darren McGavin as General Fleming
Michael Nouri as Lt. Colonel Louis
Scott Paulin as Red Skull/Army Doctor
Kim Gillingham as Bernice Stewart/Sharon
Melinda Dillon as Mrs. Rogers
Bill Mummy as Young General Fleming
Francesca Neri as Valentina de Santis
Carla Cassola as Dr. Maria Vaselli
Massimilio Massimi as Tadzio de Santis
Wayde Preston as Jack
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s “manufacturing on demand†(“MODâ€) program is excited to announce its newest addition, CAPTAIN AMERICA, available on DVD as part of MGM’s Limited Edition Collection. Based on the bestselling Marvel Comics series, CAPTAIN AMERICA stars Matt Salinger (What Dreams May Come) as a crime-fighting superhero whose strengths and abilities may save the United States from nuclear destruction.
During World War II, a brave American soldier (Salinger) volunteers to undergo experiments to become a new super-soldier, codenamed “Captain America.†Infiltrating Germany to sabotage Nazi rockets pointed at the U.S., Captain America faces off with Nazi superhuman warrior Red Skull (Scott Paulin, The Right Stuff) who defeats the hero, throwing him into suspended animation. Frozen for 50 years, Captain America is found and revived only to find that Red Skull has changed identities and has targeted the President of the United States (Ronny Cox, RoboCop) for assassination. With America on the verge of utter chaos, it is up to one man to save the day!
It was 1990 and for many of us who were collecting comic books, the ’90s was a decade of the re-emergence of comic book collecting, interest in the superheroes from years past and for many superhero films, before they were the big budget summer blockbusters as they are today, they were independent films.
In 1989, there was “The Punisher” and the following year, there was “Captain America” (to co-incide with the 50th anniversary of Captain America) which was released in several countries outside of the U.S. but in America, it went direct-to-video.
And I can easily remember going to the video store, highly anticipating this film (and also the “Fantastic Four” film that came out in 1994) and thinking, it has to be way better than the ’70s “Captain America” films right?
Well, with the release of “Captain America: The First Avenger” in theaters, sure enough, we have “Captain America”, the 1990 film released on DVD via MGM’s “Limited Edition Collection”.
The film is directed by Albert Pyun (“The Sword and the Sorcerer”, “Cyborg”, “Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor”) and is written by Stephen Tolkin (who would later become the co-executive producer of “Brothers & Sisters”, “Legend of the Seeker”, “Summerland”) and Lawrence Block.
The film begins in fascist Italy where a boy is kidnapped and his family murdered. The boy is then subjected to an experimental project to create a supersoldier for the fascist. Dr. Vaselli (played by Carla Cassola), who created the project is shocked to see how far the Nazi’s and fascist Italian soldiers would go into creating their supersoldier and flees to the United States to help the American military develop their own super soldier.
Fast forward many years later, the American government chooses Steve Rogers (played by Matt Salinger, “Under the Tuscan Sun”, “What Dreams May Come”), a loyal American who was excluded from the draft due to him having polio, to become their superhero.
Dr. Vaselli transforms Steve to a strong superhero but before they can create more, a Nazi spy shoots Dr. Vaselli, killing her.   Rogers who now goes by the name of Captain America must stop a missile aimed at the White House and stop the fascist supersoldier, the Red Skull.
While Captain America manages to get to the compound, he is beaten by the Red Skull, tied up on the missile and launched towards the White House. But before the missile hits, a young boy named Thomas Kimball is taking pictures of the White House and before he and the White House are hit by the missile, Captain America manages to kick the missile which goes haywire and flies towards Alaska where it crashes and Captain America is frozen.
Fast forward to 1990, and the young boy Thomas has grown up to become the President of the United States. And for the 1993 campaign, he is pushing for pro-environmental legislation which angers the military-industrial complex, which goes out and holds a secret conference with the Red Skull in Italy. The Red Skull has a daughter (an assassin) and is a leader of one of the largest crime family and are responsible for the murders of Dr. Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy and now, he has Thomas Kimball in his sight.
One day, researchers in Alaska discover a frozen Captain America who awakens and thinks he is living in 1940. Disoriented from the time change, Steve Rogers can’t believe he has been out for so many years and when he goes to visit his girlfriend from World War II, Bernice (played by Kim Gillingham), he finds out that time has changed so much where she is now an older woman and he is still a young man. Her daughter Sharon (played by Kim Gillingham) tries to show him what has happened in the world since he was frozen but the Nazi’s are tipped off that Captain America is back.
When the Red Skull’s daughter go to Bernice’s home to find out where he is, Bernice refuses to give his location and she is killed. And as for the President of the United States, he is kidnapped.
Now Steve along with Sharon are determined to infiltrate the Red Skull’s underground base to get their revenge but also rescue the President.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Captain America” is presented in 1:33:1 and audio in Dolby Digital. The picture quality is not the greatest but for those who have the original VHS release, suffice to say that the picture quality of the film on DVD is better. But don’t expect anything too good as the film looks its age, soft and you have artifacting as expected on DVD.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
There are no special features.
“Captain America” is a bad film.
But at the same time, if you watch a lot of the older Marvel films, definitely don’t watch these with the highest of expectations because they are quite cheesy.
But I’m going to be truthful, during this time, like many other comic book collectors, obtaining these superhero films was not easy. I can remember friends trying to get this film and the “Fantastic Four” film from conventions and they were in the nastiest conditions. For me, I found a rental copy from a video store and watched it with a few friends.
Yes, it was cheesy and definitely not so faithful to the comic books and while it was a cheesy adaptation, somehow many of us back then wanted these films not so much because they were bad films but because they were superhero films. A step-up from the old ’70s films and of course, it’s one thing to say how much this film sucks compared to “Captain America: The First Avenger”, these films didn’t have the greatest budget and the superhero films from Marvel were not in the same position as their rival DC, which was doing well with the big budget Michael Keaton “Batman” films.
But at that time, Captain America fans or Marvel fans wanted to grab a copy of these films because we were collectors.
But watching in today, in 2011, and seeing how times have changed where both Marvel and DC are now making the big-budget blockbuster superhero films, these older films… they are no doubt, forgotten films that are now looked at as just slightly better than the ’70s films but that’s not saying much. Watching it today, it’s just a bad film, bad adaptation, bad music (you have to enjoy how they try to redo popular songs in a different arrangement ala Duran Duran’s “Girls on Film”) but still, I’m sure there are Captain America fans who still want to own a copy of this DVD as their original VHS probably is unwatchable by now.
If anything, it would be interesting to ask screenwriter Stephen Tolkin, who has now become an co-executive producer of series such as “Brothers & Sisters”, “Legend of the Seeker” and “Summerland” of his part in writing “Captain America” but granted, it is one of this earlier works and he has since successfully moved past this film, as did director Alert Pyun and actor Matt Salinger.
While I can’t recommend this film to the masses, I’m sure there are Marvel/Captain America fans who may have some fondness in their hearts or for memorabilia sake to watch this film all over again and will want this DVD.
The DVD is a barebone release and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is DVD is sold for a low price but overall, if you did enjoy this film back then or are a diehard Captain America collector, then this DVD is for you!
