Captain America (1990 Film)
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''Captain America'' is a 1990 American
superhero film Superhero film/movie is a film genre categorized by the presence of superhero characters, individuals with extraordinary abilities who are dedicated to fighting crime, saving the world, or helping the innocent. It is sometimes considered a sub ...
based on the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
of the same name. It is directed by
Albert Pyun Albert Pyun (May 19, 1953 – November 26, 2022) was an American film director who made low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action films. The Independent Film Channel said that Pyun "has carved out a unique niche as a director of low-budge ...
and written by Stephen Tolkin, from a story by Tolkin and Larry Block. It stars Matt Salinger in the title role and Scott Paulin as his nemesis the
Red Skull The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), in ...
, with
Ronny Cox Daniel Ronald Cox (born July 23, 1938) is an American actor and musician. He has appeared in numerous films and television series since his acting debut in ''Deliverance'' (1972). He is best known for his roles in ''RoboCop'' (1987) and '' Total ...
,
Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 film and television roles. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest ac ...
,
Darren McGavin Darren McGavin (born William Lyle Richardson; May 7, 1922 – February 25, 2006) was an American actor. McGavin began his career working as a set painter for Columbia Pictures. In 1954, he originated roles in Broadway productions of '' My Three ...
, Francesca Neri,
Michael Nouri Michael Nouri (born December 9, 1945) is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his television roles, including Dr. Neil Roberts on '' The O.C.'', Phil Grey on ''Damages'', Caleb Cortlandt on ''All My Children'', Eli David in ...
and
Melinda Dillon Melinda Ruth Dillon (October 13, 1939 – January 9, 2023) was an American actress. She received a 1963 Tony Award nomination for her Broadway debut in the original production of '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'', and she was nominated for th ...
. The film produced by
Menahem Golan Menahem Golan (; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israelis, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid ...
for the now-defunct 21st Century Film Corporation. While the film takes several liberties with the comic's storyline, it features Steve Rogers becoming Captain America during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
to battle the
Red Skull The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), in ...
, being frozen in ice, and subsequently being revived to save the President of the United States from a crime family that dislikes his environmentalist policies. While the film received a theatrical release internationally, it was released direct-to-video in the United States. It received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, though it has since developed a
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
.


Plot

In 1936, in Italy, the Fascist government kidnaps child prodigy Tadzio De Santis and uses him in a project to create a
supersoldier A super soldier (or supersoldier) is a concept soldier capable of operating beyond normal human abilities through technological augmentation or (in fictional depictions) genetic modification or cybernetic augmentation. Soldiers that obtain greate ...
. The procedure's inventor, Dr. Maria Vaselli, objects and defects to the United States. Seven years later, the American government finds volunteer Steve Rogers, a frail
polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
survivor. The formula cures Rogers' ailments and gives him superior strength and endurance, but before more supersoldiers can be created, Vaselli is murdered by a
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
spy working with Lieutenant Fleming. The now adult de Santis, with red-scarred skin from Vaselli's earlier procedure, has now become the
Red Skull The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), in ...
, with physical prowess equal to Rogers, and plans an
intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
strike at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. Rogers, code-named
Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
, is sent to neutralize the threat. He penetrates the Nazi launch compound, but the Red Skull ties him to the missile. Captain America grabs the Red Skull's arm, tricking him into to cut off his own hand to escape being taken along. A young boy, Tom Kimball, photographs Captain America over Washington, D.C. kicking the missile off course to crash in
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
, burying itself and Rogers under the ice. In 1992, Tom Kimball is elected
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. He pushes
environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...
legislation that angers the military-industrial complex headed by now-general Fleming. Fleming meets with the Red Skull and leaders of a global shadow organization. Since the war the Red Skull has raised a daughter, Valentina, and become the head of a powerful
crime family A crime family is a unit of an organized crime syndicate, particularly in the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia, often operating within a specific geographic territory or a specific set of activities. In its strictest sense, a ''family'' ...
who murdered Americans who were against militarism and fascism, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
, and Robert Kennedy. The Red Skull notes the assassinations caused the public to posthumously venerate those people and instead orders Kimball's kidnapping and brainwashing. Rogers' body is found frozen in ice. He revives and escapes, making international headlines and alerting both Kimball and the Red Skull. After escaping Red Skull's thugs, Rogers brushes off reporter and Kimball's childhood friend Sam Kolawetz, who has long hounded the Skull, and hitchhikes to his wartime girlfriend, Bernice, in California. She has long since married and has a daughter,
Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...
, who helps Rogers catch up. Valentina and her thugs kill Bernice while looking for Rogers. Learning that Kimball has been kidnapped, Rogers and Sharon recover Vaselli's diary and learn Red Skull's original name. In the Red Skull's childhood home they find a tape recording of the murder of his family. Sharon gets herself kidnapped as a distraction to allow Rogers, who dons his costume, to enter the Red Skull's castle. Kimball is rescued by Captain America, and they lay siege to the castle. Red Skull pulls out a remote trigger for a nuclear bomb, but Rogers distracts him with the recording of the De Santis family's murder. Before the Skull recovers, Rogers uses his shield to send him off a cliff, killing him, and as Valentina prepares to kill Rogers, she is hit by his returning shield.
United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
arrive, save the President and arrest the kidnappers. Rogers and Sharon embrace, and a news voiceover announces Kimball's environmental pact as agreed upon by countries around the world.


Cast


Production


Development

''Captain America'' had a long and tumultuous production history. The film rights were originally purchased by
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
, who planned a theatrical feature-length film starring
Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...
as Captain America, and
Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He was a two-time Academy Award nominee, both for acting and screenwriting, and a two-time Golden Globe Award winner for his a ...
as the Red Skull. The writer, Jeffery Sprouse, later revealed a script and pieces of concept art that also included
Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...
, Heinrich or
Helmut Zemo Helmut Zemo is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella and Sal Buscema, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Captain America (comic book), Captain America'' #16 ...
, and
Bucky Barnes James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally introduced as a sidekick to Captain America, the character was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and first appeared in '' ...
as characters, when he was interviewed about the project. The film ultimately never got made due to issues reacquiring the rights. The rights were then sold to The Cannon Group founders
Menahem Golan Menahem Golan (; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israelis, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid ...
and
Yoram Globus Yoram Globus (; born 7 September 1943) is an Israeli–American film producer, cinema owner, and distributor. He has been involved in over 300 full-length motion pictures and he is most known for his association with The Cannon Group, Inc., an ...
in 1984. Initially Cannon regular
Michael Winner Michael Robert Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was an English filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous action, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including several c ...
('' Death Wish'' 1–3) was attached to direct a script by James Silke. However, in 1986, Winner scrapped the Silke script and recruited British television writer Stan Hey (''
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site ...
'', '' Dalziel and Pascoe''). According to Hey, the film involved a stolen Statue of Liberty plot by an elderly Red Skull aided by a female death cult and Steve Rogers working as an artist. Later, after some negative feedback for the Winner & Hey version, Winner started over, working alongside
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
and Larry Block, with an advertisement released with their names listed. Michael Dudikoff was set to play the title character, and Steve James would play Sam Wilson/Falcon. By 1987 Winner was off the project and actor-director John Stockwell came aboard with a script by Stephen Tolkin. Golan left Cannon in 1989, and as part of a severance package he was given control of 21st Century Film Corporation and allowed to carry over the film rights to the Captain America character. Director
Albert Pyun Albert Pyun (May 19, 1953 – November 26, 2022) was an American film director who made low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action films. The Independent Film Channel said that Pyun "has carved out a unique niche as a director of low-budge ...
, who had previously worked at Cannon, was brought on board and worked with the Tolkin script that originally started at Cannon. In an interview with ''
Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/ ed ...
'', Tolkin explained some of the changes that he made from the original comic, including changing the appearance and character of the Red Skull: "I didn't think people wanted to keep looking at this horrible skull face forever".


Casting

Dolph Lundgren Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957) is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. Lundgren made his acting debut in 1985 with a cameo in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film ''A View to a Kill''. Also that year, he h ...
and
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
were both considered for the title role.
Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a Leading actor, leading man in films in a wide variety of genres, including Comedy film, comedies, dramas, action fi ...
was offered the part, but turned it down to work on ''The Doors'' instead. Pyun originally wanted two different actors to play Rogers/Captain America; one before and one after his supersoldier transformation. He wanted Matt Salinger to play pre-supersoldier Rogers and Howie Long to play post-supersoldier Captain America. However,
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
insisted only one actor play the character. Pyun also wanted Captain America to use his "tactical" black suit in the film, to reflect his appearance in the comics at the time, but this too was rejected by Marvel, who wanted him to retain his classic costume.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began in 1989 and was completed in 1990. Though the production originally planned to shoot on-location in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, budgetary issues meant that shooting moved to cheaper
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
, and the script was heavily rewritten as many scenes couldn't be shot as scripted. Filming took place in the cities of
Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
and
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
, and at Jadran Film Studios. Other scenes were shot in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. ''
Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...
'' also visited the set during making of the film, airing a segment in August 1989.
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
filmed a cameo appearance that was ultimately cut.


Release

The film was intended for release in August 1990, to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Captain America. Several release dates were announced between Fall 1990 and Winter 1991, but the film went unreleased for two years before debuting
direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...
and on cable television in the United States in the summer of 1992. Lovece, Frank
''Captain America'' (1992)
(review), ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'', July 31, 1992
WebCitation archive
In UK, 20/20 vision released the VHS in 1991 prior to its release in the United States. The film was given a
limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
internationally. In the Philippines, the film was released as ''Bloodmatch'' on December 11, 1991, in a double feature with a
Snoopy Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. He also appears in all of the ''Peanuts'' films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of ...
film; posters miscredit
Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate schoo ...
as the "martial art instructor". The film was invited to screen as part of the 2013
Comic-Con A comic book convention or comic con is a fan convention emphasizing comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book Fan (person), fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events h ...
in San Diego in July 2013. The film also had its debut on Cinemax Asia.


Reception

Review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
gave the studio cut of the film an approval rating of 6% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 3.70/10. The consensus states: "Lacking a script, budget, direction, or star capable of doing justice to its source material, this Captain America should have been left under the ice." Many reviews and publications stated that the film is not quite as bad as many reviewers had said and that the director's cut was better than the studio version. In one of the few contemporary reviews, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' critic Frank Lovece wrote, "The movie isn't merely wrong for kids – it opens in pre-war Italy with a sequence in Italian with subtitles, and a machine-gun slaughter – it's just all wrong", and decried the "shapeless blob of a plot" in grading the film "F". Variety called it "a strictly routine superhero outing" and "this fantasy adventure is missing the large-scale setpieces" that audiences have come to expect.
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
gave the two different reviews for each different versions, the unfavorable rating for
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
version and the average rating for the Collector's Edition version. Cinelinx's Victor Medina rated the film B−, but rated the overall DVD grade C− because of the DVD video transfer and the lack of extras. In 2016, Flickering Myth's Neil Calloway said, "It's not a great film, and is really only of interest as a pre- MCU curio for hardcore Marvel fans." The film gained some cult followings. Film Trap's Justin Decloux later reviewed and showed a newly found Director's Cut of the film via a Twitch stream and praised it for its more somber tone and improved ending. Many others as well who saw it also considered it as a substantial improvement over the theatrical cut and called for its official release.


Home media

The film was first released on
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
and
LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
by 20/20 Vision (UK VHS) in 1991 and by Columbia TriStar Home Video (US VHS and LD) in 1992. The film was released on DVD as part of the MGM limited edition made-on-demand series."''Captain America'' DVD Delayed, Cover Updated"
/ref> A
Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...
of the film was released by
Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...
on May 21, 2013, as a Collector's Edition which features a widescreen HD presentation and brand new interviews with director Pyun and star Salinger.


See also

* ''The Fantastic Four'' (unreleased 1994 film)


References


External links

* *
''Captain America''
at Superheroes Lives * Bell, Josh
"Chatting with Original ''Captain America'' Director Albert Pyun"
''
Las Vegas Weekly ''Las Vegas Weekly'' is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the List of cities in Nevada, 2nd most populous ...
'', June 29, 2011
WebCitation archive
{{Albert Pyun Captain America films 1990s rediscovered films 1990 science fiction action films 1990s superhero films 1990s American films 1990 science fiction films 1990s English-language films American science fiction action films English-language science fiction action films Films about suspended animation Films about fictional presidents of the United States Films directed by Albert Pyun Films set in 1936 Films set in 1943 Films set in 1993 Films set in Alaska Films set in Canada Films set in Germany Films set in Italy Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Ohio Films set in Washington, D.C. Films shot in Croatia Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Slovenia Films shot in Yugoslavia Films with screenplays by Stephen Tolkin Films produced by Menahem Golan Films scored by Barry Goldberg Jadran Film films Live-action films based on Marvel Comics Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer direct-to-video films