Captain America 1979

VHS Cover.

Ages before the current Captain America: The First Avenger massive flick, there were earlier attempts on bringing the  Marvel's answer to DC's Superman patriotic hero to the big screen. Marvel comics wanted to turn Captain America into their first money making franchise and the story dates back as a far as the early 40's where a black & white TV Series was made to introduce Captain America to the world of TV audiences.

Later on the lovely 70's the iconic character of Captain America had grown stronger and thousands of comic books lovers where reading everything Captain America related, and since DC Comics had the advantage of having a succesful Batman TV Series (from 1966 to 1968 including a mildly succesful Movie adaptation) and a most succesful Superman film on the big screen (1978)  Marvel felt it was time to have their own characters on the big screen (I know Marvel had The Incredible Hulk TV series by that time in case you're wondering Mr. know it all). However, Marvel wanted to be sure instead of spending money on a product that would fail miserably, that's why they turned Captain America into a made for TV film, instead of a big screen film.

Steve Rogers after the serum treatment.

Real heroes wore spandex suits 

Captain America the movie was released in 1979 and just as the Incredible Hulk TV series changed the story of the comic to fit the parameters of a television budget and a television audience non too familiar with comic books, Captain America did have some changes to make it a more interesting movie for everyone rather than just for comic book guys.

The suit & Shield were somehow updated to 70's standards (?)

The helmet man, the helmet! how could you!

It's hinted that the Captain America from the comics is basically the father of the star of this film. Although this sounds like a very cheesy and very bad idea, the actors and the dialogue convey this point in a believable and credible fashion. So this is definitely one of the film's strong points.The story involves the death of a friend and the detonation of an atomic bomb, but those are more like entertaining plot devices since I found the story to be mostly an origin story, showing how Steve Rogers is slowly led to his destiny to become Captain America.

Cool motorcycle.

The opening titles.

The film wisely focuses on this and the interaction of the actors, and this is where the film's strength lies.Reb Brown is a good Captain America, and if you're ok with the changes they made to the original comic book story, as I was, you will really enjoy watching this bizarre classic.The first 15 minutes of the movie are kinda laughable. You might find yourself wondering why you're watching this, but I think it will reward the patient (and forgiving) viewer. You'll have to wait for a few minutes before the movie settles into its own.It's not as good as the Hulk pilot, but it's in the same mold. Or if you've seen the 70's live-action Spiderman TV series, you get more of an idea of what to expect. Worth a look for comic fans.

It did have a trailer, check it out:

The TV movie did so good that they decided to make another film known as Captain America II: Death Too Soon and yes, I will review it soon as I probably will review the 1990 Captain America movie (this time made for the big screen)

Until then, see you!

By the Way! this film along with its part II movie will be re-released on November the 1st by Shout! and they will come together on wonderfully  remastered DVD, pre order yours now!


Here a sneak peek at the DVD cover art:

Remember, November the 1st.