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Captain America (serial movie)-1944
Captain America (1944) is a Republic serial film based (loosely) on the comic book character Captain America. It was the last Republic serial made about a superhero. It also has the distinction of being the most expensive serial that Republic ever made.

The serial sees Captain America, really District Attorney Grant Gardner, trying to thwart the plans of The Scarab, really museum curator Dr. Cyrus Maldor - especially regarding his attempts to acquire the "Dynamic Vibrator" and "Electronic Firebolt", devices that could be used as super-weapons.

In a rare plot element for Republic, the secret identity of the villain is known to the audience from the beginning, if not to the characters in the serial. The studio's usual approach was the use of a mystery villain who was only unmasked as one of the other supporting characters in the final chapter.

Plot
A rash of suspicious suicides among scientists and businessmen, all found holding a small scarab, gets the attention of Mayor Randolph. He demands that Police Commissioner Dryden and District Attorney Grant Gardner get to the bottom of the case, while openly wishing that Captain America, a masked man who has helped defeat crime in the past, were around to solve the mystery.

All of the suicides were members of an expedition to some Mayan ruins. One of the few remaining survivors, Professor Lyman, turns to his friend Dr Maldor for support. Dr Maldor, however, reveals that he is the man responsible for the deaths. He wants revenge because he planned and organised the expedition but everyone else claimed the fame and fortune. However, Lyman has developed the "Dynamic Vibrator" - a device intended for mining operations but one that can be amplified into a devastating weapon. Using his "Purple Death", a hypnotic chemical responsible for the suicides, Dr Maldor forces Lyman to disclose the location of his plans.

Captain America intervenes as the Scarab's heavies attempt to steal the plans and this leads to a sequence of plots by the Scarab to acquire a working version, as well as other devices, while trying to eliminate the interfering Captain before he succeeds in discovering Dr Maldor's true identity or defeats him.

Cast
Dick Purcell as District Attorney Grant Gardner and Captain America. Purcell was cast as the hero despite appearing a bit overweight and average. He died a few weeks after filming was completed. The strain of filming Captain America had been too much for his heart and he collapsed in the locker room at a Los Angeles country club.[3]

Lorna Gray as Gail Richards, Grant Gardner's secretary

Lionel Atwill as Dr Cyrus Maldor/The Scarab

Charles Trowbridge as Police Commissioner Dryden

Russell Hicks as Mayor Randolph

George J. Lewis as Bart Matson

John Davidson as Gruber

Stanley Price as Purple Death chemist

Production
Captain America was budgeted at $182,623 although the final negative cost was $222,906(a $40,283, or 22.1%, overspend). It was the most expensive of all Republic serials (as well as the most over budget).

It was filmed between 12 October and 24 November 1943.undefinedThe serial's production number was 1297.

Captain America was written by seven of the top serial screenwriters, including Harry Fraser’s only work at Republic.

The Captain America costume was really grey, white and dark blue as these colours photographed better in black and white. The costume also lost the wings on the head, the pirate boots became high shoes and the chainmail became normal cloth. Miniature flags were added to the gloves and the belt buckle became a small shield.

Republic was notorious for making arbitrary changes in their adaptations. This occurred with Captain America more than most. Timely, the owner of Captain America, were unhappy with the omission of Steve Rogers, the lack of an army setting and his use of a gun. Republic responded in writing that the sample pages provided by Timely did not indicate that Captain America was a soldier called Steve Rogers, nor that he did not carry a revolver. They also noted that the serial was well into production by this point and they could not return to the original concept without expensive retakes and dubbing. Finally they pointed out that Republic was under no contractual obligation to do any of this.[2]

The differences between the comic book and film versions of the title character in this serial are more extreme than with other Republic comic adaptations, such as Adventures of Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher. For example: The reason for the differences appears to be not that Republic arbitrarily "changed" the character, but that the script for the serial was originally prepared to feature an entirely different licensed lead character to begin with who it was later decided would be replaced by another. So it appears it was actually this original character, not Captain America, who was the one that was "changed" by Republic into someone else.
 * His secret identity is District Attorney Grant Gardner rather than U'S. Army Private Steve Rogers.
 * The "Super-Soldier Serum" origin is not used.
 * His famous shield does not appear, replaced by a standard gun.
 * Despite the fact that this serial was made in 1944, and Captain America regularly fought Nazis in the comics, the Nazis are not part of the story in any way.
 * His sidekick, Bucky, does not appear.

Film historians Jim Harmon and Don Glut speculated that the script was originally written as a sequel to 1940's Mysterious Doctor Satan, which featured the masked hero The Copperhead. This character was himself a substitution for DC's Superman, after Republic's bid for that character's film rights lost to Paramount, who had a series of cartoon shorts made by the Fleischer Studios. This idea, however, is highly questionable considering that Republic owned the Copperhead character and could have done as they pleased with him without any licensing issues.

Based on the facts that Republic had adapted other Fawcett Comics characters (Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher), that the lead is a crime-fighting district attorney, aided by his female secretary who knows his identity, and that the serial includes a chapter entitled "The Scarlet Shroud" in which nothing scarlet appears, film restoration director Eric Stedman has stated that it seems more likely that the script was originally developed to feature Fawcett's comic book hero Mr. Scarlet, secretly D.A. Brian Butler, whose comic book appearances had proved unpopular and who had actually disappeared from comic book covers and been relegated to being a backup feature between the time the serial was planned and the final film produced.

Writer Raymond William Stedman believes that the differences between the comic-book and film versions of Captain America were "for the better" as, for example, the hero did not have to sneak out of an army base every time he needed to change identities.

Stunts
Dale Van Sickel was the "ram rod" of the stunt crew, doubling Dick Purcell as Captain America. Ken Terrell doubled George J. Lewis and Fred Graham doubled Lionel Atwill. Additional stunts were performed by Duke Green and Joe Yrigoyen. Tom Steel only appeared in chapter one as he was busy on The Masked Marvel.
 * Dale Van Sickel as Captain America (doubling Dick Purcell)
 * Bert LeBaron as Dr Maldor/The Scarab (doubling Lionel Atwill)
 * Helen Thurston as Gail Richards (doubling Lorna Gray)
 * Ken Terrell Bart Matson/Dirk (doubling George J. Lewis & Crane Whitley)
 * John Bagni
 * Fred Graham
 * Duke Green
 * Eddie Parker
 * Allen Pomeroy
 * Tom Steele

Special Effects
All the special effects in Captain America were created by Republic's in-house team, the Lydecker brothers.

Release
Captain America's official release date is 5 February 1944, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges.

The serial was re-released on 30 September 1953, under the new title Return of Captain America, between the first runs of Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders and Trader Tom of the China Seas.

Critical Reception
Captain America is regarded as the "apex of the traditional action film fight...[in the] opinion of many cliffhanger enthusiasts."

Stedman wrote that this was a "much better serial than either Batman or The Masked Marvel"

Dr Maldor is, in Cline's opinion, Lionel Atwill's best serial role.

References to the Serial
In Captain America V1 issue 219, it is revealed that a Captain America serial also exists within the Marvel Continuity. In this version, Captain America himself plays the role (in secret), taking the place of the stunt man who was shot during production due to the prop master being the Nazi spy Lyle Decker. Like the real-life serial, Cap's shield is replaced with a standard gun, his identity is changed, and his sidekick Bucky is absent.

In 2007, after Marvel's Civil War event, Captain America (Steve Rogers) was killed off. News channel CNN produced a special on the death, showing the serial with Grant Gardner as Captain America while it was focusing on the death of Steve Rogers. In Issue 27 of Captain America, the movie poster is seen in The Captain America Museum.

Steve Rogers' ex-girlfriend in the Ultimate Marvel continuity is named after Gail Richards, Grant Gardner's secretary.

Chapter Titles

 * 1) The Purple Death (25min 40s)
 * 2) Mechanical Executioner (15min 38s)
 * 3) The Scarlet Shroud (15min 33s)
 * 4) Preview of Murder (15min 33s)
 * 5) Blade of Wrath (15min 33s)
 * 6) Vault of Vengeance (15min 33s)
 * 7) Wholesale Destruction (15min 34s)
 * 8) Cremation in the Clouds (15min 33s)
 * 9) Triple Tragedy (15min 33s)
 * 10) The Avenging Corpse (15min 33s)
 * 11) The Dead Man Returns (15min 33s)
 * 12) Horror on the Highway (15min 34s)
 * 13) Skyscraper Plunge (15min 33s)
 * 14) The Scarab Strikes (15min 32s)
 * 15) The Toll of Doom (15min 33s)


 * Thanks to wikipidia for the article

Howard the Duck-1986
Howard the Duck is a 1986 American comedy science fiction film, directed by Willard Huyck, produced by Gloria Katz, and executive produced by George Lucas. Loosely based on the Marvel comic book of the same name, the film focuses on Howard, an alien from a planet inhabited entirely by anthropomorphic ducks, who is transported to Earth (Cleveland, Ohio, to be exact), where he meets Beverly, a struggling singer who leads an all-girl band called Cherry Bomb. As Howard attempts to find a way to return to his planet, he helps Beverly and Cherry Bomb with their career, develops a romance with Beverly herself, and finds himself having to save humanity from an evil alien monster. The film stars Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins and, as Howard, Ed Gale, Chip Zien, Tim Rose, Steve Sleap, Peter Baird, Mary Wells, Lisa Sturz and Jordan Prentice.

Lucas proposed adapting the Marvel comic book character created by Steve Gerber following the production of American Graffiti, and began production on the film after stepping down as the president of Lucasfilm to focus on producing. Huyck and Katz's adaptation altered the personality of the character, and placed less emphasis on satirical storytelling in order to highlight the special effects work of Lucasfilm's flagship subsidiary, Industrial Light and Magic. Following multiple production difficulties, and mixed responses to test screenings, the film was released to very poor critical and commercial reception. Criticism was made regarding the decision to shoot the film in live action rather than as an animated film and the unconvincing appearance of Howard.

Plot
Howard (voiced by Chip Zien) lives on Duckworld, a planet inhabited by anthropomorphic ducks. One night, as he reads the latest issue of Playduck Magazine, his armchair begins to quake violently and propels him out of his apartment building and into outer space, where he eventually lands up on Earth, in Cleveland, Ohio. Upon arriving, Howard encounters a woman being attacked by thugs and decides to help her out with his unique brand of "Quack Fu". After the thugs scamper, the woman introduces herself as Beverly (Lea Thompson), and decides to take Howard to her apartment and let him spend the night. The next day, Beverly takes Howard to a supposed-scientist by the name of Phil Blumburtt (Tim Robbins), whom Beverly hopes can help Howard return to his world. After Phil is revealed to be only a janitor, Howard resigns himself to life on Earth and rejects Beverly's aid. He soon winds up landing a job cleaning up at a local romantic spa. Due to unfair treatment by his boss, Howard ultimately quits his job and returns to Beverly, who plays in a band called Cherry Bomb. At the club where Cherry Bomb is performing, Howard comes across the group's manager, and confronts the manager when he bad-mouths the band. A fight ensues in which Howard is victorious, before getting the manager to force Cherry Bomb out of their contract.

Howard rejoins Beverly backstage after the band's performance and accompanies her back to the apartment, where Beverly chooses Howard to be Cherry Bomb's new manager. The two begin to flirt and almost engage in sexual intercourse, but are interrupted when Blumburtt and two of his colleagues, Doctor Walter Jenning (Jeffrey Jones) and Larry (David Paymer), arrive and reveal how Howard came to Earth: earlier, the scientists had been working on a dimensional-jumping device that just happened to be aimed at Howard's universe and brought him to Earth when it was activated. They theorize that Howard can be sent back to his world through a reversal of this same process, so they drive Howard to the lab with the intention of sending him back. The device malfunctions upon being used a second time, and Jenning's body is taken over by a lifeform from another alternate dimension. When the police arrive, the resulting chaos leads Howard, Beverly and Jenning to escape from the police as Jenning's transformation becomes more apparent. After eluding the police, they arrive at a Sushi diner where the lifeform introduces itself as the "Dark Overlord of the Universe" and demonstrates its developing mental powers by causing the table condiments to explode. Chaos ensues when a group of truckers in the diner begin to insult Howard, resulting in a fight. This results in Howard's capture and near-decapitation at the hands of the diner chef. Meanwhile, the truckers are scared off when the Dark Overlord destroys the cafe, kidnaps Beverly, and escapes in an articulated truck.

Howard then finds Phil and frees him from the police car he had been held in after being arrested for his role in the science center explosion. On the run, the two discover an Ultralight aircraft, which they use to search for the Dark Overlord and Beverly. Meanwhile, having returned to the lab, the Dark Overlord ties Beverly down to a metal bed, hoping to transfer another one of its kind into her body with the dimension machine. Howard and Phil return to the lab and apparently destroy the Dark Overlord with an experimental "neutron disintegrator" laser. However, it had only been knocked out of Jennings' body. Then, the Dark Overlord reveals itself as a monstrous creature. Howard fires the neutron disintegrator at the beast, obliterating it, and destroys the dimension machine, preventing more monsters from being brought to Earth, but also removing Howard's only chance of returning to his planet. Howard then becomes Beverly's manager and hires Phil as an employee on her tour.

Production
George Lucas attended film school with Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, who later cowrote American Graffiti with Lucas. After the film's production concluded, Lucas told Huyck and Katz about the comic book Howard the Duck, primarily written by Steve Gerber, describing the series as being "very funny" and praising its elements of film noir and absurdism. In 1984, Lucas relinquished his presidency of Lucasfilm to focus on producing films. Huyck, Katz and Lucas began to seriously consider adapting Howard the Duck as a film, and met with Gerber to discuss the project.

The film was optioned by Universal Studios. According to Marvin Antonowsky, "Sidney [Sheinberg] lobbied very hard for Howard the Duck", because the studio had passed on previous projects that Lucas was involved in, which had been very successful. Sheinberg denied any involvement in Howard the Duck, claiming that he never read the screenplay.undefinedHuyck and Katz strongly felt that the film should be animated. Because Universal needed a film for a summer release, Lucas suggested that the film could be produced in live action, with special effects created by Industrial Light and Magic.

Production designer Peter Jamison and director of photography Richard Kline were hired in order to give the film a look similar to that of a color comic book. Throughout the shoot, Huyck shot multiple segments establishing Duckworld, designed by Jamison. Howard's apartment is filled with detailed props, including books and magazines featuring duck-oriented puns. Because Lucas often worked with little person actors, he was able to hire a number of extras to work on these sequences.

The Ultralight sequence was difficult to shoot, requiring intense coordination and actors Tim Robbins and Ed Gale to actually fly the plane. Because of the limited shooting time, a third unit was hired to speed up the filming process. The climax was shot in a naval installation in San Francisco, where conditions were cold throughout the shoot. The film cost an estimated $36 million to produce.

Development
Huyck and Katz began to develop ideas for the film. Early on in the production, it was decided that the personality of the character would be changed from that of the comics, in which Howard was rude, obnoxious and foul, in order to make the character nicer. During the screenwriting process, a stronger emphasis was placed on special effects, rather than satire and story. An early proposed storyline involved the character being transported to Hawaii. Huyck states that this storyline was considered because "we thought it would be sort of fun to shoot there". According to Katz, they did not want to explain how Howard arrived on Earth initially, but later rewrote the screenplay to include this backstory. Huyck and Katz wanted to incorporate both lighter, humorous elements and darker, suspenseful elements. Katz states that some readers were confused by the sexual elements of the screenplay, as they were unsure as to whether the film was intended for adults or children. Huyck and Katz wrote the ending leaving the story open for a sequel, which was never produced.

Special Effects
Lucasfilm built animatronic suits, costumes and puppets for the film. Because of the limited preparation time, varied "ducks" created for the film would explode or lose feathers, and multiple ducks were built with the wrong proportions. On the first day of shooting, the crew realized the poor quality of the effects when they found that the inside of the puppet's neck was visible when its mouth opened. Huyck continuously reshot scenes involving Howard as the quality of the technology improved. Because multiple puppeteers where in charge of controlling different parts of the animatronic body, Huyck was unable to coordinate the shoot properly. In the opening sequence, Howard's chair is propelled out of his apartment by wires, which were later digitally erased by computer, an effect that was uncommon in 1986. The effect of the feathers on Howard's head becoming erect during the love sequence took months to prepare.

The voice of Howard, Chip Zien, was not cast until after shooting completed. Because Ed Gale's voice was difficult to hear when he wore his suit, Huyck ordered Gale to perform his scenes without speaking any of the required dialogue, which was later synchronized during the editing process. Lead puppeteer Tim Rose was given a microphone attached to a small speaker, which would allow Rose to speak the dialogue in order to help the actors respond to Howard's dialogue. While wearing his suit, Gale could only see through Howard's mouth, and had to sense his location without proper eyesight. Gale often had to walk backwards before beginning rehearsals. In between takes, a hair dryer was stuffed in Howard's bill in order to keep Gale cool. Gale taped two of his fingers together in order to wear the three-fingered hands created for the Howard costume. A total of six actors gave physical performances as Howard.

Makeup artists Tom Burman and Bari Dreiband-Burman and actor Jeffrey Jones discussed the appearance of the Dark Overlord character with Huyck and Katz, and developed the character's progressing looks. When Katz's daughter visited the set during the shoot, she was terrified by Jones' appearance in makeup. The diner sequence combines practical effects, including squibs and air cannons, with visual effects created by ILM. Sound designer Ben Burtt created the voice of the Dark Overlord by altering Jeffrey Jones' voice as his character transformed. Stop motion effects during the climax were designed by Phil Tippett, who began with a clay model before upgrading to more sophisticated pieces.

Casting
After auditioning a number of actresses, singers and models for the role of Beverly, Lea Thompson was cast in the role, because of her appearance in Back to the Future. Thompson purchased clothing from thrift stores because she wanted to appear at the audition as "a cross between Madonna and Cyndi Lauper." During the shoot, Thompson complained that the filmmakers chose to shoot Howard's closeup before hers. Thompson also states that she regrets not wearing a wig, as her hairstyle took two hours a day to prepare. Jeffrey Jones was cast because of his performance in Amadeus. Although Tim Robbins had not appeared in many films, Huyck and Katz were confident that he was right for the part.

In order to play the physical role of Howard, Huyck and Katz held casting calls with little person actors, eventually casting a child actor and hiring Ed Gale, who had been rejected because he was too tall for the role, to perform stunts and portray the role during evening shoots. The child actor found the shooting conditions to be too difficult to handle, and the film's editors were unable to match day and evening sequences because of the difference in the two portrayals. Because Gale also served as an understudy, he took over the role.

After the film was completed, Huyck and Katz auditioned John Cusack and Martin Short for the voice of Howard, eventually casting Chip Zien, because they felt his gravelly voice worked well for the part. Because Howard's voice was not cast until the film had begun editing, synchronization was extremely difficult.

Music
The film's score was written by John Barry. Thomas Dolby wrote the film's songs, and chose the members of Cherry Bomb. Actress Lea Thompson performed her own singing for the role, although she states that the filmmakers were unsure as to whether they would keep her vocals in the final film. Thompson was required to learn choreography with the band and record the songs so that they could be synchronized during filming. The final sequence, in which Cherry Bomb performs the film's title song, was shot in front of a live audience in an auditorium in San Francisco. The song was cowritten by Dolby and George Clinton. Gale was choreographed to dance and play guitar as Howard. Dolby built a special guitar for Gale to rehearse and film with.

Release and Response
When the film was screened for Universal, Katz said that the studio's executives left without commenting on the film. Screenings for test audiences were met with mixed response. The film grossed $US10 million in rentals in the USA. Rumors suggested that Universal production heads Frank Price and Sidney Sheinberg engaged in a fistfight after arguing over who was to blame for greenlighting the film. Both executives denied the rumors. News reports speculated that one or both would be fired by MCA chairman Lew Wasserman. Price soon left the studio, and was succeeded by Tom Pollack. The September 17, 1986 issue of Variety attributed Price's departure to the failure of the film, even though he had not approved the film's production. Following the film's failure, Huyck and Katz left for Hawaii and refused to read reviews of the film. The negative reaction to the film had a difficult effect on the cast, who found themselves unable to work on other projects because of the film.

Orange Coast Magazine writer Marc Weinberg and Leonard Maltin criticized the decision to shoot the film in live action. Maltin described the film as a "hopeless mess". The appearance of Howard was criticized as being unconvincing. In The Psychotronic Video Guide, Michael Weldon described the reactions to Howard as being inconsistent, and that "It was obviously made in LA and suffers from long, boring chase scenes", but praises the stop motion special effects in the film's final sequences. Film website Rotten Tomatoes, which compiles reviews from a wide range of critics, gives the film a score of 16%. The film received four Golden Raspberry Awards: Worst Screenplay, Worst New Star, Worst Visual Effects and Worst Picture, tied with Under the Cherry Moon.

According to Ed Gale, he was hired to work on Spaceballs because Mel Brooks had stood up and said "Anybody who's in Howard the Duck can be in my movie." Huyck and Katz continued to work after the film's failure, and chose to work on more dramatic projects in order to separate themselves from Howard the Duck. Katz states that Lucas continued to support the film after its failure, because he felt it would later be seen in a better light than it had been at the time of its release. Huyck states that he later encountered fans and supporters of the film who felt that it had been unfairly treated by critics.


 * Thanks to wikipedia for the article.

The Punisher-1989
The Punisher is a 1989 film starring Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle, directed by Mark Goldblatt from a screenplay by Boaz Yakin. It is based on the Marvel Comics' character The Punisher. The film changes many details of the comic book origin and the main character does not wear the trademark "skull". In the comic book, Castle's wife was named Maria; they had a son named Frank Junior and a daughter named Lisa. Maria, Frank Jr. and Lisa were all killed by gunfire after witnessing the execution of an informant. In the film, Frank's wife was named Julie, they had two daughters, Annie and Felice. Julie, Felice and Annie were all killed in a car bomb explosion meant for Castle. In the comic book, Frank Castle was a former U.S. Marine captain. In the movie, he was changed to a police detective. In the comic, he is based in New York City; in the film, Seattle.

The Punisher was filmed in Sydney, Australia and also featured Louis Gossett, Jr., Jeroen Krabbé, Kim Miyori, Nancy Everhard and Barry Otto.

Marvel Studios rebooted the film series in 2004 with The Punisher, and again in 2008 with Punisher: War Zone

Plot
Frank Castle is the city's most wanted, and most mysterious, vigilante, known as "The Punisher". He has killed 125 people in the last 5 years. Castle is an ex-police officer, whose family was murdered in a mob hit. Living in the sewers and waging a one-man war against organized crime, his only friend is an old alcoholic named Shake. Now legally declared dead, he strikes back from beyond the grave, killing mobsters wherever he can find them. Due to his war against them, the Mafia families have weakened, forcing one of the family leaders, Gianni Franco, to come in and take control. Franco has a plan to bring the families together as one unit. This, however, has attracted the attention of the Yakuza, Asia's most powerful crime syndicate. Led by Lady Tanaka, the Yakuza decide to take over the Mafia families and all of their interests. In order to sway the mobsters to their cause, they kidnap their children and hold them for ransom. Now the Punisher must fight to save the lives of the children of the people he has fought against for five years, while at the same time fighting alongside the man who killed his family.

Shake pleads with the Punisher to save the children, who are likely to be sold into childhood slavery regardless of whether or not the Mafia give into the demands. While he is able to save most of the children, the Mafia leader's son is taken away to the Yakuza headquarters. Furthermore, the Punisher is taken into custody by the police, only to be freed by Franco's men. Franco persuades the Punisher to help him save his son, and stop the Japanese criminal underworld from taking root in America.

Franco and the Punisher raid the Yakuza headquarters, fight and kill all the Yakuza, including Lady Tanaka and her daughter. Upon being reunited with his son, Franco betrays the Punisher in an effort to kill him, but the Punisher wins the duel, killing Franco. As the police arrive, Castle warns Franco's son not to follow the sins of his father, and vanishes from the scene

Cast
Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle / The Punisher

Louis Gossett, Jr. as Jake Berkowitz

Jeroen Krabbé as Gianni Franco

Kim Miyori as Lady Tanaka

Bryan Marshall as Dino Moretti

Nancy Everhard as Sam Leary

Barry Otto as Shake

Brian Rooney as Tommy Franco

Zoshka Mizak as Tanaka's Daughter

Larry McCormick as TV Newsreader

Kenji Yamaki as Sato

Todd Boyce as Terrone

Hirofumi Kanayama as Tomio

Lani John Tupu as Laccone

John Negroponte as Musso

Reception
The film received mainly negative reviews. It currently holds a 24% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 reviews (13 negative, 4 positive. Christopher Null gave the film 1 out of 5, stating the film was "marred by cheeseball sets and special effects, lame fight sequences, and some of the worst acting ever to disgrace the screen." Whilst critisizing the films storyline and acting, Time Out magazine concluded the film was "destructive, reprehensible, and marvellous fun".

Soundtrack
A full orchestral score was composed and conducted by Dennis Dreith at the Warner Bros. soundstage in Burbank, California. A CD of the soundtrack was not released until July 19, 2005 (Perseverance Records, PRD006). The CD includes several interviews with the director and the composer, as well as the complete multi-track stereo recording. Perseverance Records also released the 5.1 mix as an SACD, in collaboration with Tarantula Records (TARAN001). The DVD release only contains a monaural (single track) soundtrack.


 * Thanks to wikipedia to the article.

Captain America (unreleased)-1990
Captain America is the title of a film based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name. While the film takes several liberties with the comic's storyline, it features Steve Rogers becoming Captain America during World War II to battle the Red Skull, being frozen in ice, and subsequently being revived to save the President of the United States. The film received a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America.

Plot
In 1936 fascist Italy, the government kidnaps a boy from his family, whom they subsequently kill. The boy is needed for an experimental project to create a fascist supersoldier; however, Dr. Vaselli (Carla Cassola) objects to using the boy, and under the cover of gunfire flees to the United States of America to help create an American super soldier.

Seven years later, the American government finds a volunteer in Steve Rogers, a loyal all-American who is excluded from the draft because of his polio. The formula successfully transforms Rogers into a superhero, but before any more super soldiers can be created using the formula she keeps in her head, Dr. Vaselli is murdered by a Nazi spy. Meanwhile, the Italian boy has become the Red Skull and is planning to launch a missile at the White House. Rogers, code named Captain America, is sent in to defeat the Skull and deactivate the missile.

However, after an initial battle, the Red Skull defeats Captain America and ties him to the missile as it is about to launch. Captain America is able to grab a hold of the Red Skull, forcing him to cut off his own hand to avoid being launched into destruction with his "American brother". While the missile is over Washington, D.C., a young boy named Thomas Kimball takes a photograph as Captain America forces the missile to change course and land somewhere in Alaska, where he remains frozen until 1990.

Kimball goes on to become an honest politician and Vietnam War hero until being elected the President of the United States of America. In 1993, a year into his term, he is pushing for pro-environmentalist legislation that is angering the military-industrial complex, who hold a secret conference in Italy that is led by the Red Skull.

After the War, the Red Skull had extensive plastic surgery done in a partially successful attempt to alter his disfigured features, raised a daughter, and became the leader of a powerful crime family. In the 1960s, this American military-industrial complex hired the Red Skull and his thugs to murder various Americans who were against their militarism and Red Skull's fascism, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. Now, Red Skull is targeting President Kimball for assassination.

Captain America's frozen body is found in Alaska by researchers, and he awakens still thinking that it is the 1940s. After battling some of the Red Skull's thugs, he brushes off Sam Kolawetz (Ned Beatty), a reporter and childhood friend of President Kimball, and hitchhikes his way back to his wartime girlfriend, Bernice (Kim Gillingham), in California.

While Bernice still lives at her old residence, she has long since married and raised her own daughter, Sharon, who subsequently gives Rogers a series of VHS history tapes so he can catch up on what happened while he was frozen in ice. Meanwhile, the Red Skull's thugs, lead by his daughter, break into Bernice's house and kill her. They also cause her husband to have a heart attack during their efforts to find where Captain America is hiding out. Rogers and Sharon visit the secret underground base where Rogers gained his superpowers in the hopes that Dr. Vaselli's diary is still there and contains the original name of the Red Skull.

Although Rogers and Sharon find the diary, the Red Skull's thugs attempt to grab it. Rogers and Sharon vow revenge as well as the rescue of the recently kidnapped president. They travel to Italy and locate the Red Skull's home and an old recording of the murder of his parents. Sharon agrees to be kidnapped to allow Steve Rogers, who once again dons his costume, to enter the Red Skull's castle.

In the midst of their battle, the Red Skull pulls out a remote trigger for an explosive device, but Captain America uses Sharon's recording of the murder of the Red Skull's family to distract him. While the Red Skull is lost in thought, Capt. America uses his shield to send the Red Skull off a cliff before the bomb can be set off. As the Red Skull's daughter prepares to kill Captain America, she is then decapitated from behind by his returning shield.

The United States Marines show up to save the President and arrest the Americans involved in the kidnapping. The credits roll with a comic book image of Captain America in the background and a plea to support the United States Environmental Protection Act of 1990.

Cast
Matt Salinger as Steve Rogers / Captain America

Ronny Cox as President Tom Kimball

Scott Paulin as The Red Skull

Ned Beatty as Sam Kolawetz

Darren McGavin as General Fleming

Michael Nouri as Lt. Col. Louis

Kim Gillingham as Bernice Stewart / Sharon

Melinda Dillon as Mrs. Rogers

Bill Mumy 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

Production and Release
Produced by 21st Century Film Corporation, filming was completed in 1990, but after test marketing the film to a preview audience more stunts were added at the end.

The film was intended for release in the summer of 1990, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Captain America. Posters appeared in movie theaters displaying the superhero's iconic shield, but the film never materialized. Several release dates were announced between fall 1990 and winter 1991, but the film went unreleased for two years before debuting direct to video and on cable TV in the United States in the summer of 1992. It was given a limited theatrical release overseas.

On January 1, 2010, the film was released on Hulu.

Reception
The movie received a 20 percent positive rating on the film critic aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, with five online critics writing a decade or more after the movie's release. In one of the few contemporaneous reviews, Entertainment Weekly critic Frank Lovece wrote, "The movie isn't merely wrong for kids — it opens in prewar 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".


 * Thanks to wikipedia for the article.

Fantastic Four (unreleased)-1994
The Fantastic Four is an unreleased low-budget feature film completed in 1994. Created to secure copyright to the property, the producers never intended it for release although the director, actors, and other participants were not informed of this fact. It was produced by low-budget specialist Roger Corman and Bernd Eichinger (who also produced another Fantastic Four movie in 2005). The film was based on the long-running comic book by Marvel Comics and featured the origin of the Fantastic Four and their first battle with the evil Doctor Doom and a mysterious Mole Man-like creature.

Plot
The film begins with Reed Richards (Alex Hyde-White) and Victor Von Doom (Joseph Culp) as University friends who decide to use the opportunity of a passing comet to try an experiment; however, the experiment goes wrong, leaving Victor horribly scarred. Sue and Johnny Storm are two children living with their mother, who has a boarding house where Reed lives. Ben Grimm (Michael Bailey Smith) The Thing (Carl Ciarfalio) is a family friend and college friend to Reed. The film then fast forwards to the early 1990s, where Reed, Sue (Rebecca Staab), Johnny (Jay Underwood), and Ben go up into an experimental space craft as again the same comet would pass by the Earth. They are hit by cosmic rays by the same passing comet due to a necessary diamond being exchanged for an imitation of itself. Reed would dedicate this mission for his friend Victor, believing he was dead years before.

Upon crash-landing back to Earth, the four of them soon discover that the cosmic rays gave them special powers: Reed's bodily structure has become elastic; Sue can become invisible; Johnny can generate fire on demand; and Ben has transformed into the Thing. They are later captured by Victor's men, who pose as soldiers of the Marine Corps. After escaping from Doom's men, the four scientists regroup at the Baxter Building, trying to decide what to do now that they gained superpowers. An angry Ben leaves the group to go out on his own, feeling that he has become a horrible freak of nature. Ben would be found by homeless men and join them in an illicit Jeweler's underground lair.

It is revealed that Victor von Doom had needed the diamond necessary to capture the comet's powers.The Jeweler would then give the real diamond to the blind artist Alicia (Kat Green) who was also kidnapped by homeless henchmen working for the Jeweler. The Jeweler wants Alicia to be his bride, with the diamond as his wedding present to her. However, Doctor Doom and his henchmen locate the Jeweler's lair. Doom's henchmen first try to make a deal with him; but with no luck. Doom, displeased, seizes the diamond by force. Doom threatens to kill Alicia, whereupon Ben, as the Thing, comes into the room – only to revert to human form. Pursued by Doom, Ben runs out onto the city streets, frustrated at his helplessness. He is somehow changed into the Thing.

A gun fight ensues between Doom and the Jeweler’s men. Doom takes the diamond to power a laser cannon that will destroy New York City. Ben returns to his friends; by now, Reed has learned that Victor was the mastermind behind their kidnapping. Realizing that they are the only ones that can stop Doom, the protagonists don costumes and travel to Doom's castle. At the castle, the Fantastic Four battle a series of Doom's military. Reed has a final battle with Doom. Doom is defeated and possibly killed. Johnny becomes the Human Torch to stand between the laser cannon's shot and the city. He survives this, as does the city he wishes to protect. Ben frees Alicia and finally introduces himself to her. She feels the rocky surface of his face but is not fazed by his altered appearance.

Thereafter, the Four dedicate themselves to fighting evil, and the film ends with Reed and Sue marrying.

Production
In 1992, Constantin Film was about to lose its option on the film rights for Fantastic Four, unless production began by December. Without the $40 million in necessary funding for a full-budget film, producer Bernd Eichinger turned to Roger Corman for help. Corman spent $1.98 million to shoot the movie.

Constantin Film permitted the director, actors and others involved in the film to believe that the studio intended to release it in theaters, rather than the film being a cinematic equivalent of an ashcan copy. The cast and crew did the film for low salaries after being told that if it did not get released to theaters, it would be used as the pilot for a potential television series.

Filming lasted a month and finished in January 1993, after which post-production began. The cast gave press interviews and attended comic book conventions in good faith. The studio announced a premiere date of 1994, at the Mall of America in Minnesota. In late 1993, the studio announced that the film would not be released.

Over a decade later, Constantin Film made a $100 million Fantastic Four film and its sequel, the $130 million Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Reception
In a list of the "50 Top Comic Movies of All Time (...and Some So Bad You've Just Got to See Them)," Wizard Magazine ranked this film higher than Batman & Robin, Steel, Virus and Red Sonja, all of which were released in theatres.


 * Thanks to wikipedia for the article

Blade-1998
Blade is a 1998 vampire action film starring Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff, loosely based on the Marvel Comics character Blade. The film was directed by Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer. Snipes plays Blade, a half-human and half-vampire who protects humans against vampires. Blade grossed $70 million at the U.S. box office, and over $131 million worldwide. Two sequels, Blade II and Blade: Trinity, were subsequently produced.

Plot
The movie begins with a flashback of a pregnant woman being hospitalized after being bitten by, as one of the doctors said, some kind of wild animal. In the process of trying to revive her, she gives birth to her baby boy and dies. The next scene proceeds to the present and continues with a seductive woman bringing an unsuspecting man to a strange nightclub. As the scene progresses, the man realizes something is amiss in the club yet cannot quite discern why. However, his fears are soon confirmed when blood begins to pour down from the sprinkler system (signifying blood raining from the heavens, one of the signs of the apocalypse, as profiled in "The Book of the Damned"). Then it is revealed that the club's patrons are vampires. Unable to escape from the hideous creatures which have now surrounded him, the young man seems doomed until one of the vampires notices an individual who has just entered, whom he calls "the daywalker."

Blade (Wesley Snipes) coolly enters the main dance floor, wreaking havoc amongst the vampire crowd. He immediately begins a no-holds-barred slaughter of the vampires, using a combination of martial arts and firearms to pick them off. Eventually, after fighting his way through numerous guards, Blade singles out one vampire in particular named Quinn (Donal Logue), nailing him to the wall with stakes and setting him alight. Upon hearing police sirens, Blade turns to Quinn and tells him "Give my regards to Frost", leaving a burnt Quinn along with the confused human as the only surviving inhabitants of his attack. The police take Quinn's crisp remains and send them for identification.

Doctor Karen Jenson (N'Bushe Wright) is the unlucky individual who performs the examination on Quinn's "corpse". During the examination, Quinn shockingly returns to life and feeds on both Jenson and her co-worker. However, Blade enters the morgue, having pre-supposed that Quinn would come back. He attacks the rejuvenated vampire, but is yet again forced to flee when the police arrive. As he makes to leave, Blade sees a bleeding Doctor Jensen lying on the floor, beckoning for him to help her. Due to the doctor's similarity to Blade's mother, he rescues Jensen and they head back to his base of operations. Quinn also escapes.

The scene changes to the meeting room of The House of Erebus, a vampire Shadow Council. The Elder Dragonetti (Udo Kier) discusses Blade's recent intensified attacks, and berates a young Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff) for his recklessness in running these clubs. During this scene, there is a short explanation of vampire politics - most vampires believe that they should more or less co-exist with the humans (maintaining a secret, Mafia-like power cabal), while renegades such as Frost believe they should rule them outright. It is also established that there is some stigma from "pure-blood" vampires (i.e. those who are born vampires) towards those born human and later turned into vampires.

The storyline switches back to Blade's lair, where Jenson meets Abraham Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), Blade's mentor and weapons technician in their fight against vampire-kind. Whistler delivers a small speech outlining Blade's past, their current mission and the nature of vampires, along with the power they hold in the outside world. Jenson decides to head home, although Blade reminds her it is a possibility that, due to Quinn's bite, she too may become a vampire. It is also established in this scene that Blade is a half-vampire, and requires a serum to prevent his need to drink blood. Jenson begins to work on a permanent cure for the vampire condition, using Whistler's research as her starting ground.

Upon arriving in her apartment, Jenson is assaulted by a policeman who is revealed to be a familiar - a human being who serves vampires (a collaborator, essentially, that after years of service might get rewarded by being turned into a vampire). Blade rescues Jenson, and later follows the familiar back to another club of Frost's, there discovering that Frost has plans involving a vampire blood-god named La Magra. The officer is killed by Frost at a party thrown by Deacon. Blade and Karen proceed to interrogate a comically obese vampire named Pearl. Blade and Karen kill Pearl with a UV-Lamp, searing the vampire's flesh and turning him to ash. Blade and Karen enter the vampire library but are ambushed by Quinn and Frost's henchmen, along with Mercury (Played by Arly Jover), a love interest for Deacon. Although Blade and Jenson are assaulted by Frost's private army, they escape due to the timely arrival of Whistler.

However, shortly after this, Frost makes a second strike. While Blade heads out to fetch the ingredients for his serum, Frost abducts Dr. Jenson from the lair and badly beats Whistler, leaving Quinn and the rest of his crew to finish him off. Upon Blade's return, he finds a taunting video left from Frost. In a poignant scene, Blade aids a bleeding Whistler in suicide (Blade hears a gunshot from outside, but does not see it happen). Stricken with grief, Blade vows to find and kill Frost. During this time, Frost kills Elder Dragonetti by subjecting him to a sunrise, and forcibly gathers the other members of the Shadow Council as "volunteers".

Blade arms himself for a raid on Frost's base, taking along with him specially-designed pneumatic syringes loaded with EDTA (normally used as a blood thinner to clear blood clots in the heart, which has a highly volatile reaction to vampire blood). During his attack on the base, Blade fights his way through a horde of vampires, yet discovers a horrible truth once he reaches the top floor of the building. He learns that his mother (the pregnant woman from the flashback scene) did not in fact die, and is now Frost's vampire mistress, as it was Frost himself who had bitten his mother during her pregnancy. Overcome with shock, Blade is easily subdued by the guards, who knock him out and take him to the Temple of Eternal Night, where Frost reveals the final stages of his plan - Using his resources and vast wealth, Frost has managed to rebuild the temple and intends to use it for La Magra's resurrection, a key ingredient of which is Blade's sunlight-resistant vampiric blood, along with the sacrifice of the other twelve council members (Ashe, Cianteto, Dragonetti, Faustinas who held two seats, Ligaroo, Lemure, Kobejitsu, Lobishomen, Von Esper, Upier, and Pallintine). Through the ritual Frost becomes an eminently more powerful vampire, far surpassing any other vampire's strength or speed, and gains the powers and attributes of each sacrificed member, including immunity to silver, instant regeneration of lost limbs, superior strength and speed, red bulging eyes (from the Kobejitsu tribe), and the ability to walk during the day (from Blade's blood).

With Dr. Jenson's intervention Blade breaks free from his sacrificial housing, killing his mother and nearly draining Dr. Jenson to renew his strength. After Blade disposes of Frost's minions, including the death of Quinn and Mercury, the two meet for one final climactic battle at the base of the temple. Upon discovering that Frost cannot be killed by any conventional means, Blade empties every single EDTA syringe he has on Frost (who is now constituted entirely of vampire blood), causing his body to swell and explode.

Climbing out from the underground temple, Karen offers Blade her cure. Blade refuses, because "curing" him of his need for blood would also remove his Daywalker powers and he would be unable to hunt vampires, and he requests that she make him a better serum, reminding her that "there's still a war going on". The final scene shows Blade in Moscow, hunting down and killing a Russian vampire who persuaded a human to follow him to a vampire club. This sets the stage for the second film.

Cast
When David S. Goyer first pitched the idea of doing a Blade movie, the executives of New Line felt there were only three actors who could possibly do the role, Wesley Snipes, Denzel Washington and Laurence Fishburne, but in Goyer's mind Snipes was always the perfect choice for the character of Blade.
 * Wesley Snipes as Blade: A half-vampire "daywalker" who hunts vampires.
 * N'Bushe Wright as Dr. Karen Jenson: A plucky hematologist who is bitten by a vampire.
 * Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost: An upstart vampire with great ambitions and influence.
 * Kris Kristofferson as Abraham Whistler: Blade's mentor and weaponsmith.
 * Donal Logue as Quinn: A cocky minion of Frost's, capable of surviving wounds that kill lesser vampires.
 * Udo Kier as Gitano Dragonetti: A vampire elder.
 * Sanaa Lathan as Vanessa Brooks: Blade's mother, who has become a vampire.
 * Arly Jover as Mercury: A fleet-footed vampire and Frost's lover.
 * Kevin Patrick Walls as Officer Krieger: A "familiar", or human servant, of Frost's.
 * Tim Guinee as Dr. Curtis Webb: Karen's ex-boyfriend who later becomes a decomposing vampire.
 * Traci Lords as Racquel: A seductive vampire who leads a man to the blood rave.

Production Notes and Cameos
Filming was in large part done in Los Angeles, with some scenes being shot in Death Valley.

Flat Earth Productions created the effects for the film.

Stan Lee originally had a cameo that was ultimately cut from the film. Although Blade is a Marvel Comics character, he was created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan. So far, Stan Lee only has had cameos in movies based on characters that he helped create.

David Goyer explains in the DVD commentary that when Karen Jenson wakes up at Blade's hideout after her initial attack and rescue by Blade, the script had her discover a jar with a vampire baby in it. The baby would be alive and used by Blade and Whistler as a guinea pig for testing out weapons to fight the vampires. The studio found this concept to be far too disturbing and refused to allow it.

The original ending included an eight-story monstrous version of La Magra. This was scrapped and re-done to the current known ending after many fans were disappointed when Stephen Dorff (Frost) was taken off-camera during the film's first screening. The original ending can be found in the special features section of the DVD.

An alternate ending can be found on the LaMagra section of the DVD where Karen Jenson points out a shadowy figure wrapped in rags on a distant rooftop. The character is supposed to be the Marvel Comic vampire Morbius.

La Magra
One of the major plots of the film was to prevent Frost from raising La Magra, the Vampire blood god, and causing a vampire apocalypse. When Frost successfully became La Magra he gained certain powers, making him almost invincible. Each ability he gained was from the twelve pure bloods (Ashe, Cianteto, Dragonetti, Faustinas who held two seats, Ligaroo, Lemure, Kobejitsu, Lobishomen, Von Esper, Upier, and Pallintine) sacrificed in the ritual. Some of those powers/abilities include: The majority of these powers were never seen or mentioned in the film since Frost's reign as La Magra was short-lived, but it is believed that since all of the pure bloods' spirits lived within Frost's body, he would have gained their abilities as well.
 * Far superior strength and speed from that of a regular vampire.
 * Red, bulging eyes.
 * Instant regeneration of lost limbs.
 * Impervious to silver due to Blade's blood
 * The ability to walk during the day due to Blade's blood.
 * The ability to turn any humans in his path into vampires instantly. (This is open to debate since Dr. Karen Jenson was in the same area where La Magra and Blade's battle took place and was not instantly turned, though it's a probability that La Magra needs to concentrate his powers in order to achieve the turning.)
 * The ability to control minds, matter and the elements. (Gained from the Faustinas tribe)
 * The ability to shed his skin, turning into a ball of fire to stalk his prey methodically. (Gained from the Ligaroo tribe.)

Connections to the Comic
The character Blade was created in 1973 for Marvel Comics by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan as a supporting character in the 1970s comic The Tomb of Dracula. The comic Blade used steak knives and was much more the everyman in his behavior and attitude. Though courageous and brave, he displayed flaws as well, such as an inability to get along with certain other supporting cast members and a hatred of vampires that bordered on fanaticism.

The character was not originally a "daywalker" but a human being immune to being turned into a vampire. Lacking the superhuman speed and strength of his undead quarry, he relied solely on his wits and skill until he was bitten by the character Morbius. The film version of Blade was updated for a 1990's audience and the comics character was subsequently modified to match. The film's version of Deacon Frost also differs greatly from his comic counterpart.

Box Office
Blade went to number one in both Spain and Australia for their opening weekends. With 200 theatres showing the film, Spain's cinema goers earned the film $1.5 million (US) in three days, whilst Australia earned $1 million from 132 cinemas showing the film. In the Flemish Region of Belgium, the film earned $323,000 from 20 cinemas, and the Netherlands earned the film $246,000 from 44 cinemas. France made $1.9 million in five days from 241 cinemas, but the film was less successful in Hong Kong (with $182,000 from 22 cinemas) and South Africa ($159,000 from 64 cinemas). The United Kingdom was more successful, taking in $5.7 million over 10 days, as was Brazil, making $855,000 in four days from 133 cinemas. The film was banned from showing in Malaysia, whom are widely considered to be the most conservative censors in Southeast Asia.

Critical Reaction
Reaction to Blade among critics was mixed, with the film earning a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4, writing: "Blade ... is a movie that relishes high visual style. It uses the extreme camera angles, the bizarre costumes and sets, the exaggerated shadows, the confident cutting between long shots and extreme closeups. It slams ahead in pure visceral imagery." Conversely, James Berardinelli gave the film 2½ stars out of 4, writing: "Blade has the capacity to dazzle, but it also will leave many viewers dissatisfied."

Impact
Blade was one of the first successful comic book based films to be released after the disastrous performance of Batman & Robin. Its success convinced Marvel to develop the X-Men film series as well as the Spider-Man film series.

Lawsuit
Marv Wolfman, the original creator of the Blade character, unsuccessfully sued Marvel and New Line for $50 million after the release of the film. He, along with artist Gene Colan, receives a "based on characters created by" credit in this film, but does not receive credit in the sequels or TV series.

Soundtrack
Blade is the soundtrack to the film of the same name. It was released on August 25, 1998 through TVT Records and featured a wide range of musical genres including hip hop, techno, electronic and alternative rock. The soundtrack managed to make it to #36 on the Billboard 200 and #28 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and featured one charting single "Wrek Tha Discotek" which peaked at #42 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.


 * Thanks to wikipedia for the article.


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