Review by Gary Tooze

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Audio:

• A Look Back at Captain America (20:05 in 1080i)

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Description: In World War II, America needed a hero. This hero was Captain America. During WWII one brave soldier, Steve Rogers, underwent experiments that effectively turn him into a super-soldier known as Captain America! Not all was well however, and during Captain America's attempt to thwart German Nazi soldiers, 'Red Skull,' a new nemesis, freezes Captain America until he emerges in 1990, only to find that Red Skull has changed his identity and has plans to kidnap the President of the United States!

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After a scientist creates superhuman warrior Red Skull for the Nazis during WW II, she defects and does the same for the U.S.-- injecting a polio victim to transform him into the titular heroic beefcake. Forty years after a confrontation which left Captain America frozen in Alaska, he is found and thawed and must take on Red Skull once again.

 

 

The Film:

Excerpt from Exploitation Retrospect located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

The 1990 film version of Captain America inexplicably gets a release on Blu-ray from Shout Factory. Why this film as opposed to 1000's of other titles is... perplexing. It looks quite average. The 1080P image quality shows some minor grain and a bit of noise. This is only single-layered and transferred in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Colors gain a shade of vibrancy - most notable is the Red Skull character. Contrast is reasonably modest but this is all in-line with how it probably looked theatrically. This Blu-ray is probably exporting an accurate image, but the visuals lack depth and won't impress many for their HD quality.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The audio is rendered via a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1708 kbps and is about as unremarkable as the image. There are some effects that have a more robust quality and Barry Goldberg's score suits the era (actually more 80's - very 'pop' related) and flamboyant in the superhero-mode. There are no subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

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BOTTOM LINE:
Sure this is weak, but it's not that baaaad. There are good supporting players in Ronny Cox, Ned Beatty, and Darren McGavin. I think the major flaw here is the script. The Blu-ray is nothing special in terms of film or transfer and we can only recommend if you are willing to accept a modest product. It's only redeeming feature is that it leans to being a 40's-50's wholesome feel and that part I appreciated. But overall - not recommended! 

Gary Tooze

May 14th, 2013