CBR: Director Albert Pyun Reflects on the Original "Captain America"

[CBR News]

With "Captain America: The First Avenger" now in theaters, CBR News tracked down Albert Pyun, director of the ill-fated "Captain America" film released on video in the early '90s


Full article here (http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=33432).

[Bo-Man]

I know this movie has got a bad rap, but I enjoyed the film and watched it last night on Scy-Fy. I think it a great cast. I think with a bigger budget it could have been a better film.. So Cap had fake ears on the mask... ok..LOL... I still think it was a good movie and when it hits DVD I plan on getting it.

[Schnitzy Pretzelpants]

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[jediracer]

I never really hated this movie. Sure it's cheesy, but most if not all superhero flicks of that time were.

[B9000]

Albert Pyun: "Well, I learned to make my movie and have control over the final cut! "Tales" is as perfect a Pyun film as I could make."

Really? He refers to his work as "Pyun" films?

This is where the acronym ROTFL comes in. I should also add at least one extra "F."

Captain America (1990) is a complete embarrassment. If he was going for new wave style "meta," he failed. If he was going for superhero, he failed. If he was going for "subversion" of the superhero, he failed. It's a hodgepodge of uninteresting scenes, with nearly zero cinematographic visual flare, preposterous and/or unexplained leaps in terms of plot construction, etc. The script is horrible, the directorial execution was horrible (I can't bring myself to bust on Ronny Cox, Ned Beatty, or Darren McGavin as they could not have known what they were in for) and yes, no doubt, the studio edit is horrible. But you have to feel for the studio editing hacks: "where to begin cutting?" they must have asked themselves!

It is a crapfest on so many levels, that if you wanted to do a dissertation on what a cinematic "crapfest" is, you could just analyze this crapfest.



CBR News: The film has become rather infamous for its unintentionally funny and bizarre twists, including Captain America faking an upset stomach to steal cars from friends at two different points in the movie, and Red Skull apparently being responsible for all the evils in the world, including the deaths of Martin Luther King and JFK. Do you shake your head at how the film ultimately turned out, or feel embarrassed over certain scenes?

Pyun: Only of the released cut.

CBR, that was the most polite question I think I may have ever read in an interview context. His answer speaks volumes.

He has no clue.

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

you know Albert Pyun has made some great cult films. most are bad, but quite a few can be considered genuinely good, like cyborg, infection, Vicious Lips , the sword and the sorcerer, nemesis, mean guns etc..

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I remember watching it in the 1990's and laughed hard at it. Even today I get some chuckles from what they did. I have a Comics Scene magazine where the film was getting close to release and they had pics from it.

[kalorama]

. . . He has no clue.

They guy was given no budget and a paper thin schedule to turn out a quickie space filler so the producer could hold onto the rights. (A) Gotta make do with what you've got. (B) You get what you pay for.

No use gettin' worked up over it.

[Jared]

If he were basically saying "I signed on to make a B-movie, had the bottom fall out on the budget and ended up with D movie", Ok, I get it. But he really sounds almost delusional in the way he talks about what *could* have been.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

If he were basically saying "I signed on to make a B-movie, had the bottom fall out on the budget and ended up with D movie", Ok, I get it. But he really sounds almost delusional in the way he talks about what *could* have been.

Well ...wouldn't you ? If your promised a budget , given a good script and cast people you think will be a good movie ...then suddenly its all dashed....ya would think it too ? Because its all what you dreamed that could have been.

I'm sure as a director it had to hurt really. To see the disastor the film became.

[Jared]

I don't think I'd claim that my B-movie with no-name actors would have exposed the futility of "superherosim" and redefined it. I also have a hard time believing they were ever seriously close to getting Lennon's "Imagine" in the soundtrack.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I don't think I'd claim that my B-movie with no-name actors would have exposed the futility of "superherosim" and redefined it. I also have a hard time believing they were ever seriously close to getting Lennon's "Imagine" in the soundtrack.

Well the film was supposed to come to theators in 1990. As one preview poster showed. And I have the Comics Scene where they promote the movie in 1989 with pics.

Well beyond the lead only having a few TV movie credits to his name in Matt Salinger. Ned Beatty , Darren McGavin , and Ronny Cox. All 3 had been in movies and tv roles all thru the 1970's and 80's before this and after.

I don't believe the piece about Imagine either. Because its not the Lennon estate who really controls the music publishing side of songs . I think thats where Pyun is caught in his lie. Michael Jackson owned the music publishing rights and would sell and allow songs for commercials , movies etc etc.

But as far as believing the film was intended to hit theators...yeah I believe that part.

[Cyke]

For all its budget woes, the costume isn't bad. Certainly much better than the 70s Cap and the Roger Corman F4 movie.

[Frank]

I always liked the origin of this one where the super-soldier experiment experiment gets used in both sides but with different results. And also Cap being stuck on a atomic rocket going to the white house and he does damage to the mecanism, saving the president but then the rocket is pushed into the Arctic. Also their Steve Rogers came off more mature and more like the Cap from the comics than the new flick.

The present day stuff was just unnecessary. As you stop the Red Skull being the Red Skull. Should have had more Cap fighting Nazies and the Skull in WWII.

[worstblogever]

I heard a rumor that it was responsible for a rash of car thefts caused by people faking bowel distress.