Adventures of Captain Marvel Blu-ray (KINO-Lorber)

[R. Cat]

DVDBeaver review of the upcoming restoration (Sept. release) here...

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film6/blu-ray_ ... lu-ray.htm" target="_blank

This will likely be the best restoration of this classic and the B&W scans look nice.

[MaryGH]

Am very happy this got the Blu-ray treatment, I have spoken to a few people online in other film forums who purchased a copy and viewed it, and they all like the restoration done on it.

[R. Cat]

There are now several reviews of the upcoming KINO release of Captain Marvel available and Brian Ordorf's subjective review can be sourced from Blu-Ray.com linked here...

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Adventure ... ay/170001/" target="_blank

While I haven't seen the newly restored BD yet, I've had the good fortune of watching a good print of this serial presented at a comic convention many years ago.

Given the context of 1941 Hollywood, this was a superbly filmed effort with stunning FX and stunt work. By today's action film standards serials may seem cheesy, but I defer to the judgment of fans like myself who are tolerant of old school cinema's limitations and can suspend disbelief given the age of the source material. I'm sure that Brian was trying to thread a needle by providing context to a more demanding modern audience, but characterizing some of the innovative FX and stunts in less than flattering terms seems unfair.

Based on Brian's review the PQ of this release Paramount's restoration team might've taken a little more time on the openning chapter credits and overall clean-up to make this a more impressive release in HD, but we haven't heard from the folks actually working on the project. It would be interesting to learn what they confronted in respect to Republic's 35mm film elements or the files they were provided under license. I'm not pre-judging anyone's efforts. The screen grabs look pretty good to me.

The CM costume and casting of Tom Tyler in the lead role is nothing short of flawless. While the serial's plot can certainly be quibbled with, the pacing, physical stunts, innovative cliffhangers and flying sequences are superb. Again, this is in the context of a serial filmed in B&W on a limited budget with a tight shooting schedule over 75 years ago. In short, this is very much a fun serial worthy of an honored place in any classic film fan's collection. I've purchased two copies, one for myself and another as a planned gift.

[bigshot]

The titles on serials are often dupes of dupes. That's just the way they are.

[R. Cat]

The titles on serials are often dupes of dupes. That's just the way they are.

If that's the case it's unfortunate as initial PQ impressions tend to linger longer in the memory than occasional blips in footage quality.

[Paul Penna]

The titles on serials are often dupes of dupes. That's just the way they are.

If that's the case it's unfortunate as initial PQ impressions tend to linger longer in the memory than occasional blips in footage quality.

Use of dupe footage for optical effects is just one of the technical issues that reviewers on DVD sites are typically ignorant of. And to preserve my sanity, I never read their personal opinions about the films themselves.

The opening title sequence of the first chapter of "Daredevils of the Red Circle" is one long optical, featuring closeups of the main players. The rest of the chapters feature simpler opening credits and are razor-sharp.

[radiotelefonia]

The cover is, surprisingly, lifted from a poster from Argentina.

[MaryGH]

The cover is, surprisingly, lifted from a poster from Argentina.

I've seen a lot of posters for "Adventures of Captain Marvel" from around the world:

Turkey:



India:



Pretty fascinating how widespread and popular this one film serial is

[R. Cat]

The cover is, surprisingly, lifted from a poster from Argentina.

Haven't seen KINO's finalized cover art yet; two versions have been on display for some months. IMO, the secondary market poster art leans a bit to the cheesy side. The original poster/lobby card art is more impressive evoking the dynamic feel of the serial. Who knows, perhaps KINO included a reversible cover insert as was done with the recently released Beggars of Life.

[MattBarry]

The cover is, surprisingly, lifted from a poster from Argentina.

Haven't seen KINO's finalized cover art yet; two versions have been on display for some months. IMO, the secondary market poster art leans a bit to the cheesy side. The original poster/lobby card art is more impressive evoking the dynamic feel of the serial. Who knows, perhaps KINO included a reversible cover insert as was done with the recently released Beggars of Life.

Yes, we've included reversible cover art for the CAPTAIN MARVEL Blu-ray.

This is the front cover art:


And the reverse:

[MaryGH]

Matt:

Beautiful job with the artwork, I'll be buying a Blu-ray copy soon, hopefully once we survive Hurricane Irma, which is headed straight for us.

On a more positive and personal note, I am very happy that "Adventures of Captain Marvel" got the Blu-ray treatment, it has been three years since I joined the Tom Tyler effort, with lots of wonderful things happening - including a number of his "lost films" being located, in addition to the blog and website I own and dedicated to him.

Can I PM you?

Thanks!

[radiotelefonia]

Here are two versions of the original poster.

[bigshot]

My mom lived down the hall from Billy Batson, Junior Coghlan. I would visit with him weekly when I visited my mom. He told me amazing stories. The ones about Tom Tyler were very sad. He didn't have a good end according to Frank.

[MaryGH]

My mom lived down the hall from Billy Batson, Junior Coghlan. I would visit with him weekly when I visited my mom. He told me amazing stories. The ones about Tom Tyler were very sad. He didn't have a good end according to Frank.

Tom Tyler had scleroderma - back in the mid 1940's when he was first diagnosed with it (around 1947) it was little understood - it was thought that cortisonal injections would help the skin. But what is worse, the disease affects the internal organs, not just the skin.

I did quite a bit of research on trying to learn why Tom had this autoimmune disease. I know there is a genetic component involved - but exposure to heavy metals is a strong component too. Toss in the factor that women are more likely than men to develop scleroderma...yet men are more likely to develop the more aggressive form of the disease. It affects male fertility (which may explain why he never had any children when he was married to Jean Martel for about 5 years).

When Tom was filming "Idaho Red" he had a dangerous accident on the set which may have triggered the whole thing.

http://triggertom.com/MuncieEveningPres ... 8-1929.jpg

It is very sad, he was only 50 when he died. I regret to say that in 2017, there is still no cure for scleroderma.

Tom Tyler was very unique, especially in Hollywood, he was on the outside looking in, yet had a very interesting and fascinating career. He was after all a heavyweight weightlifting champ and one of the handsomest men in Hollywood. He deserves to be remembered the way he wanted to be remembered.

[Jim Roots]

Did Captain Marvel's costume inspire that of the Flash?

Jim
(not much of a superhero-comics guy, I'm afraid)

[MattBarry]

Matt:

Beautiful job with the artwork, I'll be buying a Blu-ray copy soon, hopefully once we survive Hurricane Irma, which is headed straight for us.

On a more positive and personal note, I am very happy that "Adventures of Captain Marvel" got the Blu-ray treatment, it has been three years since I joined the Tom Tyler effort, with lots of wonderful things happening - including a number of his "lost films" being located, in addition to the blog and website I own and dedicated to him.

Can I PM you?

Thanks!

Thanks. Yes, please feel free to drop me a line.

[R. Cat]

Did Captain Marvel's costume inspire that of the Flash?

Jim
(not much of a superhero-comics guy, I'm afraid)

Perhaps, and there are ironies. C.C. Beck & Bill Parker created Captain Marvel (originally called Captain Thunder) in 1939/40 for Fawcett Publications. Their character was inspired by National/DC's phenomenally successful Superman long before DC's red suited Barry Allen Flash (1956) ever appeared. The "lightening bolt" emblem is contemporaneous to DC's Jay Garrick Flash (1939/40) character. It's possible that one may have inspired the other, but the timing is a close call and may have been independently conceived. Otherwise the costumes are quite different.

[Jim Roots]

Did Captain Marvel's costume inspire that of the Flash?

Jim
(not much of a superhero-comics guy, I'm afraid)

Perhaps, and there are ironies. C.C. Beck & Bill Parker created Captain Marvel (originally called Captain Thunder) in 1939/40 for Fawcett Publications. Their character was inspired by National/DC's phenomenally successful Superman long before DC's red suited Barry Allen Flash (1956) ever appeared. The "lightening bolt" emblem is contemporaneous to DC's Jay Garrick Flash (1939/40) character. It's possible that one may have inspired the other, but the timing is a close call and may have been independently conceived. Otherwise the costumes are quite different.

Thanks!

Not sure I would agree that "the costumes are quite different." Aside from the addition of a mask and the losing of a cape, the differences appear to be minor ones such as trimming and the angle of the lightning-bolt. The colours used are strikingly similar -- hardly even different in their exact shades of red and yellow.

I was never a fan of Superman, Batman, Spider-man, Fantastic Four, etc., preferring comic books that were actually funny comic books ... Sad Sack being a great favourite. (Sack was funny when you were an 8-year-old boy in the 1960s, trust me.) But among the superheroes, my preference was for a couple of the less-popular, nowadays-hot ones: the Flash and Green Lantern. No idea why. Think I just liked the colours of their outfits!

Jim

[R. Cat]

Did Captain Marvel's costume inspire that of the Flash?

Jim
(not much of a superhero-comics guy, I'm afraid)

Perhaps, and there are ironies. C.C. Beck & Bill Parker created Captain Marvel (originally called Captain Thunder) in 1939/40 for Fawcett Publications. Their character was inspired by National/DC's phenomenally successful Superman long before DC's red suited Barry Allen Flash (1956) ever appeared. The "lightening bolt" emblem is contemporaneous to DC's Jay Garrick Flash (1939/40) character. It's possible that one may have inspired the other, but the timing is a close call and may have been independently conceived. Otherwise the costumes are quite different.

Thanks!

Not sure I would agree that "the costumes are quite different." Aside from the addition of a mask and the losing of a cape, the differences appear to be minor ones such as trimming and the angle of the lightning-bolt. The colours used are strikingly similar -- hardly even different in their exact shades of red and yellow.

I was never a fan of Superman, Batman, Spider-man, Fantastic Four, etc., preferring comic books that were actually funny comic books ... Sad Sack being a great favourite. (Sack was funny when you were an 8-year-old boy in the 1960s, trust me.) But among the superheroes, my preference was for a couple of the less-popular, nowadays-hot ones: the Flash and Green Lantern. No idea why. Think I just liked the colours of their outfits!

Jim

Sorry if there was any confusion. I was specifically referring to the Jay Garrick "Flash" costume circa '39/'40. There is very little similarity between Jay Garrick's blue/red Flash costume with it's upward firing lightening bolt and Captain Marvel's predominantly red outfit with downward firing lightening bolt. You're indeed correct about there being more similarity (sans mask/hood & cape differences) between DC's reenvisioned 50's era Flash (aka Barry Allen) and the original Fawcett (C.C. Beck) Captain Marvel character's costume.

BTW, K-L's Cap'n Marvel is now officially flying to the rescue on Blu. Wooh-hoo! How's that for a segue?

[MaryGH]

Tom as a silent film star...

...and as Captain Marvel!

[MaryGH]

This review of "Adventures of Captain Marvel" was written by a friend of mine and another prominent Tom Tyler fan:

http://thereminder.com/dining/movieguid ... -marvel-f/