Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)

A LITTLE OVERRATED BY ENTHUSIESTS.

This 12 chapter dvd often gets compared to the Superman and/or Batman dvd serials. Personally I see no difference in picture quality for any of these. They all look great. I still feel the Superman and Batman serials are more exciting. But the one thing Captain Marvel has in it's favor is, it's roughly one hour shorter than the other serials mentioned. Therefore it doesn't get bogged down with wasted filler that many other serials seem to suffer from. Unlike the Superman/ Batman serials there is no voice-over telling you to come back next week. Recaps are done in written form. Although he has similar abilities to Superman, Captain Marvel does not have Superman's patience or compassion. Just get this disc and you'll see what I mean. As for the DVD itself. It's all 12 chapters on one disc, a trailer, a play all mode or chapter select. English only language track and no subtitles. But it is closed caption encoded if your dvd player and tv are set up for it. I recommend using chapter select over play all. Here's why. After a chapter is over you have to sit through the Artisan Entertainment sign. Then you have to wait for the Republic Pictures logo with the eagle on the mountain. Then you have to endure the warning page. This happens in between every chapter and believe me it's very time consuming. Chapter select avoids all that and goes straight to the actual production. August 25, 2008

Adventures of Captain Marvel.......

Out of all the serials I've seen from back in the day, this serial has to be my all-time favorite(yes, even over Superman). This 12 chapter serial, directed by William Witney and John English for Republic Pictures, starred Tom Tyler as Captain Marvel. Tom, as some of you may know, starred in the '43 serial of The Phantom. The serial, itself, was Republic's first foray into comic book adaptions(not including comic strip Dick Tracy)and was considered having the best production values and screenwriting of it's day. Having even better production that the Superman serials. The Golden Scorpion is found during an expedition to Siam, which is also where young journalist Billy Batson meets the wizard Shazam while trapped in a crypt. Shazam grants him the ability to change into Captain Marvel in order to prevent the Golden Scorpion from falling into the wrong hands. Thus begins our story and a good one at that. The serial also stars Frank Coghlan Jr., William Benedict, Louise Curry, Robert Strange, Harry Worth, Bryant Washburn & John Davidson(no, not that John Davidson, lol).

It's definitely worth getting if you're into movie serials like I am. One of the better ones of the day.

August 11, 2008

Captain Marvel (DVD)

This is one of my favorite movie serials and I was thrilled when I saw it was on DVD, overall I give the transfer high marks for the quality of the print though some scenes where a bit grainy. The DVD is also short on extras as in none related to the serial other than the trailer. My main beef with this one is if you accidentally stop the serial by using the stop button do not press it a second time. If you do you will have to watch the rest of the serial one chapter at a time, after which you are bounced out to the menu asking which chapter to play next. This is ridiculous, but as I said it was my main complaint, which isn't that bad of an inconvenience to have this one on DVD. It is why I gave it 4 stars and not 5. Now my number of stars is how I see this when measured against other cliff hangers. July 30, 2008

Captain Marvel

One of the best serial I've seen, if not the best.
Escapism at it best.It has all the elements that kept us coming back for more as preteens and seniors citizens. June 27, 2008

Captain Marvel takes no prisoners!

The Adventures of Captain Marvel is an outstanding example of the magic the old serials could produce. No wonder folks used to go to the movies every week like clockwork.

Captain Marvel produces real thrills 67 years after its release. The masterful direction and editing of these 12 chapters, supplied by the kings of serials William Witney and John English, don't have an ounce of fat or dead air despite a 3 ½ hour length. The special effects are simply outstanding and jaw dropping, not losing a bit of punch even in this deep into CGI domination. The use of miniatures are perfectly edited with actual explosions and back screens to tremendous effect (explosions and cave-ins have actual thunder and weight!); and when Captain Marvel flies . . . well, I have watched a few scenes over and over, and despite an explanation on the back of the DVD box, I still can't figure out how certain scenes looked so darn real. No kidding, it looked more realistic even than the sexist CGI in the newest Superman movie.

Tom Tyler is perfectly cast as the world's most powerful mortal. He had a true superhero's face and voice, and he must have been a tremendously powerful man. In more than one scene he lifts men over his head, supporting them with nothing but his arms, and walks with them. He makes it look perfectly natural. I particularly loved Frank Coghlan Jr.'s performance as Billy Batson. Anyone that thinks Billy was a wimp must not have noticed how many times over the twelve chapters he was beaten unconscious, only to come back for more with his engaging, sideways grin and bouncy gate.

It is easy to see why this serial rates so highly in the pantheon of great popular entertainment.

Finally, it should be noted (with pleasure) that the Captain Marvel of this serial was not hindered by the strict moral code exhibited by Superman or other superheroes. No-siree. The Captain routinely throws the Scorpion's thugs off buildings and cliffs, sending them screeching to their deaths, and has no problem whatever in beating information out of folks. I think my favorite moment was when Captain Marvel pushes a captive's face ever closer to a bed of nails until he starts jabbering information for all he's worth (Tyler's face in these moments holds all the sympathy of a hawk with a mouse in its talons). Heck, in one scene while waking forward through a hail of gunfire, bullets ricocheting off his chest, he wears a grin of pure, sadistic anticipation.

This is one superhero that really loved his work.

As for the technical details - great, clear picture and very good sound.

Most highly recommended. --Mykal Banta
May 10, 2008

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