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Captain America and the Red Skull by Problem Eliminator

Problem Eliminator

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Original film name: Captain America: The First Avenger
Fanedit name:
Captain America and the Red Skull

Original running time: 124 min
Fanedit running time: 108 min
Time cut: 16 min

Other sources: Captain America: The First Avenger Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Alan Silvestri)

Synopsis: Steve Rogers is transformed into Captain America, the star-spangled super soldier who must save the world from the mad Red Skull, leader of the Nazi deep science division Hydra.

Intention: Captain America and the Red Skull presents a self-contained story that is higher on drama, cohesion, and tension, by making two major changes: Cap is no longer frozen and awoken in the present day, and Red Skull’s presence is edited so he feels more mysterious and formidable. In addition, the aftermath of Bucky’s death is recut for greater emotional impact, and the climax is recut to give Steve a more logical reason for crashing the plane.

Poster:

Faneditorg.png



Full change list:

Note: This fanedit is not in continuity with The Avengers or the wider "Marvel Cinematic Universe" and will instead be followed by a direct sequel fanedit called Captain America and the Winter Soldier.

00.00.00 - Added fanedit disclaimer.
00.00.45 - Cut Cap frozen in present day. Revealing the film’s ending drains tension from the story.
00.00.55 - Extended “Tonsberg, Norway” location title.
00.14.28 - Moved scene of Zola and Schmidt discussing the blue cube so that it opens scene of Schmidt killing Hitler’s check-in committee (new position is 00.37.08). The scene's original placement distracts from Steve’s story early on in the film.
00.15.30 - Trimmed "Much better" from Phillips' line "And because they are gonna get better... Much better." The joke is funnier when it's subtler.
00.16.52 - Rearranged shots so Steve unhinges the flagpole before being told to fall back in line.
00.20.11 - Trimmed Erskine telling Steve about Schmidt, mainly to remove one of the strange cutaways of Schmidt.
00.31.11 - Moved reaction shot of Stark so he removes his sunglasses after Steve's new body is revealed (new position is 00.31.22).
00.32.07 - Cut Erskine noticing the spy before the explosion at the lab, which ruined the surprise of the explosion.
00.38.17 - Cut Zola and Schmidt testing the blue cube. This scene makes too much of the blue cube’s power, which barely affects the plot or gives Hydra any real advantage. The cube’s power is now first seen when Schmidt harnesses its energy to kill Hitler’s check-in committee.
00.40.37 - Inserted shot of blue cube machine powering down after use.
00.52.31 - Cut Schmidt talking to Zola at factory, so his confrontation with Steve at factory later is a surprise.
00.52.40 - Cut Dugan’s line “You know Fritz, one of these days I’m gonna have a stick of my own.” I don't know why Dugan calls this guard "Fritz." It's confusing, so I cut it.
00.56.15 - Cut Schmidt watching security cameras at factory.
00.56.42 - Cut Schmidt activating self-destruct at factory.
00.56.42 - Added “Self-destruct sequence initiated” voiceover when Zola is running to escape the factory.
00.57.06 - Cut Schmidt retrieving blue cube at factory.
00.59.20 - Cut Steve hitting Schmidt a second time on the factory catwalk. The scuffle now ends with Schmidt knocking Steve over, which makes Schmidt look more formidable.
01.00.04 - Cut Steve asking Schmidt why he’s running. This line makes Schmidt look like a coward, and the Red Skull reveal has more impact if Steve is speechless.
01.10.56 - Cut Peggy’s line “You still don’t know a bloody thing about women.” Nothing we can’t figure out ourselves.
01.12.45 - Moved Red Skull driving to the destroyed Hydra base so that it ends the war montage (new position is 01.14.17).
01.13.41 - Cut shot of Cap looking concerned directly after the cameraman sees his photo of Peggy. This is a strange thing to include in a film that's being screened. The photo of Peggy should just feel incidental.
01.14.17 - Cut second slow motion shot of Cap jumping off exploding tank. This felt excessive.
01.14.21 - Cut Red Skull screaming “You are failing!” so he doesn't look pathetic.
01.16.48 - Cut Zola on train. We shouldn’t see him before the heroes capture him.
01.17.09 - See above.
01.17.37 - See above.
01.18.18 - After Bucky’s death, rearranged scene order: 1) Steve mourning; 2) Red Skull speech; 3) Zola interrogation; 4) War room. This new scene order gives Bucky’s death more weight.
01.19.53 - Cut Peggy’s line “You won’t be alone” so that bar scene flows into Red Skull’s speech better.
01.20.53 - Trimmed Zola interrogation so that we enter the scene when Philips sits down.
01.22.12 - Cut Phillips’ line “That would be awkward” during interrogation. Felt like an anachronistic use of the word “awkward.”
01.22.36 - Cut Zola talking about Schmidt during interrogation. Zola has no reason to be so melodramatic after being so mousy for the rest of the film, and we learn everything he says elsewhere in the film.
01.22.37 - Recut war room scene to flow better following previous scene.
01.25.10 - Added short quote of “Rain Fire Upon Them” music when Cap is escorted into Hydra base.
01.25.48 - Cut Red Skull’s line “But he gave you everything.” Erskine didn’t give Steve a stronger serum – the serum was simply unperfected when Schmidt used it.
01.26.03 - Added bass hits when Red Skull punches Cap, to make punches seem harder.
01.28.22 - Cut Cap's line "You're late." This is a very cliched callback to Peggy saying the same line earlier.
01.28.39 - Cut pilots boarding the Valkyrie. In this edit, the bombs are not flown – they are launched automatically. This change gives Cap a better reason to crash the Valkyrie.
01.29.19 - Cut Cap swinging on chain. This is weirdly edited and the slow motion looks cheap.
01.31.20 - Cut Cap fighting pilots and piloting a bomb.
01.31.20 - Inserted Red Skull setting timers for the bomb launch.
01.31.50 - Cut Red Skull’s line “You don’t give up, do you?” He should be focused on trying to kill Cap, and this callback is way too on-the-nose.
01.31.58 - Tightened editing in Cap vs. Red Skull fight to give it more impact.
01.32.13 - See above.
01.33.57 - Recoloured shot of Red Skull so that blinding light is momentarily red rather than blue.
01.34.29 - Inserted shot of bomb labeled “New York.”
01.34.51 - Inserted launch countdown when Cap is piloting the Valkyrie.
01.36.37 - Inserted launch countdown and shot of bomb bay door opening.
01.39.22 - Cut Cap waking up in present day. This scene diminishes the drama of his sacrifice, spoils the charm of the film’s period setting, and has no thematic relation to the rest of the story.
01.41.41 - Replaced “Captain America: The First Avenger” in titles sequence with faneditor credit and fanedit name.
01.48.14 - Replaced “Captain America will return in The Avengers” tag with “Captain America will return” tag.
01.48.28 - Cut Avengers trailer after end credits. This movie shouldn’t feel like set-up for another movie.

Preview videos:


 
Lots of great ideas. I'd be very interested in seeing it.

Just my two cents, but I do think Stark finding the cube underwater and Cap waking up in present day are important set ups for The Avengers that shouldn't be cut. But of course the decision is yours.
 
I think making this look like a 1940.1950 era movie would be awesome. Have no mention of The Avengers at all
 
I too think it would be fun to remove it from the modern Avengers universe and focus the movie as a complete period piece.
 
If intended as an alternate version (not a replacement version), yes I agree a standalone period piece movie approach would be really fun.


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The Avengers stuff could work as a post credits scene or as a one shot completely on its own.
 
Reading the cutlist, there's a lot of interesting ideas on how to improve the pacing and tension within the film. Though, there are some things I notice.
Problem Eliminator said:
War Montage:
Edited so Red Skull is more involved.

 
0:17-0:25 is a werid sequence of events. We see Cap and Commandos storming a base, Cap knocking down goons, the Commandos shooting and running out of a building...and then the building exploding and Cap riding his motorcycle out of the building? Feels like a lot is happening at too quick a pace, or at least the explosion does.

1:46 we see Cap jumping in the AIR, then 1:47 on the GROUND fighting goons, then back to jumping in the air at 1:51?

When cutting to Red Skull driving to the destruction, there needs to be a better transition. Maybe, use the exploding tank behind Cap to cover the frame with smoke, then as the smoke dissipates move to Red Skull arriving on the scene.
 
Problem Eliminator said:
Crashing the Plane:
Edited so the bombs aren’t flown, they are launched automatically. I’ve also recut Cap’s fights with the goons and Red Skull. This clip doesn’t have sound until 2 min in – I will probably have to redo the fight SFX from scratch, as the 5.1 doesn't have a clean centre channel. MAybe the action shouldn't be as fast during this montage

Good idea using the "setting up bombs" footage from earlier to get rid of the "manned bombs" plot thread" at 0:26-0:30. However, when Red Skull is flying, you can clearly see him steering making adjustments with his LEFT hand, and when we see the countdown he's making adjustments with his RIGHT hand (which should be steering the plane. Maybe flip the shot of Red Skull's face so the hands match?

Problem Eliminator said:
Scene re-order:
Death of Bucky / Mourning Bucky / Hail HYDRA / Interrogation / War Room

(Original order is Death of Bucky / Interrogation / Hail HYDRA / Mourning Bucky / War Room)

This video was great. You really feel or the loss of Bucky the way these scenes play out, something that was lost in the original cut.
 
Glad to see some interest here!

Masirimso17 said:
If intended as an alternate version (not a replacement version), yes I agree a standalone period piece movie approach would be really fun.

It would certainly be a replacement version for me. I wouldn't expect anyone else to view it that way, though. I think the framing device in The First Avenger undercuts that film's story for the sake of the next "episode." (I may keep Stark finding the cube underwater - at least it doesn't contradict the film's period setting.)

Giant aside: If I were to keep editing the MCU after Cap 1, I would use Cap waking up and adjusting to his new life in his next appearance. The problem is, The Avengers really doesn't have time for that idea (even if I reinserted Cap's deleted scenes), which IMO makes the film a poor follow-up to Cap 1 (despite the film's many other virtues). I have thought of doing a follow-up called Captain America and the Winter Soldier that would ignore The Avengers, open with Cap waking up, explore the "man out of time" idea, and drop references to the wider MCU (heresy to some, but I don't feel beholden to the MCU, as I think most of the films are only average).

But all this aside... When I work on Cap 1, I want to focus on telling that film's story as best I can - not on setting up the next one. Which is how it should have been made in the first place.

Nic said:
0:17-0:25 is a werid sequence of events. We see Cap and Commandos storming a base, Cap knocking down goons, the Commandos shooting and running out of a building...and then the building exploding and Cap riding his motorcycle out of the building? Feels like a lot is happening at too quick a pace, or at least the explosion does.

1:46 we see Cap jumping in the AIR, then 1:47 on the GROUND fighting goons, then back to jumping in the air at 1:51?

Amusingly, all of that is how the original film is cut. It's a weird montage. I may try to recut some of this material, but I may just leave it alone.

Nic said:
Good idea using the "setting up bombs" footage from earlier to get rid of the "manned bombs" plot thread" at 0:26-0:30. However, when Red Skull is flying, you can clearly see him steering making adjustments with his LEFT hand, and when we see the countdown he's making adjustments with his RIGHT hand (which should be steering the plane. Maybe flip the shot of Red Skull's face so the hands match?

Good catch. I'll see what I can do.

Nic said:
This video was great. You really feel or the loss of Bucky the way these scenes play out, something that was lost in the original cut.

Thanks! I agree that Bucky's death doesn't hit very hard in the original.
 
I've been working on this edit some this week. It looks like it will clock in at 108 minutes (including end credits). Most of the video editing is done, but I need to even out the audio levels and fix some minor syncing issues. I've updated the change list at the top of thread, if you'd like to see how the edit is looking right now. Some of my original ideas have been scrapped (e.g. cutting some of the bad CGI wasn't easy to do, and editing Red Skull into the war montage wasn't working) but I'm happy to say my core ideas seem to be working quite well.

I've rendered some updated preview videos, which are below.

Blue Cube:
  • Moved Zola and Schmidt discussing the blue cube so that it opens scene of Schmidt killing Hitler’s check-in committee. The scene's original placement distracts from Steve’s story early on in the film.
  • Cut Zola and Schmidt testing the blue cube. This scene makes too much of the blue cube’s power, which doesn’t really come to anything. The cube’s power is now first seen when Schmidt harnesses its energy to kill Hitler’s check-in committee.


Red Skull Reveal:
  • Cut all scenes of Schmidt at Hydra factory (talking to Zola, activating self-destruct, retrieving blue cube) before Steve arrives. We first see Schmidt when Steve runs into him on the catwalk, which makes his presence a surprise.
  • Cut Steve hitting Schmidt a second time on the catwalk. The scuffle now ends with Schmidt knocking Steve over, which makes Schmidt look more formidable.
  • Cut Steve asking Schmidt why he’s running. This line makes Schmidt look like a coward, and the Red Skull reveal has more impact if Steve is speechless.


Bomb Launch:
  • Recut climax so the bombs are not flown - they are launched automatically. This change is meant to give Cap a better reason for crashing the Valkyrie.
  • No pilots board the Valkyrie and Cap doesn't pilot a bomb.
  • Inserted Red Skull setting timers for the bomb launch and a launch countdown when Cap is piloting the Valkyrie.


As always, any feedback is welcome. :)
 
Woohoo! Glad you're tackling this film. Particularly the reason for crashing the plane!
First clip - cut out the Steve looking in awe at himself - go straight from the agent to Hydra HQ. As it stands now you are expecting soething about Steve - instead you go to Hyrda.
The transition to the Nazi investigators is brilliant. Works really well putting those scenes together!

Second clip - brilliant.

Third clip - oh my. SO much more emotionally stirring. Awesome job!

Well done! :-)
 
dangermouse said:
First clip - cut out the Steve looking in awe at himself - go straight from the agent to Hydra HQ. As it stands now you are expecting soething about Steve - instead you go to Hyrda.

Hmm. Usually, the film cuts between these two shots:

The original film cuts from Steve looking at his body to the Hydra base, too. I think the transition works better in context - we've just seen the super soldier procedure and Steve test driving his new powers, then we move on. I'll try ending the scene with the spy saying "Hail Hydra" to see how it plays. It might feel too rushed... We'll see.

dangermouse said:
Second clip - brilliant.

Thank you!

dangermouse said:
Third clip - oh my. SO much more emotionally stirring. Awesome job!

I'm glad to hear it worked so well for you. Discussing this scene with you in my "fanedit ideas" thread was very helpful.
 
addiesin said:
The Avengers stuff could work as a post credits scene or as a one shot completely on its own.

If it was combined with the deleted scene from *The Avengers* that shows Cap trying to adjust to the modern world, it'd be a nice one shot. Chronologically it'd be just before the start of *The Avengers*.
 
Yup, might work better in context. I didn't know it did that in the original, and it certainly didn't stand out there. So it's probably just seeing it as an isolated test clip that made it seem weird.
 
Edit released and thread moved. Congrats :) .

32436581346_760d9b3335_o.jpg
 
Thanks, TM2YC. Also, good to see the Captain keeping up the fight there. ;)

I'd like to acknowledge a few instances where I lifted either ideas or the execution of ideas from AEMovieguy's fanedit, the "Steve Rogers Cut" - thanks to him for the inspiration:

- Rearranged shots so Steve unhinges the flagpole before being told to fall back in line. (idea and execution - AEMovieguy)
- Moved reaction shot of Stark so he removes sunglasses after Steve's new body is revealed. (idea and execution - AEMovieguy)
- Cut Zola on train. We shouldn’t see him before the heroes capture him. (execution - AEMovieguy)

To those who have PMed to inquire about the edit, I'm still uploading. It's taking a bit longer than I expected. I'll let you know when it's ready. Anyone else who is interested, feel free to shoot me a PM. I'm excited to read your reviews!
 
Looks interesting! With your animated edits background I was hoping this was an animated feature when I saw the cool title :D
 
Update: Edit is now uploaded.

Kal-El said:
Looks interesting! With your animated edits background I was hoping this was an animated feature when I saw the cool title :D

Sadly not. However, I hope to do more animated edits in the future.
 
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