document_title: The Wiz (film)

question_text: who played the scarecrow in the wiz (all black wiz of oz)

question_tokens: who played the scarecrow in the wiz ( all black wiz of oz )

text: The Wiz (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: A crowded Thanksgiving dinner brings a host of family together in a small Harlem apartment, where a shy, twenty-four-year-old schoolteacher named Dorothy (Diana Ross) lives with her Aunt Em (Theresa Merritt) and Uncle Henry (Stanley Greene). Extremely introverted, Dorothy is teased by Aunt Em for never having been south of 125th Street, as she has delayed moving out to start her own, independent life as an adult.

text: While Dorothy cleans up after the meal, Dorothy's dog Toto runs out the open kitchen door into a violent snowstorm. She succeeds in retrieving him, but finds herself trapped in the storm. A magical whirlwind made of snow – the work of Glinda, the Good Witch of the South (Lena Horne) – materializes and transports them to the realm of Oz. Released by the snowstorm, Dorothy smashes through an electric "Oz" sky sign as she descends from the atmosphere, and which falls upon and kills Evermean, the Wicked Witch of the East who rules Munchkinland. As a result, Dorothy frees the Munchkins who populate the playground into which she lands; they had been transformed by Evermean into graffiti for "tagging" the park walls.

text: Dorothy soon meets the Munchkins' main benefactress, Miss One, the Good Witch of the North (Thelma Carpenter), a magical "numbers runner" who gives Evermean's pretty charmed silver slippers to her by teleporting them on Dorothy's feet. However, Dorothy declares she doesn't want the shoes and desperately just wants to get home to Aunt Em. Miss One urges her to follow the yellow brick road to the capital Emerald City and seek the help of the mysterious "Wizard" who she believes holds the power to send Dorothy back to Harlem. After telling her to never take the silver shoes off, the good witch and the Munchkins then disappear and Dorothy is left to search for the road on her own.

text: The next morning, Dorothy happens upon a Scarecrow (Michael Jackson) made of garbage and rags, and saves him from being viciously teased and picked on by a group of humanoid crows and whom she befriends. The two of them discover the yellow brick road and happily begin to follow it together. The Scarecrow hopes the Wizard might be able to give him the one thing he feels that he lacks – a brain. Along the way to the Emerald City, Dorothy, Toto, and the Scarecrow meet the Tin Man (Nipsey Russell), in an abandoned early 20th-century amusement park and the Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross), a vain dandy banished from the jungle who hid inside one of the stone lions in front of the New York Public Library. The Tin Man and Lion join them on their quest to find the Wizard, hoping to gain a heart and courage, respectively. Before the five adventurers reach the Emerald City, they must face obstacles such as a deadly subway where they meet a crazy subway peddler (a homeless man) who unleashes evil puppets in his control. They narrowly escape the subway and then encounter the "Poppy" Girls (a reference to the poppy field from the original story), flamboyant prostitutes who attempt to put Dorothy, Toto, and the Lion into an eternal sleep with magic poppy perfume.

text: Finally reaching the Emerald City (an analogue of the real-life World Trade Center plaza), the quintet gains passage into the city because of Dorothy's ownership of the silver slippers; they marvel at the spectacle of the city and its sophisticated, fashion forward dancers. They are granted an audience with the Wiz (Richard Pryor), who lives at the very top of the Towers. He appears to them as a giant fire-breathing metallic head. He will only grant their wishes if they kill the sister of the Wicked Witch of the East, Evillene (Mabel King), the Wicked Witch of the West, who runs a sweatshop in the underground sewers of Oz. Before they can reach her domain, Evillene learns of their quest to kill her and sends out the Flying Monkeys (a motorcycle gang) to kidnap them.

text: After a long chase, the Flying Monkeys succeed in capturing their targets and bring them back to Evillene. Vengeful for Dorothy having killed her sister, she dismembers the Scarecrow, flattens the Tin Man, and tortures the Lion in hopes of making Dorothy give her the silver shoes. When she threatens to throw Toto into a fiery cauldron, Dorothy nearly gives in until the Scarecrow hints to her to activate a fire sprinkler switch, which she does. The sprinklers put out the fire but also melt Evillene. She is flushed down into her throne, the lid of which slams shut like a toilet. With Evillene finally gone, her spells lose their power: the Winkies are freed from their permanent costumes (revealing attractive humans underneath) and their sweatshop tools disappear. They rejoice in dance and praise Dorothy as their emancipator. The Flying Monkeys give her and her friends a triumphant ride back to the Emerald City.

text: Upon arriving, the quartet takes a back door into the Wizard's quarters and discovers that he is a "phony". The "great and powerful Oz" is actually Herman Smith, a failed politician from Atlantic City, New Jersey, who was transported to Oz when a balloon he was flying to promote his campaign to become the city dogcatcher was lost in a storm. The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion are distraught that they will never receive their respective brain, heart, and courage, but Dorothy makes them realize that they already have had these things all along. Just as it seems as if she will never be able to get home, Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, appears and implores her to find her way home by searching within and using the magic of the silver slippers by clicking the heels together three times. After thanking Glinda and saying goodbye to her friends, she takes clicks her heels together three times,She is then back near home with Toto in her arms and walks into the apartment.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Diana Ross as Dorothy
Michael Jackson as Scarecrow
Nipsey Russell as Tin Man
Ted Ross as Cowardly Lion
Richard Pryor as Herman Smith/The Wiz
Lena Horne as Glinda the Good Witch of the South
Mabel King as Evillene/The Wicked Witch of the West
Thelma Carpenter as Freida Winzer/Miss One
Theresa Merritt as Shelby Gale/Aunt Em
Stanley Greene as Uncle Henry

text: Music[edit]

text: All songs written by Charlie Smalls, unless otherwise noted.

text:
"Overture Part I" (instrumental)
"Overture Part II" (instrumental)
"The Feeling That We Had" - Aunt Em and Chorus
"Can I Go On?" (Quincy Jones, Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson) - Dorothy
"Tornado"/"Glinda's Theme" (instrumental)
"He's the Wizard" - Miss One and Chorus
"Soon As I Get Home"/"Home" - Dorothy
"You Can't Win, You Can't Break Even" - Scarecrow and The Four Crows
"Ease on Down the Road #1" - Dorothy and Scarecrow
"What Would I Do If I Could Feel?" - Tin Man
"Slide Some Oil to Me" - Tin Man
"Ease on Down the Road #2" - Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Tin Man
"I'm a Mean Ole Lion" - Cowardly Lion
"Ease on Down the Road #3" - Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion
"Poppy Girls Theme" (Anthony Jackson) (instrumental)
"Be a Lion" - Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion
"End of the Yellow Brick Road" (instrumental)
"Emerald City Sequence" (music: Jones, lyrics: Smalls) - Chorus
"Is This What Feeling Gets? (Dorothy's Theme)" (music: Jones, lyrics: Ashford & Simpson) - Dorothy (vocal version not used in film)
"Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News" - Evillene and the Winkies
"Everybody Rejoice/A Brand New Day" (Luther Vandross) - Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Chorus
"Believe in Yourself (Dorothy)" - Dorothy
"The Good Witch Glinda" (instrumental)
"Believe in Yourself (Reprise)" - Glinda the Good Witch
"Home (Finale)" - Dorothy

text: Production[edit]

text: Pre-production and development[edit]

text: The Wiz was the eighth feature film produced by Motown Productions, the film/TV division of Berry Gordy's Motown Records label. Gordy originally wanted the teenaged future R&B singer Stephanie Mills, who had played the role on Broadway, to be cast as Dorothy. When Motown star Diana Ross asked Gordy if she could be cast as Dorothy, he declined, saying that Ross—then 33 years old—was too old for the role.[10] Ross went around Gordy and convinced executive producer Rob Cohen at Universal Pictures to arrange a deal where he would produce the film if Ross was cast as Dorothy. Gordy and Cohen agreed to the deal. Pauline Kael, a film critic, described Ross's efforts to get the film into production as "perhaps the strongest example of sheer will in film history."[10]

text: After film director John Badham learned that Ross was going to play the part of Dorothy, he decided not to direct the film, and Cohen replaced him with Sidney Lumet.[10] Of his decision not to direct The Wiz, John Badham recalled telling Cohen that he thought Ross was "a wonderful singer. She's a terrific actress and a great dancer, but she's not this character. She's not the little six-year-old girl Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz."[11] Though 20th Century Fox had financially backed the stage musical, they ended up exercising their first refusal rights to the film production, which gave Universal an opening to finance the film.[12] Initially, Universal was so excited about the film's prospects that they did not set a budget for production.[12]

text: Joel Schumacher's script for The Wiz was influenced by Werner Erhard's teachings and his Erhard Seminars Training ("est") movement, as both Schumacher and Diana Ross were "very enamored of Werner Erhard".[13] "Before I knew it," said Rob Cohen, "the movie was becoming an est-ian fable full of est buzzwords about knowing who you are and sharing and all that. I hated the script a lot. But it was hard to argue with [Ross] because she was recognizing in this script all of this stuff that she had worked out in est seminars."[13] Schumacher spoke positively of the results of the est training, stating that he was "eternally grateful for learning that I was responsible for my life."[13] However, he also complained that "everybody stayed exactly the way they were and went around spouting all this bull****."[13] Of est and Erhard references in the film itself, The Grove Book of Hollywood notes that the speech delivered by Glinda the Good Witch at the end of the film was "a litany of est-like platitudes", and the book also makes est comparisons to the song "Believe in Yourself".[13] Although Joel Schumacher had seen the Broadway play before writing the script, none of the Broadway play's writing was incorporated into the film's.[14]

text: During production, Lumet felt that the finished film would be "an absolutely unique experience that nobody has ever witnessed before."[12] When asked about any possible influence from MGM's popular 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, Lumet stated that "there was nothing to be gained from [the 1939 film] other than to make certain we didn't use anything from it. They made a brilliant movie, and even though our concept is different – they're Kansas, we're New York; they're white, we're black, and the score and the books are totally different – we wanted to make sure that we never overlapped in any area."[12]

text: Michael Jackson, a former Motown star who by the start of development on The Wiz in 1977, had left Motown for Epic Records with his brothers The Jacksons, was cast as the Scarecrow. Jackson was dedicated to the role, and watched videotapes of gazelles, cheetahs, and panthers in order to learn graceful movements for his part.[15] However Jackson's father Joseph Jackson didn't want him to land the role, as he was managing him at the time, but Jackson refused to listen to his father and decided to be on the movie. Ted Ross and Mabel King were brought in to reprise their respective roles from the stage musical, while Nipsey Russell was cast as the Tin Man. Lena Horne, mother-in-law to Sidney Lumet during the time of production, was cast as Glinda the Good Witch, and comedian Richard Pryor portrayed The Wiz.[10][16]

text: Principal photography[edit]

text: The Wiz was filmed at Astoria Studios in Queens, New York. The decaying New York State Pavilion from the 1964 New York World's Fair was used as the set for Munchkinland, Astroland at Coney Island was used for the Tinman scene with The Cyclone as a backdrop, while the World Trade Center served as the Emerald City.[17] The scenes filmed at the Emerald City were elaborate, utilizing 650 dancers, 385 crew members and 1,200 costumes.[17][18] Costume designer Tony Walton enlisted the help of high fashion designers in New York City for the Emerald City sequence, and obtained exotic costumes and fabric from designers such as Oscar de la Renta and Norma Kamali.[16] Albert Whitlock created the film's visual special effects,[12] while Stan Winston served as the head makeup artist.[16]

text: Quincy Jones was the musical supervisor and music producer for the film.[15] He later wrote that he initially did not want to work on the film, but did it as a favor to Sidney Lumet.[15] The film production marked Jones' first time working with Michael Jackson, and Jones would later produce three hit albums for Jackson: Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad.[19] Jones recalled working with Jackson as one of his favorite experiences from The Wiz, and spoke of Jackson's dedication to his role, comparing his acting style to Sammy Davis, Jr.[15] Jones had a brief cameo during the "Gold" segment of the Emerald City sequence, playing what looks like a fifty-foot grand piano.

text: Release[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The Wiz proved to be a commercial failure, as the $24 million production only earned $13.6 million at the box office.[2][3][10] Though prerelease television broadcast rights had been sold to CBS for over $10 million, in the end, the film produced a net loss of $10.4 million for Motown and Universal.[3][10] At the time, it was the most expensive film musical ever made.[20] The film's failure steered Hollywood studios away from producing the all-black film projects that had become popular during the blaxploitation era of the early to mid-1970s for several years.[4][5][6]

text: The film was released on VHS home video in 1989 by MCA/Universal Home Video (with a reissue in 1992) and was first broadcast on television on CBS on May 5, 1984 (edited to 100 minutes), to capitalize on Michael Jackson's massive popularity at the time.[21] It continues to be broadcast periodically on networks such as BET, TVOne, VH1 Soul, and was the inaugural broadcast on the Bounce TV digital broadcast network.[22] The Wiz is often broadcast on Thanksgiving Day (attributed to the opening scene of Dorothy's family gathered for a Thanksgiving dinner).[10][23]

text: The film was released on DVD in 1999;[24] a remastered version entitled The Wiz: 30th Anniversary Edition was released in 2008.[24][25][26] Extras on both DVD releases include a 1978 featurette about the film's production and the original theatrical trailer.[24] A Blu-ray version was released in 2010.[27]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Critics panned The Wiz upon its October 1978 release.[2][28] Many reviewers directed their criticism at Diana Ross, who they believed was too old to play Dorothy.[6][29][30][31] Most agreed that what had worked so successfully on stage simply did not translate well to the screen. Hischak's Through the Screen Door: What Happened to the Broadway Musical When It Went to Hollywood criticized "Joel Schumacher's cockamamy screenplay", and called "Believe in Yourself" the score's weakest song.[29] He described Diana Ross's portrayal of Dorothy as: "cold, neurotic and oddly unattractive"; and noted that the film was "a critical and box office bust".[29] In his work History of the American Cinema, Harpole characterized the film as "one of the decade's biggest failures", and, "the year's biggest musical flop".[3] The Grove Book of Hollywood noted that "the picture finished off Diana Ross's screen career", as the film was Ross's final theatrical feature.[13][18][32] In his book Blockbuster, Tom Shone referred to The Wiz as "expensive crud".[33] In the book Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood, the author criticized the script, noting, "The Wiz was too scary for children, and too silly for adults."[2] Ray Bolger, who played the Scarecrow in the 1939 The Wizard of Oz film, did not think highly of The Wiz, stating "The Wiz is overblown and will never have the universal appeal that the classic MGM musical has obtained."[34]

text: Michael Jackson's performance as the Scarecrow was one of the only positively reviewed elements of the film, with critics noting that Jackson possessed "genuine acting talent" and "provided the only genuinely memorable moments."[17][35] Of the results of the film, Jackson stated: "I don't think it could have been any better, I really don't."[36] In 1980, Jackson stated that his time working on The Wiz was "my greatest experience so far . . . I'll never forget that."[35] The film received a positive critique for its elaborate set design, and the book American Jewish Filmmakers noted that it "features some of the most imaginative adaptations of New York locales since the glory days of the Astaire-Rogers films."[37] In a 2004 review of the film, Christopher Null wrote positively of Ted Ross and Richard Pryor's performances.[38] However, Null's overall review of the film was critical, and he wrote that other than the song "Ease on Down the Road", "the rest is an acid trip of bad dancing, garish sets, and a Joel Schumacher-scripted mess that runs 135 agonizing minutes."[38] A 2005 piece by Hank Stuever in The Washington Post described the film as "a rather appreciable delight, even when it's a mess", and felt that the singing – especially Diana Ross's – was "a marvel".[39]

text: The New York Times analyzed the film within a discussion of the genre of blaxploitation: "As the audience for blaxploitation dwindled, it seemed as if Car Wash and The Wiz might be the last gasp of what had been a steadily expanding black presence in mainstream filmmaking."[40] The St. Petersburg Times noted, "Of course, it only took one flop like The Wiz (1978) to give Hollywood an excuse to retreat to safer (i.e., whiter) creative ground until John Singleton and Spike Lee came along. Yet, without blaxploitation there might not have been another generation of black filmmakers, no Denzel Washington or Angela Bassett, or they might have taken longer to emerge."[41] The Boston Globe commented, "the term 'black film' should be struck from the critical vocabulary. To appreciate just how outmoded, deceptive and limiting it is, consider the following, all of which have been described as black films, . . ." and characterized The Wiz in a list which also featured 1970s films Shaft, Blacula, and Super Fly.[42]

text: Despite its lack of critical or commercial success in its original release, The Wiz became a cult classic,[7] especially because it features Michael Jackson's only starring theatrical film role.[8] With Lena Horne's death in 2010, Diana Ross is the only living cast member of the film.

text: Awards and honors[edit]

text: The Wiz was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Art Direction (Tony Walton, Philip Rosenberg, Edward Stewart, Robert Drumheller), Best Costume Design, Best Original Music Score and Best Cinematography, but did not win any of them.[43][44]

text: The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

text:
2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:

"Ease on Down the Road" – Nominated[45]

text: On 1979's NAACP Image Awards, Michael Jackson received the Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Award for The Wiz. [46]


document_title: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

question_text: where did captain america run in washington dc

root

text: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

text: Plot[edit]

text: Two years after the Battle of New York,[N 1] Steve Rogers works in Washington D.C. for the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. under Director Nick Fury, while adjusting to contemporary society. Rogers and Agent Natasha Romanoff are sent with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s counter-terrorism S.T.R.I.K.E. team, led by Agent Rumlow, to free hostages aboard a S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel from Georges Batroc and his mercenaries. Mid-mission, Rogers discovers Romanoff has another agenda: to extract data from the ship's computers for Fury. Rogers returns to the Triskelion, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters, to confront Fury and is briefed about Project Insight: three Helicarriers linked to spy satellites, designed to preemptively eliminate threats. Unable to decrypt the data recovered by Romanoff, Fury becomes suspicious about Insight and asks senior S.H.I.E.L.D. official Alexander Pierce to delay the project.

tag: p

text: On his way to rendezvous with Maria Hill, Fury is ambushed by assailants led by a mysterious assassin called the Winter Soldier. Fury escapes to Rogers' apartment, and warns Rogers that S.H.I.E.L.D. is compromised. Fury is gunned down by the Winter Soldier, before handing Rogers a flash drive containing data from the ship. Fury is pronounced dead during surgery, and Hill recovers the body. The next day, Pierce summons Rogers to the Triskelion. When Rogers withholds Fury's information, Pierce brands him a fugitive. Hunted by S.T.R.I.K.E., Rogers meets with Romanoff. Using data in the flash drive they discover a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. bunker in New Jersey, where they activate a supercomputer containing the preserved consciousness of Arnim Zola. Zola reveals that ever since S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded after World War II, Hydra has secretly operated within its ranks, sowing global chaos with the objective of making humanity willing to surrender its freedom in exchange for security. The pair narrowly escape death when a S.H.I.E.L.D. missile destroys the bunker, and realize that Pierce is Hydra's leader within S.H.I.E.L.D.

text: Rogers and Romanoff enlist the help of former USAF pararescueman Sam Wilson, whom Rogers befriended, and acquire his powered "Falcon" wingpack. Deducing that S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell is a Hydra mole, they force him to divulge that Zola developed a data-mining algorithm that can identify individuals who might become future threats to Hydra's plans. The Insight Helicarriers will sweep the globe, using satellite-guided guns to eliminate these individuals. Rogers, Romanoff, and Wilson are ambushed by the Winter Soldier, who kills Sitwell. During the fight, Rogers recognizes the Winter Soldier as Bucky Barnes, his friend who was captured and experimented upon during WWII. Hill manages to extract the trio to a safehouse where Fury, who had faked his death, is waiting with plans to sabotage the Helicarriers by replacing their controller chips.

text: After the World Security Council members arrive for the Helicarriers' launch, Rogers broadcasts Hydra's plot to everyone at the Triskelion. Romanoff, disguised as one of the Council members, disarms Pierce. Fury arrives and forces Pierce to unlock S.H.I.E.L.D's database so that Romanoff can leak classified information, exposing Hydra to the public. Following a struggle, Fury kills Pierce. Meanwhile, Rogers and Wilson storm two Helicarriers and replace the controller chips, but the Winter Soldier destroys Wilson's suit and fights Rogers on the third. Rogers fends him off and replaces the final chip, allowing Hill to take control and have the vessels destroy each other. Rogers refuses to fight the Winter Soldier in an attempt to reach his friend, but as the ship collides with the Triskelion, Rogers is thrown out into the Potomac River. The Winter Soldier rescues the unconscious Rogers before disappearing into the woods. With S.H.I.E.L.D. in disarray, Romanoff appears before a Senate subcommittee and Fury, under the cover of his apparent death, heads to Eastern Europe in pursuit of Hydra's remaining cells. Rogers and Wilson decide to find the Winter Soldier, while Rumlow, who was a double agent for Hydra, is hospitalized following the Triskelion's destruction.

text: In a mid-credits scene, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, at a Hydra lab, proclaims that the "age of miracles" has begun as scientists examine an energy-filled scepter[N 2] and two test subjects: one with superhuman speed, the other with telekinetic powers. In a post-credits scene, the Winter Soldier visits a Bucky memorial at the Smithsonian Institution.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America:
A World War II veteran who was enhanced to the peak of human physicality by an experimental serum, frozen in suspended animation, and is now struggling to adjust to the modern world.[6] Describing his character's adjustment to the modern world, Evans said, "It's not so much about his shock with [technology]... It's more about the societal differences. He's gone from the '40s to today; he comes from a world where people were a little more trusting, the threats not as deep. Now, it's harder to tell who's right and wrong. Actions you take to protect people from threats could compromise liberties and privacy. That's tough for Steve to swallow."[7] Evans trained in parkour, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, boxing, kickboxing, and gymnastics, as the Russo brothers believed that bringing Rogers into the modern day also meant that he had studied and mastered modern fighting styles and techniques. The filmmakers also looked to make the character's shield, which has traditionally been used for defense, a more offensive weapon.[8]

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow:
A highly trained spy working for S.H.I.E.L.D., who partners with Rogers.[9] Screenwriter Christopher Markus said that Black Widow was a "great contrast" to Captain America, describing her as "incredibly modern, not very reverent, and just very straightforward whereas Steve is, you know a man from the 40s. He's not a boy scout, but he is reserved and has a moral center, whereas her moral center moves."[10] The Russos added, "She's a character who lies for a living. That's what she does. He's a character who tells the truth. Give them a problem and they'll have different ways of approaching it. She's pushing him to modernize, and he's pushing her to add a certain level of integrity to her life."[11] When asked about Romanoff's relationship with Rogers, Johansson responded, "By a series of unfortunate encounters, they will be in a situation in which their friendship becomes more intimate. They share many similarities because they live on the defensive without relying on anyone. Also, the two have been working for the government throughout their professional careers. With their friendship they begin to question what they want and what is their true identity."[12]

Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier:
Steve Rogers' best friend, who has re-emerged as an enhanced brainwashed assassin after being thought killed in action during World War II.[8][13] About the character, Feige said, "Winter Soldier has been methodically, almost robotically, following orders for 70 years."[14] Stan said despite his nine-picture deal with Marvel Studios including his appearance in The First Avenger, he was not sure about an imminent return for Bucky,[15] and only heard the sequel was named after the Winter Soldier through a friend attending San Diego Comic-Con.[16] The actor endured five months of physical training to prepare for the role and did historical research stating, "I dove into the whole Cold War thing. I looked at the KGB. I looked at all kinds of spy movies, and all kinds of documentaries about that time, and what it was about. I grabbed anything from that time period. Anything about brainwashing."[17] Stan also practiced daily with the knife used by the Winter Soldier.[18] Regarding Bucky's transition into the Winter Soldier, Stan said, "You know, the truth of the situation is although he looks very different and there's different things about him, it still comes from the same person. I think you'll get to see that no matter what. I think part of my goal here was to make sure that you see an extension of that version but just a different color of that same version in a way. I think he's still the same guy; he's cut from the same cloth."[19] Stan stated he felt the character's introduction in the film was "sort of like a preview of the guy," with more to the character being explored in The Winter Soldier sequel, Captain America: Civil War.[20]

Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon:
A former pararescueman trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially designed wing pack.[8] About the role, Mackie said "[Wilson is] a really smart guy who went through major military training and becomes a tactical leader."[21] Remarking, "He's the first African-American superhero. It makes me feel all the work I've done has been paying off. I have a son, nephews and nieces, and I love the idea that they can dress up as the Falcon on Halloween. They now have someone they can idolize. That's a huge honor for me."[22] Marvel, who cast Mackie because of his "energy and sense of fun,"[11] did not let him read a script before signing on.[23] Mackie spent five months doing two-a-day workouts and eating an 11,000 calorie per day diet to get into shape for the role.[24] Commenting on Rogers' relationship with Wilson, Evans said, "Meeting Mackie's character, he used to serve, now he works at the VA counseling guys who come home with PTSD — they connect on that level. I think they're both wounded warriors who don't bleed on other people. Cap has no one to bleed on. I think Mackie knows how to handle people like that. … Sometimes when things are bad, trusting a stranger is the way to go."[25]

Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill:
A high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who works closely with Nick Fury.[26] Smulders said she performed some of her own stunts in the film, explaining, "I try to do my own stunts whenever I can. You're only allowed to do certain stunts. There is an amazing team of stunt people that do most of the work in this film. But, I studied a lot of tae kwon do. I also did a lot of training just with weapons because I'm not very comfortable around guns. I had to get comfortable because that's my character's thing... I like to get really physical so I feel empowered when I am on set and even though you don't see it on screen, maybe I am taking people out that you don't see off camera."[27]

Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow:
Commander of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s counter-terrorism S.T.R.I.K.E. team.[28] About the character, Grillo said, "He is a bad-ass guy. [He] pretty much beats the shit out of everyone in the movie and that's really it."[29] Regarding Rumlow's alter ego, Grillo said, "Very early on the Russos said, 'Look, this is an origin film for this character. We're gonna discover who this is and this is a big movie with a lot of moving parts, but we're gonna discover you in this film and, you know, here's the information about who Brock Rumlow turns into and blah, blah, blah.' And so we've had multiple discussions about what comes after that, that thing. So, you know, it's obvious Rumlow is covered in rubble and burned to crisp at the end, but you see he's still there. They don't do that for no reason."[30]

Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter / Agent 13:
A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent assigned to guard Rogers without his knowledge.[8][31] About the character, VanCamp said, "I play Agent 13 / Sharon Carter which everyone knows but we don't really touch on that in this film. We're just sort of introducing her. When we first see her we realize she's living next to Captain America... they sort of have a little thing going on and as we all know in the comic books they had a love affair off and on for years. They had a very complicated relationship. It's almost as if they are planting the seeds now. Sort of leaving room to go wherever they want to go with it."[29] Regarding her casting, Joe Russo said, "We wanted someone that Cap would have an immediate interest in. It had to be a strong-willed person, and we felt that Emily's work on Revenge was a great test tube for what this character could be. She's obviously very credible with physicality, she holds the screen really well, and she even looks like the character from the books."[32]

Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter:
A retired officer with the Strategic Scientific Reserve and a co-founder of S.H.I.E.L.D., who is a former love interest of Steve Rogers.[33] On receiving the script, Atwell realized the character "would be 96, and I would be up to the eyeballs in prosthetics."[34] The visual effects team was not satisfied with the initial make-up used to make Atwell look older, and eventually resorted to aging her through CGI methods.[35]

Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce:
A senior leader within S.H.I.E.L.D.,[33] a member of the World Security Council and an old comrade of Nick Fury.[36] Redford was cast in part as an homage to his roles in 1970s thrillers such as Three Days of the Condor,[37] and for what the directors described as "an acting legend playing a villainous role" akin to Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West.[38] As to what attracted him to the film, Redford said it interested him by being different from his usual work,[39] and that he "wanted to experience this new form of filmmaking that's taken over where you have kind of cartoon characters brought to life through high technology."[40]

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury:
The director of S.H.I.E.L.D.[41] Regarding Fury's questionable code of ethics, Jackson said, "Almost everything that comes out of Nick Fury's mouth is a lie in some sense. He has to ask, is he even lying to himself, too? He has a very good idea of what's going on but his paranoia keeps him from believing some of it."[7] Jackson added, "You see Nick Fury the office guy, him going about the day-to-day work of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the politics as opposed to that other stuff. It's great to have him dealing with Captain America in terms of being able to speak to him soldier to soldier and try to explain to him how the world has changed in another way while he was frozen in time. Some of the people who used to be our enemies are now our allies – him trying to figure out, 'Well, how do we trust those guys?' or 'How do we trust the guys that you didn't trust who don't trust you?' And explaining to him that the black and white of good guys/bad guys has now turned into this gray area."[36] McFeely said, "Fury represents an obstacle for Steve in some ways. They don't always agree on how S.H.I.E.L.D. ought to be used."[11] The writers gave Fury a more prominent role in The Winter Soldier, since within a plot featuring S.H.I.E.L.D. being dismantled, Fury would "take the brunt of it". They also intended on having a character that had so far been depicted as a self-assured man in charge being depicted as vulnerable, to enhance the sense of danger of the Hydra conspiracy.[38]

tag: ul

text: Additionally, Toby Jones,[42] Maximiliano Hernández,[43] and Garry Shandling[44] reprise their roles from previous Marvel Studios films as Arnim Zola, Jasper Sitwell, and Senator Stern, respectively. Georges St-Pierre plays Georges Batroc, a mercenary and a master of the French form of kickboxing known as savate.[45][46] Callan Mulvey plays Jack Rollins, a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s S.T.R.I.K.E. unit.[47][48] Chin Han, Jenny Agutter (who previously appeared in The Avengers), Alan Dale, and Bernard White appear as members of the World Security Council.[49][50] Comedic actors Danny Pudi[50] and DC Pierson[51] have small roles as a S.H.I.E.L.D. technician and an Apple Store employee, respectively. Gary Sinise narrates a Captain America-themed Smithsonian Institution exhibit, and Stan Lee cameos as a security guard there.[50] Winter Soldier creator Ed Brubaker makes a cameo as a scientist working on the Winter Soldier.[52][53] Co-director Joe Russo cameos as a doctor,[51] and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely cameo as two S.H.I.E.L.D. interrogators. Thomas Kretschmann, Henry Goodman, Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson appear, uncredited, as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, Dr. List, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, respectively, in the mid-credits scene.[54][55][56]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text:
We hired our directors on Cap because they loved our explanation that we really want to make a '70s political thriller masquerading as a big superhero movie. Just like with the first film – we got Joe Johnston because we said, "We want to do a '40s World War II movie masquerading as a big superhero movie." I love that we're doing a sequel to a film that's a completely different genre than the first film. I think that's fun. And the comics do it all the time.

—Kevin Feige, producer of Captain America: The Winter Soldier[57]

tag: div

text: In April 2011, before Captain America: The First Avenger was released in theaters, screenwriters Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely announced Marvel had already hired the duo to work on the film's sequel.[58] In September 2011, Chris Evans said that a sequel may not be released until 2014.[6] In January 2012, Neal McDonough, who played Dum Dum Dugan in Captain America: The First Avenger, mentioned that a sequel would likely be filmed after the completion of Thor: The Dark World, which would likely have been before the end of 2012.[59] By March 2012, Marvel whittled down the possible directors for the sequel to three candidates: George Nolfi, F. Gary Gray, and brothers Anthony and Joseph Russo.[60] Walt Disney Studios announced the planned release of the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger on April 4, 2014. Disney stated, "The second installment will pick-up where ... The Avengers leaves off, as Steve Rogers continues his affiliation with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. and struggles to embrace his role in the modern world."[61] Markus later elaborated, "I think S.H.I.E.L.D. is the water [Rogers is] swimming in. It's definitely a Captain America movie. You know, if the first movie was a movie about the US Army, then this is a movie about S.H.I.E.L.D... You will learn about S.H.I.E.L.D. You will learn about where it came from and where it's going and some of the cool things they have."[11] In April, F. Gary Gray withdrew his name from consideration, choosing instead to direct the N.W.A biographical film Straight Outta Compton.[62]

text: Writing[edit]

text: McFeely said the writing process began in the middle of 2011, around the release of The First Avenger, with him and Markus "noodling on in hopes that there would be a second one and we did a lot of just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what stuck".[63] The first few months of writing were a back and forth process with Marvel, but that after an outline was finished, the story did not change much.[64] They opted to set the story in the present day, and, after "experimenting with flashback elements for more period World War II stuff",[65] decided to abandon the flashbacks as "it became unwieldy."[63] The film would be "Cap versus the world we all live in today",[66] while averting excessive comedy regarding the hero's time displacement, as Markus considered the Captain "the most adaptive man on the planet."[63] The tone would be more grounded in reality despite the advanced technology to contrast the fantasy elements from both the first Captain America and The Avengers.[66] Despite that, the comic book origins guaranteed that the film would not have verisimilitude.[38] This still proved a challenge in the reveal of Arnim Zola, that had to be extensively rewritten to convey how "this grounded espionage paranoid thriller suddenly screeches to a halt and you switch gears really quickly with this ghost in the machine" that introduces more science fiction elements.[67]

text: Markus and McFeely wanted to adapt Ed Brubaker's Winter Soldier storyline from the comics, which they described as "the tone of Cap’s modern franchise",[68] but it took the duo six months to convince themselves that they could do it.[16] In the meantime, while thinking how to progress from the war film tone of The First Avenger, the writers settled on the conspiracy genre for the screenplay, and cited Three Days of the Condor, The Parallax View, and Marathon Man as influences, feeling it better conveyed Captain America's trust issues and contrasting values in the new world he was living in,[16] with Markus saying, "If you put that 1940s man into present day geo-politics everything is going to seem like a conspiracy. It's just going to seem dirty and underhanded and shifty, and people won't be telling the truth."[68] Three Days of the Condor in particular was used as the main source of the script structure, following the idea that the protagonist is being chased by a threat they, along with the audience, only discover halfway through the film.[38]

text: The writers felt this approach was similar to how Stan Lee reinvented Captain America in the 1960s and 1970s, with "the Captain dealing with all sorts of the same things that the country [was] dealing with–Vietnam, Watergate and all that stuff–so he gets to have opinions on that", thus making the "guy who is ostensibly from the more black and white 1940s react to this ultimately grey world that we live in."[69] Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige described the film as a political thriller,[70] and as the duo struggled to figure out a third act, Feige suggested that S.H.I.E.L.D. be brought down and have Captain America fight the agency. The writers thought this was a great story point, for implementing "the physical manifestation of Cap changing the world."[71] Markus even noted how the 1970s comics had similar conspiracies.[68] The Hydra reveal made sure to include returning characters among the undercover villains, as well as references to the comics such as Arnim Zola being kept alive as a machine.[66] Feige later elaborated on the political thriller nature of the film saying,

text: In our attempt to make all of our films feel unique and feel different we found ourselves going back to things like [Three Days of the Condor]. Also the other political thrillers of the '70s: The Parallax View, All the President's Men. This was a time that Cap existed in the comics. He found himself in the swinging '60s followed by the Watergate Era followed by the Reagan Era followed by where we are today. In the comics it was a hell of a journey for Steve. And we couldn't take him through those years because in our cinematic universe he was asleep. But we wanted to force him to confront that kind of moral conundrum, something with that '70s flavor. And in our film that takes the form of S.H.I.E.L.D.[72]

text: Feige stated that Steve Rogers would be paired with other characters from The Avengers like Black Widow and Nick Fury, because unlike Tony Stark and Thor, who could return to their own supporting casts, Rogers had nowhere else to go, "and it just made sense that he was the one that stayed with what remains of the Avengers at the end of the film."[73] The writers considered including Hawkeye, but "he didn't have enough to do and suddenly it seemed like we were giving him short shrift", leading all of his parts to be fulfilled by Black Widow,[68] and Joe Russo adding that Jeremy Renner's schedule could not be worked out for him to appear.[74] As to why the Red Skull from The First Avenger did not appear in The Winter Soldier, Joe Russo explained, "I know we have a guy in a computer, but the tone we were chasing was sort of that conspiracy thriller. And we wanted to try and ground the movie as much as we could. And Red Skull, he's a fantastical character and didn't necessarily fit for Cap 2 and especially because it was about the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. Certainly Hydra exists and that's his legacy, but there's something interesting about the fact that his legacy outlived the skull. And they're still dealing with the demons of it, but not necessarily him."[75]

text: Chris McKenna, who worked with the Russo brothers on the sitcom Community, contributed to the script by writing jokes for the film.[76]

text: Pre-production[edit]

text:
It's hard to make a political film that's not topical. That's what makes a political thriller different from just a thriller. And that's what adds to the characters' paranoia and the audience's experience of that paranoia. But we're also very pop-culture-obsessed and we love topicality, so we kept pushing to [have] scenes that, fortunately or unfortunately, played out [during the time that Edward] Snowden outed the NSA. That stuff was already in the zeitgeist. We were all reading the articles that were coming out questioning drone strikes, pre-emptive strikes, civil liberties — [Barack] Obama talking about who they would kill... We wanted to put all of that into the film because it would be a contrast to [Captain America]'s greatest-generation [way of thinking].

—Anthony Russo, co-director of Captain America: The Winter Soldier[77]

text: By June 2012, the Russo brothers entered negotiations to direct the sequel,[78] and Samuel L. Jackson was confirmed to return as S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury.[41] Feige sought out the Russos after watching the genre-parodying season 2 finale of Community which they directed,[79][80] and for the additional ideas they brought to the initial story pitch.[81] Joe Russo detailed that since the intent was for a political thriller, "all the great political thrillers have very current issues in them that reflect the anxiety of the audience." Thus the brothers opted to include references to drone warfare, targeted killing and global surveillance. Joe even noted how during principal photography, the issues became more topical due to the disclosure of several National Security Agency surveillance-related documents.[82] At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, it was announced that the official title for the sequel was Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and that the Russo brothers would direct the film.[83] After signing on to direct, the Russo brothers met with Ed Brubaker to learn more about where the Winter Soldier character came from, his thinking and the themes behind the character.[84] In July 2012, Anthony Mackie entered negotiations to star as Falcon alongside Chris Evans in the sequel.[13] Sebastian Stan was also confirmed to be reprising his role as James Barnes.[13] By August 2012, Anna Kendrick, Felicity Jones, and Imogen Poots were being considered front-runners for a leading role in the film.[85]

text: In September 2012, Chris Evans stated that filming would begin in March 2013.[86] Evans also stated that Rogers' adjustment to the modern world, which was originally set to be included in The Avengers, would be better suited for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.[87] At the end of the month, The Greater Cleveland Film Commission announced that Captain America: The Winter Soldier would film in Cleveland, Ohio after the production was approved for a $9.5 million tax credit.[88] Producer Nate Moore said that after also serving as a location in The Avengers, Cleveland's government was helpful in providing large locations for filming, which "provided production value which we probably could not have built in a backlot." McFeely joked that while writing ambitious action scenes "I did not realize a great American metropolis would say 'Sure, shut down three miles of freeway and go to town'."[18] Portions of the film were also scheduled to be shot in California and Washington, D.C.[88][89]

text: By October, Emilia Clarke, Jessica Brown Findlay, Teresa Palmer, Imogen Poots, and Alison Brie were being considered for Rogers' love interest in the film,[9] and Scarlett Johansson was brought back to reprise her role as Black Widow.[9] Later in the month, Frank Grillo was testing for the role of the villain Crossbones in the film,[90] and by the end of the month, Grillo closed a deal to portray the character and Cobie Smulders signed on to reprise her role as Maria Hill from The Avengers.[26]

text: In January 2013, Hayley Atwell, who played Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger, said that she would not appear in the sequel.[91] However Stanley Tucci, who played Dr. Abraham Erskine in the previous film, later said that Atwell would reappear in a flashback scene.[92] Also in January, Marvel Studios announced that the film would be released in 3D, and Anthony Mackie said filming would begin on April 1, 2013.[93][94] Later that month, Toby Jones, who portrayed Arnim Zola in the first film, said that he would reprise the role in the sequel.[42] By the end of the month, stages were being built for a shoot at Raleigh Manhattan Beach Studios in Los Angeles.[95]

text: In February 2013, Emily VanCamp entered negotiations to play a female lead in the film.[96] By March 2013, Maximiliano Hernández was signed to reprise his role as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell from Thor and The Avengers and Robert Redford entered in talks to join the cast, as a high-ranking member of S.H.I.E.L.D,[43][97] which he later confirmed.[39] Toward the end of March, UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre was cast as a character based on the comics' Batroc the Leaper in the film.[45]

text: Captain America's uniform was altered from the ones seen in previous films, with a Kevlar-based ballistic component that would protect Captain America but at the same time function like a military uniform.[8] Joe Russo said, "We wanted to use his Super Soldier outfit from the [Steve Rogers: Super Soldier series] as a way to represent, thematically, his place in the world of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the difference between working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and being Captain America."[98] For the Falcon costume, the filmmakers were interested in adding more of a tactical design than was represented in the comic books, by including real-world webbing, straps and gear and stripping away the more comic book elements.[8]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Principal photography began on April 1, 2013, at the Raleigh Manhattan Beach Studios in Los Angeles, under the working title Freezer Burn.[99] Scenes taking place on the Lemurian Star were filmed on the Sea Launch Commander, docked in Long Beach, California.[18] In early May, Dominic Cooper confirmed he would return as Howard Stark.[100] On May 14, 2013, production moved to Washington, D.C. with filming taking place at the National Mall and the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.[101] The following day, Garry Shandling was spotted on set reprising his Iron Man 2 role of Senator Stern.[44] Other filming locations in Washington, D.C. included the Willard Hotel and Dupont Circle.[102]

text: Filming in Cleveland began on May 17 and was scheduled to last until mid-June with locations scheduled on the West Shoreway, the Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant in Cuyahoga Heights and the Lakeview Cemetery Dam.[103] Cleveland was chosen as a stand-in for Washington, D.C, with the city's East 6th Street doubling as 7th and D Streets in Southwest D.C.[104] Other locations in Cleveland included the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland State University, the Cleveland Arcade, Tower City Center, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Western Reserve Historical Society.[104][105][106][107][108] Interior shots were also filmed inside private homes and the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Tremont.[109] Filming in Cleveland concluded on June 27, 2013.[110]

text: Trent Opaloch, best known for his work on District 9 and Elysium, was brought in as the director of photography. Opaloch stated that while attempting to emulate the 1970s thrillers that served as inspiration for the writers and directors, the staging and lighting tried to bring realism through "classic framing and naturalistic lighting", and the filming was done with hand-held cameras. To achieve this, Opaloch used Arri Alexa Plus 4:3 cameras with Panavision anamorphic lenses and Codex Digital recorders.[111] Stunt work aimed for realistic action, prioritizing practical effects. The fight scenes were staged for months, with a choreography that aimed to highlight Captain America's superhuman qualities, and "move away from impressionistic action into specificity": the raid on the S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel had stealthiness as the Captain knocked out enemies to avert detection, and the freeway fight with Winter Soldier was more "last minute" to highlight the characters' struggle to survive.[18]

text: In contrast to the quick editing and moving cameras of modern action films, The Winter Soldier aimed to feature longer action scenes that felt more visceral and dangerous.[38] The Russos mentioned the bank robbing scene of Heat as a major influence, which they described as "the most intense eight minutes of filmmaking I've seen in a movie theater",[18] and action scenes directed by Brian De Palma, such as the vault heist in Mission: Impossible, where "very likable characters are put in impossible situations that the audience is put on the edge on how they'd escape". Examples of these types of scenes include the ambushes on Nick Fury in the street and Captain America in the elevator.[38]

text: Post-production[edit]

text: Additional photography was filmed in December 2013 and January 2014,[112] in order for the Russos to accurately show the state of each character after the defeat of S.H.I.E.L.D., having read the script of Avengers: Age of Ultron to guide their choices.[38] Joss Whedon, director of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, wrote and directed the mid-credits scene,[113] which featured Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch,[55] and Baron Wolfgang von Strucker.[54] The title sequences were created by design firm Sarofsky, who had worked with the Russos since Community. Sarofsky collaborated with comic book artist David W. Mack on the sequences.[114]

text: Anthony Mackie said the Russo brothers relied on minimal use of computer-generated imagery, stating, "The Russos, what they did that was so great was, they wanted to stay with live action, which is a dying art form. If they can build it, they built it. If we could do it, we did it. They wanted to do as little CGI as possible. That's why the movie looks so great."[115] Nevertheless, six special effects companies are involved in creating the visual effects of the film, including Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Scanline VFX, Lola VFX, Luma Pictures, Whiskytree and The Embassy, with previsualization completed by Proof.[35] The film contained 2,500 visual effects shots, with 900 worked on by ILM.[116] The film featured extensive use of digital doubles. Russell Earl, ILM visual effects supervisor, said, "The character that we did the most work on was Falcon. We knew we were going to do CG wings. We also did some shots with wires and some with stunt doubles and head replacement. And we needed a very good digital double."[116]

text: Lola VFX, who worked on the pre-serum Steve Rogers scenes in this film and Captain America: The First Avenger, also worked on shots featuring an elderly Peggy Carter. This involved digitally transposing the facial features of an elderly actress onto the face of actress Hayley Atwell who had performed her lines with no make-up and only a few tracking markers.[35]

text: The Helicarriers in the film were completely digital. Earl said, "In [The Avengers] it was more like an aircraft carrier, now it’s an aircraft carrier with the addition of battle ship-sized guns. We were all over the carriers [with the virtual camera]. We were on the decks; we were flying next to them. We had a lot of close ups and different angles. And we didn’t just have one; we had three. On top of that, we had to destroy them all." This CGI environment was also used in close ups. Earl said, "The challenge was to get in all of the detail to make it feel like it is a real, working ship. We created details down to the railings and all the human-scale stuff. ... For the shots in which we were destroying them, we had to have the internals as well – the hallways, the storage areas."[116] Many of the shots of Washington, D.C. were digitally created due to numerous flight restrictions in the city which necessitated that locations be recreated by computer.[116] However, aerial footage of the city was filmed and used for live action plate photography for shots involving the Triskelion, which is located on Theodore Roosevelt Island on the Potomac River.[35]

text: 350 different versions of the film were made, to accommodate for the different formats it would be released in domestically, while also accounting for international localization and formats. The versions had to be completed in 17 days, versus a normal turnaround time of three to four weeks for contemporary films, to make its theatrical release date.[117] One of the various changes for localization was the contents of Captain America's notebook list seen at the beginning of the film. The first five items were different depending on where the film was released, while the final five items were the same across all prints.[118] Marvel held online polls allowing fans to select the items featured in each country's release.[119]

text: Music[edit]

text: In June 2013, Henry Jackman announced that he would compose the film's score.[120] About the score Jackman said, "...it's 50% production and all the tricks I've learnt from spending years in the record industry but then it's also got the kind of injection of symphonic, thematic, heroic music that all kind of merges into one musical, and hopefully coherent piece".[121] A soundtrack album was released by Hollywood Records on April 1, 2014.[122]

text: Release[edit]

text: Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released in 32 markets on March 26, 2014[123][124] and in North America on April 4, 2014, in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D.[61][93] The film debuted on 668 IMAX screens worldwide, a record for films releasing in April.[125] The world premiere took place on March 13, 2014 at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California.[126] The Paris premiere occurred on March 17 at Le Grand Rex,[127] the London premiere took place on March 20 at Westfield London,[128] the Beijing premiere took place on March 24[129] and the Cleveland premiere took place on April 1.[130] Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson auctioned off passes to one of the premieres for charity.[131]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: In July 2013, Marvel Studios released a teaser poster depicting a damaged and discolored Captain America shield.[132] The Los Angeles Times said, "the image suggests that [Captain America] might see some serious battle in the sequel" while Rolling Stone said, "the image hints at darker themes in the sequel".[133][134] Later that month, Marvel Studios head and producer Kevin Feige, directors Joe and Anthony Russo, and cast members Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Emily VanCamp, and Frank Grillo held a panel at 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International and presented footage from the film.[135] In addition, Marvel had booths depicting a Smithsonian-type exhibit showing Captain America and the Howling Commandos from Captain America: The First Avenger.[136] At the end of the month, audiences were shown a glimpse of the film along with some of Marvel's other Phase Two slate of films at Disney XD's Disney Fandom event.[137]

text: In August 2013, Feige, Evans, Stan, and Mackie presented a clip of the film at Disney's D23 Expo.[138] In September 2013, Marvel announced that it is again partnering with Harley-Davidson, continuing their relationship from Captain America: The First Avenger, with Captain America riding the company's Softail Breakout motorcycle in the film.[139]

text: In October 2013, Marvel released the first trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Hollywood Reporter said, "it looks like it'll live up to the 'political thriller' that's been promised for months now."[140] The Los Angeles Times said, "[the] trailer runs 2½ minutes and teases plenty of action, conspiracy and clever banter between Captain America and his S.H.I.E.L.D. colleagues, with a smattering of the previously released Comic-Con International and D23 footage."[141] The Los Angeles Times also noted that the day before the release of the trailer, the studio released "a teaser for a trailer."[142] The trailer received 23.5 million views in the 24 hours after its release.[143] In November 2013, Jed Whedon, the co-creator of the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., said that there are plans to reference events from the film into the show, stating, "Nick Fury is in [Captain America: The Winter Soldier], and S.H.I.E.L.D. makes an appearance, so we will definitely try to tee-up some stuff and probably play a little bit of the fallout from that film."[144]

text: In January 2014, Disney announced that in honor of the film, Captain America would be making appearances at Disneyland.[145] The meet and greet experience opened March 7, 2014 and is called Captain America: The Living Legend and Symbol of Courage, located at Innoventions in Tomorrowland.[146] Also in January, Marvel Comics released a prelude digital comic titled, Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier Infinite Comic, written by Peter David, with art by Rock-He Kim.[147] The comic sees the return of the "Zodiac", the mysterious weapon first seen in the One-Shot Agent Carter, which has fallen into the wrong hands. Captain America, Black Widow, and Rumlow must track the weapon down and put it back in S.H.I.E.L.D. protection.[148]

text: The first televised advertisement for Captain America: The Winter Soldier aired during Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney paid over $4 million per 30-second spot.[149] The Los Angeles Times said, "The clip promoting the April 4 release had a recognizably melancholy tone as Chris Evans' patriotic hero grapples with the moral ambiguities of the modern age."[150] Also in February, Gameloft announced that a mobile video game, titled Captain America: The Winter Soldier – The Official Game, would be released in conjunction with the release of the film in late March 2014 for iOS and Android platforms.[151] A few days later General Motors announced that Chevrolet partnered with Marvel Entertainment and provided a specially designed Corvette Stingray C7 for use by the Black Widow in the film. The vehicle debuted at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show, where fans received limited-edition Captain America comic books.[152] Evans was named the grand marshal of the 2014 Daytona 500 to promote the film's release.[153] Later in the month, a 30-second television spot received "a lot of attention on social media" for a line featured in the clip. The line, which was said by Captain America, suggests that Nick Fury would die in the film. The Hollywood Reporter noted that it all seemed "a bit too obvious", noting the fact that Jackson, who plays Fury, is reprising the role in Avengers: Age of Ultron, although pointing out that it could be in a postmortem flashback appearance.[154]

text: In March 2014, Marvel released the Captain America Experience app, that allowed fans to capture a pictures of themselves with Captain America, and let them share it on Instagram and Twitter using specific hashtags to unlock 10 early screenings of the film across the United States,[155] which took place on March 20.[156] On March 18, ABC aired a one-hour television special titled, Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, which included a sneak peek of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.[157] On April 1, 2014, Evans and Stan rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange in honor of the film's theatrical release.[158] Jackson appeared in advertisements for Sky Broadband.[159]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment for digital download on August 19, 2014 and on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD on September 9, 2014. The physical media releases include behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel.[160]

text: The film was also collected in a 13-disc box set, titled "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Collection", which includes all of the Phase Two films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was released on December 8, 2015.[161]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Captain America: The Winter Soldier earned $259.8 million in North America and $454.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $714.3 million.[3] It became the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2014 worldwide.[162] Deadline.com calculated the net profit for the film to be $166.2 million, when factoring together "production budgets, P&A, talent participations and other costs, with box office grosses, and ancillary revenues from VOD to DVD and TV," placing it ninth on their list of 2014's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[163]

text: Captain America: The Winter Soldier made $10.2 million in Thursday night showings, more than double the midnight gross of its predecessor.[164] It set an April single-day[165] ($36.9 million)[166] and April opening-weekend record ($95.0 million), while its opening weekend was a 46% increase over its predecessor.[167] The film held the number one spot at the box office for three consecutive weekends,[168][169] before being overtaken by The Other Woman in its fourth weekend.[170] It achieved the largest total gross among films released in the month of April.[171] At the end of its theatrical run, the film became the fourth highest-grossing film of 2014 behind American Sniper, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, and Guardians of the Galaxy.[172]

text: Captain America: The Winter Soldier topped the box office on its opening weekend with $75.2 million from 32 overseas markets.[124] The film debuted at number one in many territories, including Australia, China, and Russia[173] and set a 3-day opening-weekend record in China among Disney films,[167] with $38.81 million.[173] It topped the box office outside North America on two consecutive weekends,[167] followed by two weeks in second, behind Rio 2.[174][175]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 89% approval rating with an average rating of 7.6/10 based on 266 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Suspenseful and politically astute, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a superior entry in the Avengers canon and is sure to thrill Marvel diehards."[176] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 70 out of 100 based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[177] CinemaScore audiences gave Captain America: The Winter Soldier an "A" grade rating on an A+ to F scale.[178]

text: Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said the film "takes the bold (for Marvel) step of reducing CGI spectacle to a relative minimum in favor of reviving the pleasures of hard-driving old-school action, surprising character development and intriguing suspense."[179] Scott Foundas of Variety said it is "chockfull of the breathless cliffhangers dictated by the genre, but equally rich in the quiet, tender character moments that made the first film unique among recent Marvel fare."[180] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times said, "While not on a par with The Avengers or the first and third Iron Man movies, this is another rock-solid chapter in the big-screen story of Marvel."[181] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly noted the topicality of the film, stating, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the first superhero film since the terrorist-inflected The Dark Knight that plugs you right into what's happening now."[182] Ty Burr of The Boston Globe said the film "delivers all the 3D CGI mayhem audiences have come to expect from the Marvel entertainment juggernaut, but there’s darkness and confusion just under its comic-book surface."[183] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal said, "What makes The Winter Soldier so enjoyable, and what will make it so profitable, is its emotional bandwidth—all the vivid, nuanced life lived by its characters in between their frenzied escapades," and felt it fixed all the shortcomings of The First Avenger "and then some".[184]

text: Conversely, Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said, "[Captain America: The Winter Soldier] is everything a big budget superhero film should be – except inspired."[185] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said, "Like many others of its type, [Captain America: The Winter Soldier] gets off to a kinetic start only to lose steam before blowing everything up."[186] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph said, "You can't help but feel disappointment that a film with a relatively spicy premise becomes, in the end, so risk-averse."[187] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said the film "has the usual overlong running time [for the comic book superhero genre], the halfhearted feints in the direction of human feeling and the obligatory action sequences that are big without being either exciting or particularly legible."[188] Joe Williams of the St. Louis Post Dispatch felt "On paper this sequel has some promising elements, but on screen it retreats from the very issues that it raises, and on a shelf next to Captain America: The First Avenger, The Winter Soldier is pale."[189] Jake Coyle of the Associated Press said the film's biggest misstep was the handling of Stan's Winter Soldier, and that it was "getting difficult to tell the Marvel movies apart".[190]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award / Film Festival
Category
Recipient(s)
Result
Ref(s)

2014
Golden Trailer Awards
Best Action
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Nominated
[191]

Best Action TV Spot
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Won

Best Music TV Spot
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Nominated

Teen Choice Awards
Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Nominated
[192]

Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Chris Evans
Nominated

Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Scarlett Johansson
Nominated

Choice Movie: Chemistry
Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie
Nominated

Choice Movie: Liplock
Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson
Nominated

Choice Movie: Scene Stealer
Anthony Mackie
Nominated

Young Hollywood Awards
Super Superhero
Chris Evans
Nominated
[193]

2015
Critics' Choice Movie Awards
Best Action Movie
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Nominated
[194]

Best Actor in an Action Movie
Chris Evans
Nominated

People's Choice Awards
Favorite Movie
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Nominated
[195]

Favorite Movie Actress
Scarlett Johansson
Nominated

Favorite Movie Duo
Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson
Nominated

Favorite Action Movie
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Nominated

Favorite Action Movie Actor
Chris Evans
Won

Favorite Action Movie Actress
Scarlett Johansson
Nominated

Academy Awards
Best Visual Effects
Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
Nominated
[196]

Art Directors Guild Awards
Best Production Design for a Fantasy Film
Peter Wenham
Nominated

Saturn Awards
Best Comic-to-Film Motion Picture
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Nominated
[197]

Best Director
Joe Russo and Anthony Russo
Nominated

Best Writing
Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
Nominated

Best Actor
Chris Evans
Nominated

Best Supporting Actor
Anthony Mackie
Nominated

Samuel L. Jackson
Nominated

Best Supporting Actress
Scarlett Johansson
Nominated

Best Music
Henry Jackman
Nominated

Best Editing
Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt
Nominated

Best Production Design
Peter Wenham
Nominated

Best Special Effects
Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill, and Dan Sudick
Nominated

Empire Awards
Best Thriller
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Nominated
[198]

MTV Movie Awards
Best Fight
Chris Evans vs. Sebastian Stan
Nominated
[199]

Best Kiss
Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans
Nominated

tag: table

text: Sequel[edit]

text: Captain America: Civil War was released on May 6, 2016, and again is directed by the Russo brothers.[200][201] Evans, Johansson, Stan, Mackie, VanCamp and Grillo reprise their roles from The Winter Soldier[202][203] and they are joined by Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Paul Bettany as Vision, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man, and William Hurt as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross,[204] all reprising roles from previous MCU films.