One Captain America Set Was Breaking Ankles Left And Right
If there's any Marvel Cinematic Universe movie that can stand on its own two legs as a complete story, it's "Captain America: The First Avenger." Well, excluding the prologue and the epilogue, which show the frozen Steve Rogers being discovered in the Arctic and then waking up in modern-day New York City, respectively. The prologue lets you know ahead of time that Cap's sacrifice in the third act won't be fatal, while the ending is pure sequel bait.
"Captain America" is definitely not the most monumental MCU movie, but it's one of the most enjoyable. The MCU clearly takes its cues from the blockbusters of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige's youth — from "Star Wars" to "Raiders of the Lost Ark." "Captain America" is one of the few that feels like a pulpy, earnest Spielberg adventure movie (plus, actual lighting and color!). It makes sense since director Joe Johnston is budget Spielberg; he directed "Jurassic Park 3" (which some would call underrated) after Spielberg dipped out.
On the "Captain America" commentary track, Johnston discusses filming the aforementioned cold open (emphasis on cold) with editor Jeffrey Ford and cinematographer Shelly Johnson. It's far from the most action-packed scene in the movie, but apparently, the crew was in some real danger.
Filming the icy grave of Captain America
"Captain America" opens with a crew of parka-clad S.H.I.E.L.D. agents investigating the wreckage of the plane Cap went down in circa 1944. Long submerged beneath Arctic ice, it finally emerged thanks to glacial shifting. The scene is like John Carpenter's "The Thing," but what these explorers find in the ice is a lot friendlier than an alien parasite.
The scene inside the frozen-over plane is barely a minute long and was filmed inside a studio, not the actual Arctic (if you want an idea of how arduous that could've been, look at the Norway shoot for "The Empire Strikes Back"). Still, the "Captain America" commentators recall it being a pain in the neck (well, ankle) to film due to how tight and complex the set was. For instance, when the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents cut a hole in the buried plane's hull, it creates a beam of light as two men rappel down into the ship. Johnson says the lighting team "had almost no room" despite Johnston's specific instructions.
"It was tricky to move around in here because it was on so many levels and catwalks and everything. I think there were only three or four broken ankles," Johnston recalled. Ford adds that only three and four was "actually a pretty good number."
Evergreen advice: always remember to look where you're walking in the snow.