Dr. Strange (1978)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

just watch it!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

TV movie (intended as a pilot for a possible series) about the Marvel magical superhero, Dr. Strange. Morgan LeFay (Jessica Walter) is sent to Earth by a demon to prevent an aging sorcerer (John Mills) from passing his power onto someone else. To this end she possesses a young woman named Clea (Anne-Marie Martin) and tries to get her to kill the sorcerer. Clea is traumatized by this, which leads her to being taken to the hospital where she is treated by psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Strange (Peter Hooten), who just so happens to be the sorcerer's intended successor.While it's easy to dismiss this because it's a TV movie and those are largely cliché-ridden and forgettable today, I should point out that this wasn't always the case. In the 1970s TV movies were actually really good on the average, with a lot more creativity and variety than we see today where it's the same recycled soaps, thrillers, and romantic comedies over and over. This does have a limited budget, so those expecting things like Strange creator Steve Ditko's surreal imagery will be disappointed. But if you leave unrealistic expectations at the door and judge it on its own merits, I think you'll find it's a quality movie. Peter Hooten is a little wooden for a leading man but doesn't embarrass himself. Anne-Marie Martin (billed as Eddie Benton) is pretty good and very easy on the eyes. John Mills classes things up significantly. Jessica Walter is delicious fun as Morgan Le Fay. Perhaps the movie's greatest strength is Paul Chihara's score. Again, TV movies today just don't have this level of quality. Next to the Incredible Hulk TV series, this was the best of Marvel's efforts in the '70s and '80s to bring one of their heroes to life on the small or big screen, excluding cartoons. Those who can't enjoy TV movies or those who are fans of the comic book who can't see past their inflated expectations will not like it and should probably skip it altogether. I think most others who watch it will see it's very good for what it is.

Morgan LeFay (Jessica Walter) failed her demonic master five hundred years ago. She is sent back into our world to battle the aged Sorcerer Supreme Thomas Lindmer (John Mills) before he can pass on his knowledge. She has three days. Psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Strange (Peter Hooten) is to be the next sorcerer but he doesn't know it yet. Wong is Lindmer's loyal assistant. LeFay takes over Clea Lake to attack Lindmer. He survives the fall from the bridge. Haunted by LeFay's possession, Clea Lake becomes Strange's patient.There are some reasonable TV acting which includes the great Jessica Walter. It would be hilarious if she gets a part in the new movie. This has all the cheesiness that can be expected from a lower rate 70s TV effort. The production and the style has that lower value of that era. The special effects is of that era and is not good enough to do the subject with justice. It is somewhat watchable which is my best compliment for this TV movie.

Made for TV., this adaptation from the Marvel Comic Book, is not true to form, any form. Anyone who has read and enjoyed the comic books will be in for a let-down, so far down that they'll need a rope to pull themselves out from the pit they haplessly wandered into. The cast is wrongly picked and can't even do a decent job with the poor material (did anyone on the writing staff even look at the comic book?). I believe this was a pilot for a series, if anyone could believe that. The good thing was, that someone saw that it was a flop and it vanished, thankfully without a much notice. On a strange note (no pun intended) one critique actually enjoyed the show which drew my attention and subsequently led me to be assaulted by this injustice of a film. If it had great special effects, that would not be enough for it to claw its way out of the mire that it is. {See, Spider Man, Superman or any other comic adaptation}

This movie deviates somewhat from the Dr. Strange comic book, but I found it to be very entertaining and fun to watch. Peter Hooten does a good job as Dr. Strange. Veteran actor John Mills has a prominent part as Lindmer, the sorcerer. As has been mentioned earlier, "Dr. Strange" was supposed to be the pilot for a proposed TV series, but unfortunately it was not picked up by a network.