Dr. Strange (1978) – Review

A “movie” that should be seen only for curiosity’s sake, Dr. Strange from the late 70s is a cobbling of some pilot episodes together into a “film.” Beware, though those that dig old school camp may enjoy this a bit.

There is a barrier that separates the known from the unknown. The forces of good and evil are in eternal conflict, yada yada, you get the picture, and throw in some shit about mankind hanging in the balance. Okay, after written exposition, it’s time for a crawling dialogue that features… exposition. Morgan LeFay (Walter) talks to her master, a disembodied voice of The Nameless One that bitches about her failure. Or, I guess there is somewhat of a shape or body there, but it’s weird as hell.

She is to destroy some old dude and assure victory, and has three days. But… there is a chance that a successor could happen. What if a new Sorcerer Supreme hits the scene? Like Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange (Hooten), surgeon turned pajama suited psychedelic baller who hangs out with Wong (Kusatsu) as he learns a new world of snazzy magic.

Are there other people? Yes! Do some things happen? I guess so, but slowly. Ultimately, is Dr. Strange good? Not really! The presentation is fairly dated, the pacing is slow, and the script is aimed at a longer-term playing out of events so it winds up as more of a slog through setup material. I could see why a studio wouldn’t really want a full season of this, or want to put much into it to make it into a movie, as there just isn’t a lot there. The actors aren’t even that bad, issues really were script and pacing. This is probably a good choice for a film to fall asleep to, it seems like it could do wonders.

“Your ulcers will go away if you lay off the juice.”