The Dr. Strange 1978 TV movie is coming to Blu-ray

By Blair Marnell April 22, 2022

In exactly two weeks, Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will open in theaters. And while audiences were initially introduced to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange in 2016’s Doctor Strange, he was not the first actor to portray the master of the mystic arts in live-action. That honor belongs to Peter Hooten, who played the title role in the 1978 TV movie, Dr. Strange. That film has rarely been available to watch legally, although it has been popular among bootleggers at comic conventions. But now, Dr. Strange is officially making the leap to Blu-ray.

Via Bloody Disgusting, the Dr. Strange TV movie will be available on Blu-ray exclusively through Shout Factory’s official site. In addition to Hooten, the film features Arrested Development star Jessica Walter as Morgan Le Fay, an evil sorceress who threatens the world. Anne-Marie Martin also co-stars as Clea Lake, with Clyde Kusatsu as Wong, and John Mills as Thomas Lindmer, the Sorcerer Supreme.

Peter Hooten in Dr. Strange.

Since this film was initially meant to be a pilot for a television series, it takes a lot of liberties with the source material. In this incarnation, Stephen Strange is a psychiatrist rather than a surgeon. Stephen is also initially unaware that magic is real, nor does he suspect that he holds a deeper connection to it. Within the story, Morgan Le Fay poses as a self-help guru as she prepares the Earth for an invasion by evil beings from another dimension. To save the world and his patient, Clea, Stephen must embrace magic and become the new Sorcerer Supreme.

As you may have expected, the special features are sparse. It’s never a good sign when the company lists this as one of the special features: “High-Definition Transfer And Restoration From The Original Film Elements.” That said, it does also have an audio commentary track by pop culture experts Russell Dyball and Cole Hornaday (The Panel Jumper).

Dr. Strange Blu-ray cover.

The Dr. Strange Blu-ray will be released on Tuesday, April 26.

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