THE MOVIE

No doubt taking advantage of the big green machine making his mark on the silver screen, Universal have seen fit to provide us with a delicious taste of the original 70s television series with 2 movie length episodes of “The Incredible Hulk” presented on this DVD.

The Incredible Hulk began in November 1977 with the screening of two pilot movies on the CBS network (the first pilot movie introduced the story and characters, the second helped to lead into the television series which began in March 1978).

Running for 5 seasons and spawning 3 reunion movies in the late 80s, The Incredible Hulk remains a classic, and the longest running live action television series based on a comic book character.

Presented here is the original first pilot episode (“Pilot”), and the 2-part second season premiere (“Married”). Without giving too much away for the 3 of you out there who don’t know the story, here is an outline of what you can expect.

“Pilot”

Dr. David Banner (Bill Bixby) is a researcher doing groundbreaking work on advanced genetic diseases. When he and his wife are involved in a tragic car accident (which claims her life), David is shattered and becomes obsessed with finding a way to harness the hidden superhuman strength that some possess in times of great distress.

Working with Dr. Elaina Marks (Susan Sullivan), David thinks he may have found an answer, and acting hastily tests his theory on himself. The consequences of which will change his life forever.

“Married”

Still searching for a way to control his “problem”, David Banner goes to Hawaii and seeks out renowned psychiatrist Dr. Caroline Fields (Mariette Hartley in her Emmy winning performance) who is using a form of hypnosis to treat her patients. Unfortunately, David discovers that Dr. Fields herself is suffering from a life-threatening illness. However, with Dr. Banner’s experience in genetic disease research, a mutual dependence develops, and both grow closer as they try to solve each others conditions.

Happy to say, I really enjoyed this. Being only a little tacker at the time, I only have a few very vague recollections of this series and seeing this on DVD was a real pleasure.

There is no doubt that the visual effects can’t match the recent big screen release, but I have to say, I enjoyed this more than Ang Lee’s multi million dollar blockbuster. And I can put it down to one thing...emotion. For me, the late Bill Bixby IS David Banner and does a wonderful job of portraying that character and all the problems and perils he goes through. You can’t help but empathise with his plight throughout, and the sense that because of his condition he must live his life in virtual isolation really resonates.

And that really is a credit to writer, producer, director Kenneth Johnson who wanted to keep the show grounded in reality. Well, as much reality as possible considering you’re dealing with a green creature who has a property destruction fetish and the vocabulary of a German shepherd.

The kids of today might not be that impressed with the (at times) dodgy effects and 70s look (the swingers in the episode “Married” are downright hilarious, and what in the hell was the obsession with the colour brown back then, everyone must have been stoned, drunk or colour blind), but kids of the past should find it a welcome and enjoyable look back at a quality television show.

(Those with a keen eye may notice I’ve listed this as having a “PG” rating even though the cover clearly indicates “M”. It looks as though Universal have made a slight error with the classification as I am 99.9% sure that this is a “PG” rated DVD. As soon as I get official confirmation from the OFLC one way or the other, I’ll update the review accordingly)

(Update: July 25, 2003. I just got confirmation from Hudson Bawden (Service Development Officer at the OFLC) that "PG" is in fact the correct rating for this release)

THE TRANSFER

Video:

The Incredible Hulk is presented at its original aspect ratio of 4:3 and doesn’t look too bad at all.

As the pilot episode started I feared the worst, but once things got back to reality the image sharpened and became reasonably clean and clear. Detail was good and colours came across quite well (showing off those wonderful (sic) bell bottoms and leisure suits) although I wouldn’t exactly say things were vibrant. Black levels were a mixed bag with some outdoor scenes looking a little grey but overall things were alright.

Film artefacts were pretty constant throughout, although I only found one of these particularly distracting. This occurred during the “Pilot” episode at 13.48. I didn’t notice any excessive grain problems.

Aliasing was also an issue and while it was for the most case minor, there were a few occasions (on blinds) when it became a little distracting.

While it can’t compete with the latest multi-million dollar extravaganzas, the video transfer of The Incredible Hulk does a decent (if unspectacular) job.

Audio:

Only one audio option here and that’s a mono Dolby Digital 2.0 track at 224kbps.

The whole track has reasonable fidelity throughout, especially with dialogue which for the most part comes across fairly clean and clear except when our green friend starts on his rants.

The Incredible Hulk has a quality musical score but unfortunately, I don’t think this transfer quite does it justice as it isn’t as immersive as I would have liked.

There are a couple of minor audio glitches too. One, at about 36.16 of the "Pilot" episode is quite grating. A background crackle can be heard on odd occasions (eg 41.27 of the "Pilot" episode).

This may seem a little disappointing, but it is to be expected, and overall things certainly don’t sound horrible.

THE EXTRAS

A few nice extras are provided for you to sink your teeth into.

AUDIO COMMENTARY – “PILOT” & “MARRIED”

Writer, director, producer Kenneth Johnson provides over 3 hrs of entertaining, informative and enjoyable commentary here, and he does so all by his lonesome. He literally has something to say about everything, from cast to crew to locations to music to lighting to sound effects to colouring.....and I could go on and on.

He seems justifiably proud of his work here and it’s a delight to hear. His reminiscing about the late Bill Bixby is wonderful, his sharing of anecdotes about cast and crew is lovely, and dedicating the commentary to his deceased friends and colleagues who worked on the show is just the perfect touch.

Off the top of my head I can only think of 3 people who know how to do an audio commentary really well (Joss Whedon, Oliver Stone, Kevin Smith). I think Kenneth Johnson can be added to that list.

HULK SNEEK PEEK

A promotional piece for the Hulk movie that contains nice little snippets with Ang Lee, Eric Bana and Jennifer Connolly, but with a run time of only 3 minutes, it is far too short for any substantial information to be conveyed.

It is presented 4:3, with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

INTRODUCTION BY LOU FERRIGNO

The Incredible Hulk himself talks about his experiences portraying the green giant. Unfortunately, due to a disease early in life that caused him to lose most of his hearing, Lou isn’t the most eloquent of speakers. Subtitles might have been a nice touch here.

Still, it’s a pleasant 4 minute piece, presented at 4:3 with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

HULK TEASER TRAILER

Good quality one minute teaser presented at 1.85:1, non-anamorphic and with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

HULK SUPERBOWL TRAILER

Superbowl trailers are known for being spectacular and this is no exception as it shows the Hulk in his full CG glory causing all kinds of chaos and giving us an example of how a tank can fly.

Good quality presented at 1.85:1, non-anamorphic with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

SUMMARY

It is great to see The Incredible Hulk on DVD and while I’m sure fans of the show would have loved to see full seasons released, most will be happy with what’s on offer here. Reasonable video, serviceable audio and a few nice extras (love that commentary) all add to the value of this DVD.

Go pick it up.