L'incroyable Hulk

The original Hulk movie brings the gamma-ridden powerhouse from the pages of Marvel Comics to the screen with -gasp! - intelligence. Rather than focussing on the epic action and destruction of the comicbook, which it hasn't the budget for anyway, the movie concentrates on creating believable characters and as realistic a plot as possible. It suceeds admirably, thanks to a superb central performance from Bill Bixby and some assured direction from Kenneth Johnson. And no comic fan can argue that Lou Ferrigno isn't the Incredible Hulk. He bursts from the four-color pages with absolute fury and destroys whatever he comes across.

The cast all perform well, with none of the over-the-top clowning you get in so many comicbook adaptions. It's got some great 70's locations and a wonderful theme tune as well. Of the six Hulk movies around, this remains the best, and with another intelligent superhero flick, X-Men (2000) demolishing the box-office, hopefully people will take a look at the last good Marvel film. Yeah, Blade was a Marvel character but Blade, in reality, is complete and utter shash.

This is a lot better than the television show that followed and that footage in the rain with David transforming into The Hulk for the first time is outstanding! Note the editing and music used in this footage. Right after this scene we cut to the lake scene with the direction and music still on a very high standard: even the green paint on The Hulk's skin looks more impressive than usual! But this high standard of production could never last in the lower budget weekly television series, which is too bad as this movie displayed what The Incredible Hulk series could have been if more money was put into it! I am told The Incredible Hulk series got more female viewers than male viewers so maybe I was the wrong sex for it?

The 1977 Hulk adaptation done as a pilot for the TV series was, by TV standards...well, incredible. Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bixby were perfectly cast in their roles. The "special effects" were about all they could do at the time, so you can't hold the body paint or Tina Turner wig against them. They didn't detract from the story at all, but rather, boosted it: making them superior to most special effects today. The origin, of course, was rewritten, as was Hulk's level of power, to make them more believable. Well, it worked, and this version of the Hulk is still a favorite among Hulk fans to this day. Interesting to note is the music and sound. First of all is the opening "Dr.David Banner...physician...scientist..." segment. It's not present in this movie, since this was only the pilot. Also, you'll notice the sound of wailing voices as he transforms, in contrast to the weird Twilight Zonish-noise used from mid-1st season until its end. "The Lonely Man" theme (played at the end of each episode) gave this show its own signature, and helped to boost otherwise lame episodes, giving them more poignancy than deserved (of the series run, "The First," and "Bride of the Incredible Hulk" were the best [both 2parters]). I really felt the lack of a signature sound/theme is one of the key factors holding back the big-budget movie that just came out.

This pre-series pilot was a good way to start off a TV saga based on a comic book superhero. To me, it is a TV-movie classic.

As you'll see in this pilot (as well as the series that followed it), our hero is really a reluctant hero. We have a man who changes into a seven-foot green creature, but he doesn't want to. All he wants is to be rid of the curse. Still, he has to give his alter-ego credit for having saved countless lives.

The three characters in the series are also ones that I can relate to because of various common traits, and they are as follows:

David Banner: he is a man looking for solace. In addition, I know what it's like to be close to obtaining certain goals, only to have them suddenly slip away. He's experienced that himself when he has thought that he would finally be cured of his problem, only to have something happen and ruin that chance.

The Incredible Hulk: he has experienced something we all experience in life: rejection. In his case, the rejections tend to result from some misunderstanding. Like the Frankenstein monster, the Hulk is misunderstood, and, therefore, people confuse his intentions. Few people will admit it, but I am sometimes misunderstood. And I suspect that other people's general misconceptions about me has often played a role in my being rejected.

Jack McGee: he is, of course, the newspaper reporter who chases the Hulk, thinking our hero is a killer. McGee is persistent in his goal to capture and expose the Hulk. Like McGee, I am very relentless when it comes to reaching certain objectives, and I tend not to give up until they are finally obtained.

Dr.David Bruce Banner is looking for an inner strength that people get in times of peril. He is mad he didn't have it to save his wife when she died. He uses gamma radiation on himself. Which turns him into the superhuman monster The Incredible Hulk! Bill Bixby is perfect as Banner,and Ferringo is perfect as Hulk I loved this film,everything about it is great. It is a super hero film,but it reminded me of the old universal monster films. We get references to The Wolfman,and Frankenstein. I thought those were great. Also a very touching musical score. Much better than the new hulk!

4/4