The Black Hole

Plot synopsis:
In the year 2130, the deep space research ship USS Palomino is on a search for intelligent non-human life on other planets. The crew is comprised of Captain Dan Holland (Robert Forster), Lt. Charles Pizer - the hotshot first officer (Joseph Bottoms); utility droid LF#396, informally known as VINCENT (voice of Roddy McDowall); Dr. Alex Durant (Anthony Perkins) - navigator and science officer; Dr. Kate McCrae (Yvette Mimieux) - medical officer and empath, who maintains a telepathic rapport with VINCENT via her ESP; and embedded journalist Harry Booth (Ernest Borgnine). After five years of fruitless searching, the Palomino is now on her way home for a refit when VINCENT notices a large, swirling blue accretion disk and recommends a course correction. VINCENT identifies the disk as a black hole, the largest discovered in recent history. While the crew nervously discuss the destructive potential of black holes, VINCENT reveals something else: an apparently derelict ship standing off from the black hole's event horizon (line of no return) and somehow able to keep station, when it almost certainly should have been sucked in. Pizer and Booth are more shocked to see a ship so far from home (when the Palomino should have been the first spaceship to reach this deep in space) than they are to see the black hole. VINCENT identifies the ship as USS Cygnus, with the German scientist Hans Reinhardt (Maximilian Schell) commanding, which disappeared nearly 20 years earlier after apparently failing to heed recall orders after its mission, the same as Palomino's, was declared a failure. (In addition, Booth remembers Reinhardt as arrogant, pompous, and utterly heedless of the value of taxpayers' money.) The Cygnus, however, holds another significance for the crew of Palomino: its XO, Frank McCrae, is Kate's father.Against his better judgment, Holland accepts the recommendations of Pizer and Durant and comes about to rendezvous with Cygnus. As they approach, they come under the influence of the black hole's tremendous gravity. But at their closest approach, the gravity ceases. Durant speculates that something from the Cygnus is responsible, but no one aboard can decide what that might be. Then Palomino falls away from Cygnus and is very nearly sucked into the black hole. Palomino escapes but is badly damaged and now needs spare parts. So when Palomino once again comes under the apparent protective influence of Cygnus, the crew start to look for a way to board--when suddenly Cygnus blazes with light, as if to welcome them.Palomino docks with Cygnus, and the crew, except for Lt. Pizer, disembark. They enter a vestibule, where automatic laser fire destroys their guns and knocks out VINCENT, he is not seriously damaged, but his combat protocols are now offline. Holland radios Pizer, telling them they have been disarmed, but uninjured, before the crew moves forward. Then they board an automatic cart, part of a ship-wide transportation system, and ride in comfort to Cygnus' conning tower. They ride a hoist to the tower cab, which they find occupied apparently by a crew of "humanoids" with hooded robes and mirrored faceplates. Though the humanoids ignore them, they do get the attention of an oxblood-colored levitating war machine who wordlessly challenges VINCENT to a face-off. Before the two robots can go into combat, Dr. Reinhardt emerges from the shadows and orders them to stand down. He identifies the war machine as Maximilian, his cybernetic master-at-arms.Reinhardt says that he is the only human aboard. Cygnus was disabled by a meteor storm, he and Frank McCrae stayed behind to make repairs while the rest of the crew left Cygnus in an attempt to reach Earth (and of course, were never seen again). The elder McCrae has since passed on. He also admits, or rather avows, that he refused to obey his recall orders, because he proposes to reconnoiter the black hole--and pilot his ship "in, through, and beyond" it, to another dimension that he is sure exists.Their conversation is interrupted when a squad of armored "sentry robots" brings in Pizer, apparently under arrest. Reinhardt smooths the situation over and then offers to provide spare parts for the Palomino. Pizer and VINCENT take charge of requisitioning the parts they need, and they meet LF#28, informally known as BOB, (voice of Slim Pickens), an old rusted sanitation droid who has languished since the human crew's disappearance.A little later, Holland happens upon several of the humanoids conducting what looks like a funeral for one of their own. He also finds crew quarters still containing furnishings and uniforms, a finding totally inconsistent with a wholesale abandonment of the ship. Elsewhere, Booth discovers the ship's on-board garden--which is as big as a jungle and easily "big enough to feed an army," and notes that its mute groundskeeper is sporting a notable limp. The crew of Palomino reassemble to discuss what they have seen--and while Holland very much wants to accept the spare parts and depart from Cygnus as rapidly as possible, Durant and McCrae are curious about Reinhardt's black-hole reconnaissance plans. Reinhardt launches an experimental probe-ship to reconnoiter the black hole's event horizon, then invites the Palomino crew to a dinner party, where he will explain his research.While Reinhardt entertains the Palomino crew in his spacious, Victorian inspired dining hall, VINCENT hangs out in a shooting gallery with BOB and several sentry robots, led by their prototype, Captain STAR. BOB explains that STAR had been the master-at-arms until Reinhardt built Maximilian, and is also responsible for much of the abuse BOB has endured over the years. STAR challenges BOB to a shooting match, and wins only because he had distracted BOB by bumping him as he was shooting. BOB then confesses that he let STAR win on purpose, to avoid retaliation. Outraged, VINCENT challenges STAR to a match. Though STAR again cheats, VINCENT still manages to beat him, and STAR is so angered by his defeat that he ends up literally blowing a fuse. BOB, impressed, asks VINCENT to meet him in the parts-storage bay.Inside the dining hall, Reinhardt is eagerly discussing his research with his new guests. Eventually, Maximilian notifies him that the probe-ship has returned, and Reinhardt excuses himself to debrief the pilot. After he has left, Holland and Booth discuss the inconsistencies they have discovered in Reinhardt's story. Holland and Booth are now convinced that Reinhardt is insane, but Durant wants to give him the benefit of the doubt.Now able to speak freely, BOB restores VINCENT's combat protocols to 100%, and tells him the real story: the humanoids are not robots at all, but are in fact the crew of Cygnus, reduced to drone-like mentality by a series of laser prefrontal lobotomies. As the two robots are reconnoitering the sick bay where some maintenance lobotomies are taking place, two sentry robots discover them. VINCENT and BOB destroy them and hide the evidence. They then rejoin Holland, Pizer, and Booth, who have returned to Palomino while Durant and McCrae have remained in the conning tower cab with Reinhardt. BOB tells the three men what really happened to the crew: that when the recall order was refused, Frank McCrae attempted to relieve Reinhardt of his command, and Reinhardt accused Mr. McCrae of mutiny and then killed him. He then had his sentry robots capture the rest of the crew and subject them to the prefrontal lobotomies that have turned them into "humanoid robots." Meanwhile, Reinhardt and Maximilan discover the remains of the two sentry robots BOB and VINCENT were forced to destroy, and decide that it is now time to "liquidate" their guests.Holland orders VINCENT to use his ESP to contact McCrae and order her to return to Palomino with or without Durant, and to "tell her why." With that result, McCrae tells Durant that Reinhardt is a murderer, and that the apparent robots who are running the tower-cab systems are really the original crew. Durant tests this by removing the faceplate from a crewman, revealing his human face beneath. McCrae is nauseated at the sight--and then Maximilian breaks off from his post and summarily executes Durant. Reinhardt scolds Maximilian, who nevertheless returns to his post. Reinhardt then appeals to McCrae to somehow "protect him from Maximilian"--whereupon McCrae denounces him to his face and says, "If there is any justice at all, the black hole will be your grave!"As a rejoinder, Reinhardt orders McCrae taken by force to sick bay to be lobotomized. Aboard Palomino, VINCENT tells Holland that Durant is dead and McCrae is being taken to sick bay. Holland, VINCENT, and BOB then rush to the Cygnus' sick bay, rescue McCrae, and destroy half a platoon of sentry robots in a pitched battle, to the horror of Reinhardt, who watches on a video monitor. Reinhardt orders the sentry robots to terminate any unauthorized humanoids on that section of the ship, then instructs Maximilian to let Palomino take off and then destroy it at a distance with the Cygnus lasor cannons, while he continues to prepare to dive into the black hole.When the allotted time passes, Booth is eager to write off Holland and McCrae as dead and leave. Pizer refuses, insisting on a rescue attempt. Succumbing to cowardice, Booth feigns an injury so that Pizer will let him return to the ship. Holland, McCrae, and the droids find themselves pinned down by sentry robots as they get closer to the Palomino, but Pizer, armed with twin pistols, manages to outflank the attackers. Booth then tries to take off in the Palomino alone. Endangering the Cygnus and himself due to his poor piloting skills, he nearly hits the conning tower before Cygnus' lasor guns shoot him down--but Palomino then crashes into Cygnus in a near-miss that causes some minor, but critical, damage. The Palomino crew now have only one avenue of escape: the probe-ship.As the Cygnus gets closer to the accretion disk, it is pulverized by a hailstorm of meteors, severely compromizing its hull and taking its emergency reactors and null gravity generators offline. The Palomino survivors must dodge a large, red-hot meteor that crashes into the ship and traverses the entire main corridor, and pass through the ship's garden after it, too, is breached, all the while dodging and battling sentry robots.In the conning tower cab, the humanoid crew receive alarming signs that the ship is now subject to structural overload. Reinhardt orders Maximilian to prepare the probe-ship for launch. As Maxmilian starts to leave, a seven-foot video monitor tears loose from its fastenings and crashes to the deck, pinning Reinhardt beneath it. In a hint of the poetic justice that he will eventually receive, Reinhardt cries out for help, first to Maximilian, who apparently deserts him to make his/its own escape in the probe-ship, and then to his lobotomized crew, who of course cannot begin to understand him now.Maximilian reaches the probe-ship docking hoist first and ambushes the surviving Palmonino crew. After BOB is taken offline and Pizer is knocked out, VINCENT attacks Maximilian, giving Holland, Pizer, and McCrae time to board the probe-ship. VINCENT and Maximilian fight using every gadget at their disposal, culminating with Maximilian catching VINCENT in a bear hug-like grab and attempting to electocute him. VINCENT responds by using his cutting armatures to disable Maximilian's antigravity stabilizers, which sends him spinning out of control through a hull breach and into the black hole.BOB, too weak to function any longer, says his goodbyes to VINCENT, who then reluctantly abandons BOB and boards the probe-ship. Holland lifts off as the Cygnus, now twisted into a lump beyond all recognition, is caught up in the whirlwind of stellar detritus that surrounds the black hole. Holland tries to set a course away from the black hole, but nothing responds. VINCENT soon realizes that the ship has been programmed to follow the course that Reinhardt had set for it: a straight dive down the vortex funnel of the black hole. Unable to alter that course, the three humans decide to "pray that Reinhardt was a genius."And so the probe-ship takes its straight dive down the black-red vortex and into the black hole. As it does, the crew start to hear voices--Reinhardt's and their own--repeating words spoken long ago, an effect of the tremendous time dilation as space-time is bended.Suddenly the viewpoint shifts to Reinhardt, floating out of control in the reddish vortex of the black hole in the same pose that he assumed when the seven-foot monitor in the tower cab crushed him. Then he catches up with Maximilian--or rather, Maximilian, who has been waiting for him, now takes him in an unbreakable embrace and draws him closer--until Reinhardt becomes Maximilian, which the viewer realizes because Maximilian's charged-coupler optical device is now a simple visor, out of which Reinhardt's frightened eyes suddenly stare. Worse yet, Reinhardt/Maximilian finds himself standing on a basalt promontory over a fire-covered craggy landscape, accompanied by his lobotomized crew. As the view withdraws from Reinhardt/Maximilian and pans down and then forward to show Cygnus' crew and then the fiery lake behind them, the viewer realizes that they are all, quite simply, in hell.Then a church-window-shaped portal opens, and the viewpoint rushes through it and through an arched corridor, through which a robed figure, arms outstretched, floats past the viewer and forward. Next, the viewpoint picks up on the probe-ship, now heading toward the viewer and out of a nebula-like star. Aboard, Holland, Pizer, McCrae, and VINCENT awaken from an apparent trance and realize that they are headed toward a bright light in space--not the harsh, lethal light of a star, but a very pleasant, warm light. They sit back and let the probe ship take them toward the light--which is apparently a white hole: the portal of heaven. The so-called four survivors of the USS Palomino have put the black hole behind them forever. And on this hopeful note, the film comes to a close.

Tags: murder, cult, violence, insanity, psychedelic, humor

Review:
With the advancement of movie technology today, I am awaiting a re-make of this film as I can see the enhancement of the Armageddon-like atmosphere of this movie.Even though this film came out on the heels of Star Wars I feel that for its time and its budget it was awesome and very much overlooked.
It uses many of what I see as key elements in science fiction - known science, theoretical science, possible futures, and our fear of the unknown (I personally think even with what we know, we still know very little about black holes).This movie was made in the feel of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Moby Dick, with the mad, yet brilliant captain, sailing a state of the art ship, knowingly, into certain and utter doom in the name of some idealistic obsession.
The Black Hole was one of many films that were released with the intention of cresting the sci-fi wave created by the huge success of Star Wars (1977).
This is in all honesty one of his best bits of individual music, its sweeping yet mysterious and complements events on screen extremely well.The story itself is pretty simple and boils down to a deep space crew discovering a mysterious spaceship near a black hole, they board it and events escalate.
The story is perhaps oddly presented in some ways as there is material quite obviously aimed at kids, like the cartoonish robots (the main one, V.I.N.C.E.N.T., being voiced excellently by Roddy McDowell) but at the same time there are also some decidedly sinister aspects to this one too.
And he ended up being the first movie character to ever really scare the crap out of me.If you were 6 years old kid in 1980, you would remember this film.
Because even though it's silly to make the comparison today, at one time the Black Hole held a special place in the hearts of kids everywhere, mainly because it featured a character who was even scarier than Darth Vader.
They meet its commander, the mad genius Dr. Hans Reinhardt (Maximilian Schell), who's created an army of obedient robot slaves and who fully intends to explore this black hole and see what might lay beyond it.
It doesn't take our heroes too long to realize that they should get out while the getting is good."The Black Hole" came along at a very interesting time during the reign of Disney Studios, when they took some unusual chances with their projects and dipped their toes into genres like fantasy, sci-fi, and horror.
(As a matter of fact, some pretty nasty violence is suggested at one point, not that we ever see any blood or gore.) It does play as reminiscent of earlier works - Disney's own production of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", "Forbidden Planet", "2001: A Space Odyssey", and "Star Wars".Some of the visual effects may show their age now, 37 years later, but overall, the movie is quite agreeable as eye candy, and looks especially nice in its intended 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
The Black Hole is probably the only Disney live-action movie (with the possible exception of Cool Runnings) that is even watchable.
So the fact that it's incredibly fun just makes it all the more odd.Perhaps it's the overabundance of mediocre effects (even by 1979's standards, considering it was preceded by Star Wars (2 years) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (11 years)), or it could be the overall impossibility of the robot VINCENT, but I am hooked on this movie.Plotwise, there's some new stuff here for science fiction.
In general, the black hole had never really been looked into, so combining that with the crazed genius (Maximillian Schell) just creates a story worth watching, despite some obvious speaking errors ("habitable life in outer space") and some scientific errors (the astronauts are exposed to the vacuum of space and nothing happens...).All in all, the fighting, the story, and the utterly bizarre 1970s sets and costumes make this one of my closet favorites.
It was a huge bomb which is too bad--it's pretty good.A spaceship's crew (Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux) find a mad doctor (Maximilian Schell) in outer space ready to enter a black hole.
On the other hand, you have some bad performances (Borgnine and wooden-faced Forster), unnecessarily anthromorphized robots (no doubt inspired by Star Wars and Disney's desire to lighten the flick a bit), some sloppy science, and a very slow plot.
The Black Hole (1979) was one of the first films that I can remember watching in a movie theater.
The robots were cool and the special effects were quite impressive.Not a bad film except it confused me a bit when I was younger (especially the end).
But in the end, a great roster of seasoned actors had a poor script (TV writer Bob Barash's only feature film), poor direction (TV director Gary Nelson's only feature film) and all the wonderful special effects or sweeping score cannot save an inherently bad movie.
Movies are commercial art, they exist to make money (hopefully entertaining us at the same time); and the Disney people got their best film-making talent together, assembled a dynamite cast, and cranked this out, in a very lavish and polished way, production-wise.
The money is slathered all over the screen, and everything is handled in the tried-and-true Disney Studios fashion of preplanning and choreographing everything down to the tiniest of details (actors don't even PAUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF A LINE unless it was dictated, planned and rehearsed that way)...this was very near the end of Disney's run as a major producer of live-action features, and "The Black Hole" is a fitting finish.
The opening sequence, featuring a wire-frame computer generated black hole yanking you towards the center of the whirlpool is fantastic, and the enemy robot, Maximillian, comes in second only to the Horned King as Disney's scariest and most intimidating villain.
anthony perkins as the scientist captivated by the black hole is very good, as are all the actors.this movie, along with tron are two grossly under-rated classics from walt disney.
There's a very good reason the attraction in Tomorrowland at Disney World has always been called "Space Mountain" and not "The Black Hole" even though the ride was obviously modeled after this movie.Overall, sub par acting (especially for a veteran cast), thin plot with more suspension of disbelief than is necessary except for maybe kids under 10.
And that's kids under 10 in 1979, I doubt in this day and age that many kids over the age of 8 would fail to question some of the holes.Now, that being said, this IS a Disney movie and let's face it, the 70s aren't particularly noted for fantastic films.
The movie features two tediously cute good-guy robots (with ridiculous acronym names) voiced by Roddy MacDowell (V.I.N.cent) and Slim Pickens (B.O.B), a lot of unimpressive laser-fodder anthropomorphic bad-guy robots, and the Satanic looking 'Maximillian' (who had by far the greatest toy potential).
The human cast (which looks great on paper) are not much better than the robots: cowardly reporter Ernest Borgnine, bland psychic Yvette Mimieux, wooden scientist Anthony Perkins and generic heroes Robert Forster and Joseph Bottoms.
Eventually they learn the truth and must struggle to get away before it is too late.Made by Disney shortly after Sci-fi became all the rage following 'Star Wars' this film is surprisingly dark at times.
I was a 28 year old adult and quite familiar with science fiction films and with science when I saw The Black Hole.
There are scientific gaps in the story, but it is a kids film (I didn't know anything about astro-physics at the age of TEN).I understand that to some people, the subject of BLACK HOLES, is not exactly the most enthralling, but they have paid the bills of many a Sci-Fi writer.
It has been awhile since I have seen sci fi classic (since childhood) The Black Hole and I think it is a great science fiction film.
The Black Hole is an unusual film and is easily the darkest and weirdest movie released by Disney.
The Black Hole gets compared to Star Wars a lot (which is apt in some ways, as they both shared the same special f/x team), but in my opinion the film has more in common with Star Trek but with a darker edge.
The story isn't bad - a mad scientist (Schell) kills his entire crew, turns them into robots to serve him loyally and to live out his ultimate plan, to drive his massive ship directly into a black hole.
The Black Hole,One of the darker movies Walt Disney had their name on.With over 550 visual effect shots,including over 150 matte paintings.For contrast,the original Star Wars contained just 13 matte paintings!This rather dark sci-fi kid's triller has had my heart since the day my mom took me to see it in 1979.And with the release of the new widescreen remastered edition,the colors and killer soundtrack come to life were a journey that begins where everything ends!.
Yes, I remember discussing the ridiculous scientific plot holes AFTER leaving the theater, but thats not something you notice when you feel like being in that huge ship yourself while watching the movie on the big screen.Now that I dug up this gem again, I expected to be disappointed like with many other sci-fi movies from that era.
Rating: 4 out of 5Genre: Science Fiction, Walt Disney, SpaceshipsDirector: Gary NelsonStars: Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine, Tom McLoughlin, Roddy McDowall, Slim PickensSynopsis: The year is 2130 and the space exploration vessel USS Palomino is out in space investigating a black hole.
What a sad waste of time to find people like MAXIMILIAN SCHELL, ANTHONY PERKINS and YVETTE MIMIEUX--and even ERNEST BORGNINE--wasting their time in a ripoff of "Star Wars" or any other sci-fi extravaganza ever made.
A crew of space explorers manning the USS Palomino, discover the long lost USS Cygnus with scientist Hans Reinhardt as the sole surviving member on board, surrounded by a bizarre crew of robots and intent on solving the mystery of black holes.
Yet if writers were able to take the stupid mess that was original Battlestar Galactica and reboot it in a wonderful, thought-provoking modern series, I think The Black Hole has as much, if not more potential.Fans of old school sci-fi movies and shows should give this one a try..
The crew of the spaceship Palamino known as Captain Dan Holland (Robert Forster), Dr. Alex Durant (Anthony Perkins), Dr. Kate McCrae (Yvette Mimieux), Harry Booth (Ernest Borgnine) and special robot VINCENT (Voiced by Roddy McDowell) stumbles across a lost spacecraft called Cygnus which is far from the edge of a mysterious black hole.
While they investigate, they find a mad professor named Dr. Hans Reinhert (Maximillan Schell) with his crew of robots but he refuses to be rescued cause he must wants to find the secrets of the black hole and take them with him.Exciting Sci-fi epic from Walt Disney Pictures was their first PG-rated feature length movie!
It's a fascinating and dark epic into science fiction that the Disney company thought up in the wake of "Star Wars" making the genre popular again, unfortunately it bombed in theaters due to competition against December 1979's other Sci-fi movie "Star Trek The Motion Picture" as of today it has gained a small cult following due to it's scientific themes and nature, a must watch for fans of the genre.Also recommended: "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Event Horizon", "Heavy Metal", "The Fifth Element", "Serenity", "Lifeforce", "Star Wars Saga", "Star Trek Saga", "Outland", "Barberella", "Flash Gordon", "Lost in Space", "Dark Star", "Dune (1984 and 2000)", "Children of Dune", "Transformers (1986 and 2007)", "Metropolis (1927 and 2001)", "Wall-E", "2010: The Year we Make Contact", "Silent Running", "The Andromeda Strain (1971 and 2008)", "Explorers", "Total Recall", "Alien Series", "Contact", "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "Forbidden Planet", "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (Disney)", "Armageddon", "Deep Impact", "Apollo 13", "Zathura", "Battlestar Galactica movies", "Logan's Run" and "Titan A.E."..
And I might add, Art Cruickshank also did some of the effects photography for Lost In Space and Land Of The Giants (1968)...so this film is very much a case of the old meeting the 1979 new.The Black Hole is just fine..
The movie has a good story, and some really good special effects, considering when it was made.The only thing I didn't really care for was The Black Hole's more friendly robot from the original ship.
However, the film is actually pretty good, even though it never really set the box office on fire at the time.It tells of a story of a space ship's crew who discover a giant ship, holding orbit just out of reach of a menacing black hole.
I won't give too much away, but it's not a happy-go-lucky affair, plus it has an ending which the younger audiences might not get (I didn't, until I grew up and confirmed it on the internet!).Also, whereas Star Wars was timeless (showing few signs of being made in the seventies), The Black Hole looks a little like 'old science fiction' with the uniforms and robots.
The cast assembled are reliable sorts - Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, Yvette Mimieux, Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster - but they are usurped by the fun robots who, whilst once again showing the film to be a lazy rip-off, are good company to be in and offset the confusing attempt by the makers to create a thought provoking family movie!
It's a film that has not aged too well, the acting is pretty wooden in places,the effects are ropey in places,but the overall style and feel (as dreary and depressing as it is) helps to paper over the cracks enhanced with the John Barry soundtrack.It has some pretty iconic parts to it, Maximillian, V.I.N.C.E.N.T., the Cygnus and even the black hole itself.All of this aside, I still like it and think its certainly a great film to be remade!.
But if you love adventure and sci fi, you won't be disappointed.10 reasons to watch this film: 1) A great story, dark and entertaining all along 2) Great special effects, they still work today 3) One of the biggest and most scary star ships ever shown on film!
The Black Hole was Disney's attempt in 1979 to try and cash in on the then current science-fiction movie craze that was kicked back into gear with Star Wars and would get some added sophistication in 79 with Alien.
The eye and minds behind The Black Hole are less interested in how it "works" than what kinds of cool stuff can happen with it when a mad space-Captain who has his own group of scientist-zombie people working for him on the double.As happens in these sort of stories, the ship that discovers them, which includes Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, some actress named Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine, and the asshole-ish robot voiced by McDowell, wants to help them out.
The work as a whole isn't a total loss - it's fun seeing actors like Borgnine and Perkins and Maximillian Schell chew a little scenery (Forster, the professional he is, is the more relatable, boring protagonist here, but not his fault - plus the music by John Barry makes for spectacular listening at the least, and is comparable to the other great sci-fi movie soundtracks of its period).But it's a combination: the dull plot, the uninteresting treatment or brushing past of the science of the black hole, the asinine treatment of the zombies, and that finale where all I can remember is the color RED and a lot of crazy happenings without any cohesion, that make it a forgettable experience.
When this movie came out i have 4 years old and for a period of time,Disney produce a couple of very dark-adult-sci fi movies (Dragonslayer,Tron,Condorman)that beyond to look to be a great box office winner offer's an unique vision of Science Fiction.The black hole is one of them you see one of this movies and is incredible that pass the PG rating,in this time all the movies i mentioned at least one is PG-13,so was a very dark "era" for Disney.I not say it that was bad movies all this movies are now cult classics (Like Blade Runner,Krull,Battle beyond the stars,etc) what i say it is i was very lucky to see on of this movies in theaters.The black hole really is a sci fi GEM:First the movie have one of the best ambietation i ever see in a sci fi movie,Second the effects are,for the time,awesome,Third the plot i have to say was very "adult" for a Disney movie but now years later is great to see why they took that way,Fourt the casting was incredible classic actors like Schell,Perkins,Borgnine,Foster are part of this great movie.What can i say of this movie?...Very dark,very Mysterious,very tragic and yes very unique are part of this sci fi movie.You wanna see something different in sci fi?...See this movie...you ve surprise..
Over the years, I've come to be a fan of Robert Forster, and I like the rest of the cast alright insofar as I'm familiar with their work.Maybe it was all the anticipation, but I was extremely disappointed on finally watching The Black Hole.
If you watch The Black Hole in the right frame of mind, it's a pretty decent "So bad, it's good" film..
Though Disney Studios had certainly explored the realm of fantasy in their features and short films, their first venture into science fiction was this 1979 release The Black Hole.
I'm not sure that if Walt Disney were alive the studio would have made a feature like this.Not that it's the best science fiction I've ever seen, the influence 2001 A Space Odyssey is plain for anyone to see on viewing The Black Hole.
The Black Hole is Disney's 1970s attempt at a big budget sci-fi in the mold of Star Wars.
But it's fun to watch,and makes one think about what is truly beyond a black hole...Two out of Four stars.