The Black Hole

 

 

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Sure alot of scenes in this film defy the natural laws of physics and most science nerds will pick it apart as a result. But the bottom line is who really cares? I watched this film as a child and enjoyed it for it's sheer entertainment factor.

The actors all do well despite the wooden script (Maximillion and Yvette give the most note-worthy performances). I blame this primarily on the writers. Apparently, the script had too many hands in it and it shows with inconsistencies throughout the film. And yes, I consider V.I.N.CENT and BOB to be a little on the cheesy side, but I loved them growing up.

The hell sequence at the end was the scene that truly stuck with me. It's creepy to say the least. For those who don't understand the meaning, does it need to be spelled out? The symbolism is that Reinhart's eternal punishment was to be imprisoned in the shell (no pun intended) of Maximillion just as he imprisoned the crew of the Cyngus. Plan and simple. As to what happened to the survivors of the Palomino, I still believe they emerged from the black hole on the other side of the galaxy somewhere. Many have speculated that their survival was because of Kate's ESP.

Anyways, I believe that had the film not been rushed and the script had gotten better treatment, this would've been one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made. Even still it's a flawed classic that I will enjoy over and over again.

OK let's get the bad things about the Black Hole out of the way first of all. Some of the dialogue is unbelievably naff. It has an overtly judgemental morality which runs throughout the film from start to finish. Very occasionally the SFX slip, and you see wires holding up robots etc. Some of the scenes are cloying, particularly involving the antics of the overly cute, heroic robots... Also the makers would have done better to remember what effect the vacuum of Space would have on people NOT wearing spacesuits...

Put all that aside though and you are left with a minor sci fi masterpiece. Atmospherically the film is an outright winner - it is just so gothic, from its' sets, robots, and cowled and hooded undead crew. It also boasts one of the very best musical scores by John Barry. Visually it is stunning, Space has seldom looked this good. The blue/black background of space with its' dense clusters of stars looks as good as it did on the day that it was released. Unlike Star Wars and its' visibly dated mattes, this film has more than withstood the test of time.
The film's visual pinnacle though is the giant space ship Cygnus.
A cross between Brighton Pier and The Eiffel Tower, this gothic behemoth is like no other. The scene where its' lights are switched on suddenly and unexpectedly, is one of awe and beauty.
The exploration of the ship, culminating in the arrival in the control tower is stunning. Ditto the firing up of the ship's Frankenstein Lab like reactors and huge engines for its' final journey to the Black Hole. Even in its' death throes, this huge vessel retains a sad dignity.
Acting honours go to Maximilian Schell as an intergalactic Captain Nemo. Ernest Borgnine, Anthony Perkins, Yvette Mimeux, and Robert Forster all provide very able support though.
The blood red robot Maximilian (I wonder how that name was arrived at...) is an inspired creation, and has a temperament to match its' colour scheme...

The dvd is great, picture and sound are both superb. Playing the film in 5.1 Dolby Digital on your home cinema is something else, especially when your memory of the film in the cinema is in mono. All sound channels are free of distortion and nicely separated. Both Surround channels in particular are superb.
Get this dvd if you can (it is due to be re released anyway) and add one of sci fi's most underrated films to your collection.

I can't help it, I'm nostalgic for this movie. Long before I saw it, I had "The story of..." on record. Kids today have no idea what I'm talking about!

I think Roddy McDowell is one of the most underrated actors ever, and I could probably listen to him reading his grocery list for two hours and still be entertained. McDowell and the legendary Slim Pickens both voice robots in this movie (shameless R2D2 ripoffs, except they can fly!) and the touch of classic, recognizable voices makes the movie that much easier to swallow.

Having said that, The Black Hole isn't great sci-fi, but it's not bad. The USS Cygnus (great name, if you know what it refers to) has been missing in space for 20 years. However, the exploration vessel Palomino has just stumbled upon it, seemingly derelict. It is also inexplicably hovering in front of a black hole! Impossible! And as Palomino approaches, Cygnus turns on her lights. She is not a derelict after all!

In fact, she is crewed entirely by robots, except for the commander. Dr. Hans Reinhardt (man, I love when mad scientist have German names!) commands this motley crew, a genius who has discovered the secret of gravity. But can he be trusted? Dr. Alex Durant (the wonderful Anthony Perkins) seems to trust him, but certain things do not add up. Why does he have gardens on board the ship, food enough to feed an army? Why do the robots have funerals? The psychic Dr. Kate doesn't trust him. Her father used to be under his command, and the stories just don't sound right.

The starship design in this movie is just stellar, and very unique. All girders and lights, Cygnus is a monstrosity, with depth and foreboding beauty. The smaller Palomino follows similar designs, but is more capsule-shaped. I've never seen anything like these two ships before, and the level of detail is impressive.

There are some great performances here by the afformentioned Perkins, and Maximillion Schell cheeses up the place perfectly as Reinhardt. Also noteworthy are Robert Forster as the commander of Palomino, and Ernest Borgnine as the journalist Harry Booth. Absolutely horrible are Joseph Bottoms as Lieutenant Charles Pizer, and Yvette Mimieux as Dr. Kate McCrae. It's obvious that they're supposed to be the Han Solo and the token female of the crew, but man...they can't act. I guess that's why you've never heard of them.

Yeah, it's a shameless Star Wars rip off. And yeah, the physics of space are ignored when convenient. (Astute viewers can probably rationalize how the crew can run around the ship as a giant hole is ripped through the roof...forcefields maybe?) And yeah, the robots are kind of cutesy, especially Pickens' Old Bob. But I'll be damned if this still isn't a fun movie to watch. Fun, but dark. The very un-Disney ending evokes heaven, hell, and everything in between while making no logical sense. (The comic book that I had as a kid had a different ending, a more hopeful one, where the crew ended up in an alternate universe.)

It's not for everybody, certainly not modern audiences spoiled by CG and flash. But it's not as bad as I once thought.

3 stars.

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2.0 out of 5 stars 2 /1/2 stars for Disney's run at being a 2001 wanna be!
The Black Hole(released Dec/79)is a totally weak scripted,talent laden juggernaut that should have gone into that black hole and never appeared again. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Robert Badgley

3.0 out of 5 stars A must for Sci-Fi fans
Put it bluntly, BUY it if you are a TRUE sci-fi guru or wanna be.
The overall acting was crude in some parts, well most parts, but the plot is sound and very intriguing... Read more

Published 12 months ago by skhooter

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this film...
I finally bought the DVD to replace my aging VHS tape and got to watch it in WIDESCREEN for the first time ever. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Robert Bennett

3.0 out of 5 stars Well, it COULD have been great...
...if but for a few things.

Before I take "The Black Hole" apart, I will say that when I was young, it was a movie I thoroughly enjoyed. Read more

Published 21 months ago by Lyndon Unger

3.0 out of 5 stars mild Disney flick
and i do mean mild. this movie reminded me,in a lot of ways,of the
1960's show Lost in Space.the acting was similar,the characters seemed
similar,the special effects... Read more

Published on Mar 21 2009 by falcon

5.0 out of 5 stars For the SF fan
This one belongs in your collection. The Black Hole is a solid SF film, ranking along those classic thinking SF films like Forbidden Planet (1956) or The Day the Earth Stood Still... Read more

Published on Sep 29 2007 by Dr. Richard Daystrom

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst Sci-Fi film ever!
How can anyone claim this film has any redeeming value? There are so many problems with it that it would be impossible to enumerate in less than a 1,000 words! Read more

Published on May 15 2004 by No longer in OZ!

5.0 out of 5 stars all right, let's get this straight:
Okay, people, let us please understand something. The Black Hole started production before Star Wars was released. Read more

Published on April 27 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT POTENTIAL, SADLY IT IS NEVER FULLY REALIZED
This movie is truly one of the forgotten, yet flawed classics of the late 1970's. Nobody seemed to remember this movie except for those of us who truly loved it when we were... Read more

Published on April 18 2004 by J. L. Braswell

3.0 out of 5 stars Tough to Find DVD is Worth a Look
Disney's "The Black Hole" spelled the end of an era, as the studio's films moved finally from the more genuine, kid-friendly formula that had fueled its movies since the 1950s to... Read more

Published on Jan 18 2004 by Stephen Kaczmarek

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