Customer Reviews

The Black Hole

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(67)
3 star:		(41)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

People would kill me if they read what I'm writing about "The Black Hole". However that's the way I feel about it. This movie was a flop at the box office and most critics weren't so gentle with it. But I really enjoyed this campy sci-fi flick from the Walt Disney Studios for many reasons:
1. I was overwhelmed by the teaser trailer (too bad it's not included on this DVD) where the green grid is moving all over the screen, ending with the Black Hole logo swifting and twisting in black. Awesome!!
2. The black and yellow logo in some of the posters, the one shown on the DVD case.
3. The U.S.S. Cygnus. WOW!!! What a beautiful ship.
4. The robots. Maximillian truly looks menacing. And V.I.N.CENT and Old B.O.B.; the cutest robots since "Star Wars"'s R2-D2.
5. The cast of outstanding performers: Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine, and Roddy McDowell as the voice of V.I.N.CENT.
6. John Barry's majestic score.
7. The final scene, inside the black hole. Those images. Those visual effects. John Barry's music.

This movie might have had some flaws at describing a space version of "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", but this is my most cherished guilty pleasure of all time.

After the success of Star Wars and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, many studios were clamoring for movies that dealt with this re-energized genre of space operas. With many live action classic romps under its belt including 20,000 Under The Sea, who better than Disney to bring a great tale to a family audience.

Enter 'The Black Hole', Disney's 1979 entrance to Sci-Fi. I remember watching this as a boy when it hit the theatre and was excited to get the DVD, mostly for nostalgia reasons, and re-living what I consider a great 'story'. But after watching this DVD I had mixed emotions.

On the pro side, I was thrilled to take part in viewing this once again, and was reminded why The Black Hole stuck with me all these years, even after other more popular and big-budgeted action space action thrillers came and went (ex: Krull, Battle Beyond the Stars)...it was the story. Sure there was some flat dialogue, and some plot struggles, but overall it was a pure space fantasy movie. A small group of explorers and their sidekick robot, Vincent (Disney's hybrid version of R2-D2 and C-3PO), are on an exploratory mission of uncharted space when they discover a black hole. Upon investigation they discover the USS Cygnus, a very large space carrier thought to have been lost many years ago along with its crew. Our explorers soon discover that the Cygnus is still inhabited after all these years, by a lone surviving scientist and his very imposing robot, Maximillian (painted devil red). Other robots and faceless androids are on board, and soon our explorers uncover a more sinister plot. Our lone scientist has gone slightly mad, will not let our explorers leave the ship, the crew never abandoned ship as first explained, and now our scientist wants to take the Cygnus through the black hole to the other side, perhaps to become a god himself.

Throughout the story, we are given clues to what is really happening, and the surprise revelations towards the climax are reminiscent of what Rod Serling may have wrote. All in all a good family adventure, without too much violence (it is implied however,...this is Disney), no swearing, nice large sets and a good diversity of characters.

The cons: Even after the success of Star Wars and Star Trek, it seems Disney rushed this movie to completion with little money spent on special effects. Though the movie was made in '79, it looks as if it was made way before Star Wars or Trek just on the camp value alone. At times it reminded me of the 60's TV series Lost in Space, or the original Disney 20,000 Leagues. Also, it is quite apparent that the lasers are pure animation as are their affects, some of the sets though large look cheap, lighting and fog machines are used in situations that are kinda atrocious, and probably my biggest complaint: you can SEE all the wires holding the robots in just about every scene. That in itself is unforgivable given the fact other movies at that time and movie making techniques were advanced enough to hide them.

I do not believe the transfer was re-mastered. Throughout the movie there is noticeable frame flecks and graininess at times. The sound does not appear to be enhanced either so I'd say the over all quality is no better than the original VHS release. There are also virtually no extras: 1 theatrical trailer and a very boring picture gallery. All this gallery contains is scanned production shots and numerous variations of release posters. Nothing too much to really wow the viewer. Considering this is sorta a cult classic film some interviews or production notes are a no-brainer, but sadly not included.

Hate to sound too negative here, but it is a must for your collection if you enjoy good science fiction stories and can safely share this with you family.

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 children. What kid could forget the menacing presence of the robot Maximillian or the creepiness of the mysterious humanoids, not to mention the swirling black hole itself.

The only problem that I have with this movie now that I'm an adult is that it never seems to decide whether or not to be sophisticated adult sci-fi or shoot'em up kiddie-fare. It tends to flip flop back and forth with slightly irritating results. The movie presents us with very dark themes about life, death and the nature of the universe, but then turns into a robotic western style shoot out complete with a cowboy sounding robot named Old B.O.B. Religious themes are explored here as well, especially during the conclusion of the film, which add a much needed breath of fresh air. In the end, the film is a mixture of things that really should not have shared the same story, but we have the massive success of STAR WARS at the time to thank for that.

Science is yet another area in the film that is handled rather flippantly. While attempts are made at realism down to the smallest detail in some areas, others simply don't hold up well at all. Most sequences onboard the Palomino are well done, but many on the Cygnus ruin any sense of realism that was being attempted beforehand. One scene shows the main characters exposed to the outside area of the Cygnus as the spacecraft enters the black hole. Several minutes later, when a meteor rips the roof off a section of the ship`s agricultural garden, the vacuum of space kicks in and threatens everyone! Moments later, the characters are again crawling around on the outside of the ship, where the vacuum of space should exist! Furthermore, the intense gravity seems to affect no one at all, even though they are all directly exposed up close to this awesome force of nature. Go figure!

The film repeatedly fails in the area of dialogue and plot several times over too. The reason for this is the simple fact that there were many writers who served up revisions and changes to Jeff Rosenbrook`s original story. This ultimately led to several convoluted plot devices being introduced through the dialogue that seem to appear out of nowhere, then in turn lead to nothing at all. A perfect example of this is when Maximillian kills a character and Dr. Reinhardt, the man who controls the evil robot, suddenly asks for protection from it! The whole scene just came straight out of left field! There are other moments of babbling dialogue that makes one scratch their head in sheer disbelief, but regardless of these rather hilarious flaws the film still has plenty to offer.

The special-effects and cinematography are what really steal the show here, both having earned the film Oscar nominations. The ghostly Cygnus lingering on the event horizon of a black hole and the Palomino's subsequent exploration are superbly rendered. The matte paintings of space itself are beautiful, adding lots of blues and greens instead of the same old black that many other films have given us before and since. The ship designs are beautiful, as are the awesome sets. Also worth noting is the journey into the black hole and the visually impressive renditions of Heaven and Hell, which features some of composer John Barry's most memorable and eerie music.

This long awaited remastered DVD edition is really breath-taking. The picture is so clear and crisp that you can see the wires that the robots are suspended on. I only wish that Disney would learn to release DVDs with more bonus features (audio commentary, interviews, TV spots, etc.). If you are interested in bonus material, I would suggest that you track down the Limited Collector's Edition which features the wide-screen video, 9 movie lobby cards, a 44 page booklet, and a really cool looking tin featuring a scene of the Cygnus spacecraft on the lid. The booklet is packed with all sorts of interesting things such as interviews with director Gary Nelson and matte artist Harrison Ellenshaw, tons of pictures and artwork, the script for the abandoned alternate ending, a reprint of the original Pressbook, and more. It answers any and all questions that one could have about what went into the making of this movie, from its inception to the final print! This DVD edition only gets three stars due to its failure to include any of these truly informative extras!

All in all, the film is beautiful to look at, even compared to today's visual effects. The film may sport some flawed writing and lapses in physics, but ultimately it is a fun adventure which does manage to present some interesting possibilities. One does have to wonder what could have been done with this material in different hands, but I guess that is something we will never know!

Seems as if the plot for the movie "The Black Hole" got sucked into the title phenomena. One of the most elegant looking science fiction films from the late 70's, "The Black Hole" demonstrates that Disney's visual effects department could generate state of the art effects as good if not better than most but they couldn't generated a good script or good acting from the veteran cast.

Disney generated a string of box office flops during the 70's. "The Black Hole" although it earned back its production cost was another disappointment in a long time of disappointments. It seems as if at this time the Mouse couldn't do anything right.

The Palomino crewed by Dr. Durant (Anthony Perkins), Captain Dan Holland (Robert Forster), the pilot Lt. Charles Pizer (Joseph Bottoms), Dr. Kate McCrae (Yvette Mimieux), Harry Booth (Ernest Borgnine) and V.I.N.CENT. (the voice of the late Roddy McDowall) stumble across a missing research vessel the U.S.S. Cygnus at the edge of a massive black hole. When the Palomino is damaged trying to escape the gravitational pull of the black hole, they must dock with the Cygnus unaware that the ship is being commanded by Dr. Hans Reinhardt (Maximilian Schell). Surrounded by a crew of robots he has designed, Reinhardt's isolation may have driven him mad or, perhaps he was that way all along.

Reinhardt has discovered an anti-gravity device that enables the Cygnus to stay within proximity to the black hole without being sucked inside it. Ultimately, Reinhardt plans on taking a probe into the black hole himself and traveling to wherever it might lead. Unfortunately, Reinhardt also has plans for the crew of the Palomino.

This new re-release has only a nice widescreen anamorphic transfer enhanced for 16x9 TVs. Unlike the Anchor Bay release of a couple of years ago, this edition also has a 16 minute featurette with optical effects wizard Harrison Ellenshaw discussing the making of the film. We get plenty of behind-the-scenes photos and stories about the difficulty and challenges that Disney's effects department faced making the film. Like the Anchor Bay edition the extended 3 1/2 minute trailer is included as well.

The vivid colors and exceptional production design of Peter Ellenshaw are faithfully reproduced. The image looks sharp although analog blemishes exist due to the fact that the film has so many process shots and the age of the negative. It's a pity that the alternate ending or storyboards of it weren't included. Harrison Ellenshaw discusses the alternate ending he dreamed up part of which was shot using Michealangelo's Sistine Chapel as a backing plate for the visuals. Ellenshaw also reveals that the studio was well into production and working without an ending. That's a big surprise. The perplexing ending that was tacked on to this adventure is fascinating but a bit too literal for me.

If you enjoyed the original film, this DVD is a step up with a beautiful, rich looking widescreen transfer. Additionally, we do get a nice retrospective featurette that takes us behind the scenes of the production. Be warned, though, this might not be quite as good as you remember it. Just sit back and enjoy your ride through "The Black Hole" and don't ask too many questions.

This film is so close to being a truly great, great sci-fi epic. But the flaws are so painfully fatal...I have been fond of this film since I was a child and in later years realized just how close they came to greatness. What's great: it is the most visually stunning sci-fi film ever made (the wayward Cygnus ship, while completely impractical for its supposed purpose, is a masterpiece of sci-fi gothic weirdness), inspired casting and performances (notably from Maximilian Schell as the mad Dr. Reinhardt, Anthony Perkins as impressionable science officer Alex, cowardly reporter Ernest Borgnine, and stalwart commander Robert Forrester), a fantastic premise, majestic musical score in parts (but not so great in other parts), a wildly trippy but nonsensical ending worthy of "Clockwork Orange" mixed with "Fantasia", and one of the most genuinely frightening villains ever in the mechanized Frankenstein monster created by Reinhardt named Maximilian. With such a great premise and dark atmosphere, it is shocking at how cheesy and just plain bad the dialogue is. Perhaps it is the fact that it was a Disney film, they couldn't fully commit to the dark masterpiece they almost had on their hands. The cheesy robots Vincent and `Old Bob' are hard to take (clearly created to attract the kids, Disney tried to create another R2D2 and C3PO). Some of the supporting cast falls off precipitously from the quality of the big names. The action sequences could have been done a lot better as well. A fascinating case study of an almost great film, but I love it anyway. Of all of the remakes out there, this is the one that I think is most ripe for another look and to be done right.

I remember going to see The Black Hole at the drive-in when I was five years old, but I had to wait until I was 28 before I could see it again. By that time I was an FX gunkie, actually due mostly to seeing this film, and the movie floored me all over again with some of the most incredible film techniques to hit the big screen ever.

Keep in mind, this movie is a case of some of the most horrid script-writing you will ever see in sci-fi . . . the only cut I can think of that beats it is the Star Wars Holiday Special (yes, the writing is THAT bad). But if you are a space fan, or like me watch high-tech movies not to be wowed but to see if you can figure out how it is done, this is a MUST OWN for your collection. Many of the special effects that have become commonplace in filmmaking were done in this film for the very first time, including the development of a new camera that ended up being used in several shots of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as several films after (as a matter of fact, considering The Black Hole and Star Wars were in production at the same time, you will be shocked at how much better the effects are in The Black Hole; I can't help but think what Star Wars would have been if this crew had worked for Lucas instead). And the U.S.S. Cygnus is quite simply, in my very humble opinion, the single most gorgeous ship ever.

Do NOT pass this one by. Yes, you will be groaning, but you will also be amazed at what Disney could do before the advent of computer animation.

Yes, this movie does have some problems, including some creaky dialogue that sounds like it came from a 1950s sci-fi film. But the stuff in this movie that works works so well, it makes up for the flaws. Visually, this is one of the most haunting outer space films ever made, with the eerily beautiful ship the Cygnus, a huge monster with a skeletal outer layer. The evil robot Maximilian is a dark, overpowering menace of demonic red metal while the humanoid robots are tragic but with a classic gothic look to them.

The film has some truly spectacular effects, including a meteor storm -- the moment when one of the meteors barrels through the ship's hull is absolutely unforgettable -- and the final descent into the black hole itself. Even the opening credits, which depict a computer-animated representation of the black hole set to John Barry's swirling musical score, are first-rate.

The sheer beauty of the visuals and the moodiness of the piece transcend the uneven perforamnces, which range from brilliant (Maximilian Schell) to workmanlike (Robert Forster) to atrocious (the absolutely wooden Anthony Perkins, who acts like he's in a trance throughout the whole film). This is not a perfect film, by any means, but it's one that deserves far more credit than it's received. And the wide-screen transfer is gorgeous, with the movie looking better than it ever has before.

The Black Hole isn't the best sci fi film ever made. I don't even know if its in the top ten. But there is just something about it that I love. Maybe it's because it's a throw back to the sci fi films of the 50s. Maybe because the effects are top notch. Maybe because that space station looks so damn cool! I'm not sure what it is, but the film is fun. There are major plot holes, bad dialogue and an ending that really doesn't make much sense. Let alone the fact that physics really don't mean anything in the world of The Black Hole. It's funny to think this film came out 4 years after Star Wars and 10 years after Kubrick's 2001.

Disney's release has little differences from the Anchor Bay release of a few years ago. There is no pan and scan on this version, but it is anamorphic. The overture is still present, although the a title card replaces the star-scape. There is also a documentary on the making of the film.

This film is for kids and the kid at heart. And like I said before, it's just a fun film that very cool to look at.

1979 was a watershed year for cinema sci fi. In that 12 months, audiences were treated to "Alien", "Star Trek the Motion Picture", and Disney's "The Black Hole". The fate of the first two examples are widely known: "Alien" became a pop-culture phenomenon, and "Star Trek" was a disappointing flop, relying on sequels to resurrect the franchise.

Yet surprisingly, it was "The Black Hole" that drilled itself into my consciousness and refused to leave. The details of the spare plot are well-explained in the Amazon editorial review, so I won't bother re-hashing it. Instead, I'll attempt to explain just WHY the film has stuck with me for so long.

1) Production design and overall tone: This is the first Gothic sci-fi movie that I can recall seeing, and it may be the darkest movie ever released under the Disney banner (and it earned Disney's first-ever PG rating). An evil killer robot? The mysterious crew? The fate of Anthony Perkins' character? This CAN'T be a Disney picture! Of course, when people refer to the production design of "The Black Hole", they are usually talking about one thing, which deserves a whole separate topic below:

2) The USS Cygnus: Most sci-fi fans have their favorite cinematic spacecraft, and for me the all-time greatest, hands down, is the Cygnus. While the interior design is more Gothic Cathedral, the exterior is basically Gothic Industrial Revolution. It resembles an interstellar Eiffel Tower, and in its own way is quite (intentionally?) reminiscent of the Nautilus from Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". And yet, it looks like a spaceworthy and plausible design. Perhaps named in honor of the (then-suspected) black hole in the constellation Cygnus X1, both the ship model and interior sets were designed by Peter Ellenshaw, son of the great Disney effects artisan Harrison Ellenshaw ("Mary Poppins").

3) Visual Effects: It really steams me that some have called the VFX in this movie "cheap"! By 1979 standards, they were magnificent (and Oscar-nominated), yet thanks to some unconventional methods, they largely hold up today. Supposedly, the Cygnus model was so finely detailed that it couldn't be shot against a blue screen; so Ellenshaw photographed it live against a starfield painted on glass. As a result, the space scenes still look good even on a bad video transfer (not the case with bluescreen movies like the original "Star Wars" trilogy, where the travelling matte is now visible on some versions).

4) Weirdness: Come on, what the hell is up with that ending? Fantastic.

Of course, there were also several not-so-great things about this movie, namely some cheesy dialogue, and the disappointing abandonment of physics towards the end. These aspects prevent it from being a four-star picture, but "The Black Hole" is absolutely worth a look from sci-fi and design fans, which were the original target audience anyway.

"There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots!"

A Disney film plunging the viewer into the searing galactic equivalent of Dante's inferno? "The Black Hole" is as chillingy infinite as the title implies. Buck Rogers and Metaphysics. What are Reinhardt and Maximillian but fevered incarnations of Victor Frankstein and his Creature, spinning through eternity in the morally-vacant reaches of space, arousing man's searching lust for conquest, the dark side of Captain Kirk, with Norman Bates along for the ride. A haunting paen to the beyond.