The Black Hole (1979)

Director:

Gary Nelson

Writers:

Jeb Rosebrook (story) and
Bob Barbash (story) ...

Release Date:

21 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A journey that begins where everything ends!

Plot:

A research vessel finds a missing ship, commanded by a mysterious scientist, on the edge of a black hole.

Plot Keywords:

Black Hole | Robot | Spaceship | Space | Reverse Footage

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Maximilian Schell	...	Dr. Hans Reinhardt
Anthony Perkins	...	Dr. Alex Durant
Robert Forster	...	Captain Dan Holland
Joseph Bottoms	...	Lieutenant Charles Pizer
Yvette Mimieux	...	Dr. Kate McCrae
Ernest Borgnine	...	Harry Booth
Tom McLoughlin	...	Captain S.T.A.R. (Special Troops Arms Regiment) (as Tommy McLoughlin)

Also Known As:

Space Station One (USA) (working title)
Abismo Negro (Portugal) [pt]
Czarna dziura (Poland) [pl]
Das schwarze Loch (West Germany) [de]
Det sorte hul (Denmark) [da]
Det svarta hålet (Sweden) [sv]
El abismo negro (Spain) [es]
El agujero negro (Venezuela) [es]
Het zwarte gat (Netherlands) [nl]
I mavri trypa (Greece) [el]
I mavri trypa sto diastima (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
Il buco nero (Italy) [it]
Le trou noir (France) [fr]
Musta aukko (Finland) [fi]
O Buraco Negro (Brazil) [pt]

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints) (RCA Photophone Sound Recording)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2004) | UK:A (original rating) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

It was popular around this time to release a 12-inch, 33 1/3 long-playing record containing a film's dialogue, sound effects, and score, with narration taking the listener from scene to scene. The record released of The Black Hole (1979) featured dialogue not present in the theatrical release of the film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Meteorites flying through the universe are frozen rocks that would only appear to glow if they were to enter an atmosphere or fly close to a sun, yet the ones flying into the black hole are glowing. Since black holes swallow everything, even light, it is scientifically impossible that it would be generating heat or an atmosphere.

Quotes:

V.I.N.CENT: I don't mean to sound superior, but I hate the company of robots.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Distribution of Low Budget Films or The Gardener's Seeds of Evil Killed My Million Dollar Dream (1980) (V)

Light at the end of the tunnel....

Back in 1979, when this first came out, this could be seen coming down Main Street as a "Star Wars" cash-in. Even I could see that (being 14 at the time).

At the time, it was being hailed by everyone whom had not seen it as a return to cerebral, thought-provoking space opera, with the same kind of reverberations as "2001".

Now, let me tell you the truth about "The Black Hole".

From a technical standpoint, the movie is impressive (moreso when you consider that Harrison and Peter Ellenshaw, virtuosos in matte paintings, did the background FX work). The ships all fly as they should, you can BARELY see the robots flying about on their strings and the wonder and mystery of what a black hole really is (physically as well as metaphorically) are explored satisfactorily.

But if the FX are exemplary, the flesh and blood on display are not. Each actor supplies their own black hole; empty, dark voids where there once was talent but now serve only to suck away all the life and energy surrounding it. A shame, since actors like Forster, Mimieux, Schell, Perkins and even Roddy McDowell (in voice only) have all done good deeds on film prior and since. In the acting sense, at least, this movie matches "2001".

But in the end, you see a movie like "The Black Hole" for the story itself. Is it worth watching? In that respect, I think so. What are the limits to which mankind can play God? Are the mysteries of the universe for Man to explore? Do black holes lead to anything? We are left to draw our own conclusions, but at least the ending here allows us to think seriously about what really is out there.

Eight stars. Not a classic, but not that vacuous.