Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
Invaderbank
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
hikethegizz
This film gets some undeservedly bad reviews on this site. I don't know why; it holds up remarkably well even when compared with, say, 2001, which is considered a classic. The acting is uniformly excellent, the effects are terrific, the story moves along well, and the robots...well, okay, they lose some points for the robots, which are kinda silly looking. But hey, this is a Disney movie, and kids are supposed to be a good part of the audience. And there's nothing wrong with Roddy McDowell or Slim Pickens' voicing. It's just a little...hinky, I guess. But after "Silent Running" and Huey Louie and Dewey, or "Star Wars" and its droids, anything was going to look cheap.All that considered, there is still Maximillian. Maximillian the ominous, even frightening presence. And the drones, which are just WEIRD. And Reinhardt tries to turn Kate into a drone! Yvette Mimieux as Kate, and the villain is trying to HARM HER! I was so mad for Yvette Mimieux...how dare they! She is wonderful in her empath role which predates Deanna Troi by many, many years. Ernest Borgnine is wonderful as the slimy reporter, Robert Forster is appropriately commanding, and Anthony Perkins is wonderful in everything he does. And then there is the other Maximilian...Schell. A perfect mad scientist character! He and his robot henchman make a perfect team.What makes it all work though, I think. is John Barry's scoring. Wow! It's one of the few movie scores I felt was worth buying and it still works all these years later.Is it a great kid flick? Maybe not...some scenes are a bit intense. But older kids and young adults will love it, and just plain folk will eat it up. Sci-Fi snobs will find lots to fault, but if you just sit back and enjoy it, you can't help but have fun. Enjoy!
invadermac
I was 13 & awash in the glow that Star Wars brought us all- alas this was an interesting but pallid attempt by Disney- I just wanted to express the two things I think are/were good about this film- mainly, Maximillian Schell as the maniacal villain( a worthwhile villain can sometimes save a movie- sadly not here) More importantly, the score is great I still like it quite a lot. Ah well maybe they'll try again with updated science, effects and maybe a working script.
Scott LeBrun
A team of space travelers locates a long lost, massive spacecraft, the U.S.S. Cygnus, perched in space near an imposing black hole. 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. Also of note during this time are "The Watcher in the Woods", "Tron", and "Something Wicked This Way Comes". The result is a very dark and highly operatic piece of work that offers great fun, although it will have more appeal to older kids and adults than the very young due to its themes, plot details, and suggestion of violence. (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. John Barry's music score is somewhat repetitive, but also utterly thunderous and ominous, perfectly suiting the material.The human cast is steadfast and reliable, with Schell making the most of his madman role. It's hard to go too wrong with a group of actors including Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Ernest Borgnine, and the lovely Yvette Mimieux. As was the case with "Star Wars", the cute robot characters tend to steal the show, V.I.N.CENT (voiced by Roddy McDowall) and B.O.B. (voiced by Slim Pickens). The towering red robot thug Maximillian leaves quite the impression as well. Director Gary Nelson cameos as the drone whose mask is removed.Great fun overall, which is made all the more memorable by its truly haunting ending.Eight out of 10.
SteveResin
It's a shame The Black Hole was panned and largely forgotten after its release. There's a lot here to enjoy. The story is interesting, with a spaceship that was lost 20 years previous being discovered next to a giant black hole, its crew lost save for its eccentric and possibly insane captain and his crew of androids. As you can imagine, perilous shenanigans ensue.The cast is a mixed bag. The big hitters like Anthony "Psycho" Perkins, Maximilian Schell and Ernest Borgnine are excellent, the lesser names like Robert Foster and Yvette Mimieux less impressive. The real stars of the feature are the three main robot characters, Vincent, Bob and the menacing Maximillian. Comparisons to the recent Star Wars were made, and with hindsight you can understand why this movie was seen as inferior. Where Star Wars relied largely on a young and aesthetically pleasing cast with the likes of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, Black Hole's main core consists of actors the wrong side of 40.The effects are impressive for 1979, and the ship interior is just huge. It's a good thing they got the ship designs right because not much happens outside of the ship. The music score is phenomenal. The script is a bit ropey, throwing out silly Disney-esque fluff one minute and following it up with statements like "Could this be an Einstein-Rosen bridge?" the next. Huh? Exactly.The Black Hole is much maligned, and unfairly so in my opinion. It's well worth a revisit. It's dark, brooding and menacing and more cerebral than what I expect from a 70s Disney production. It's no masterpiece but if we must make Stars Wars comparisons it pales next to The Empire Strikes Back but it's certainly as good as Return Of The Jedi.
