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The Black Hole (1979 film)

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For the 2006 film, see Black Hole (2006 film)
The Black Hole
File:Black hole ver1.jpg
Directed byGary Nelson
Written byBob Barbash (story)
Richard Landau (story)
Gerry Day
Jeb Rosebrook
Produced byRon Miller
StarringMaximilian Schell
Anthony Perkins
Ernest Borgnine
Robert Forster
Joseph Bottoms
Yvette Mimieux
Roddy McDowall (voice)
Slim Pickens (voice)
CinematographyFrank Phillips
Edited byGregg McLaughlin
Music byJohn Barry
Distributed byWalt Disney Pictures
Buena Vista
Release dates
December 21, 1979
Running time
97 min.
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20,000,000 (estimated)

The Black Hole is a 1979 science fiction movie directed by Gary Nelson for Walt Disney Productions. It stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, and Ernest Borgnine. The voices of the main robot characters in the film are provided by Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens. The music for the movie was composed by John Barry. The plot was inspired by Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, filmed by Disney in 1954. Alan Dean Foster novelized the screenplay.

Overview

Widely regarded as Disney's answer to Star Wars[citation needed] (though work on the film was already underway as early as 1975), at $20 million (plus another $6 million for its advertising budget[1]) it was the most expensive picture produced by the company at the time. It was generally not well-received by critics, although the special effects were highly praised. The movie earned $36 million at the US box office, making it the 13th highest grossing film of the year. The film was nominated for cinematography and visual effects Academy Awards and was notable for being the first Disney film not to have a universal rating, due to mild language (being the first Disney film to include profanity of any type) and scenes of human death never seen in a Disney production before (e.g., Anthony Perkins' character is eviscerated). To that end, it was rated PG in the U.S. Along with frequent subtexts, there were also metaphysical and religious themes expressed through the film. This film led the company towards experimenting with more adult-oriented films, which would eventually lead to the creation of its Touchstone Pictures and Hollywood Pictures arms to handle films considered too mature in nature to carry the Walt Disney label [2].

The Black Hole has been released several times on VHS and DVD.

Plot

An Earth exploratory ship, the USS Palomino, discovers a black hole with a lost ship, the USS Cygnus, just outside its event horizon. Deciding to solve the mystery of the Cygnus are: the Palomino's Captain, Dan Holland (Forster); his First Officer, Lieutenant Charlie Pizer (Bottoms); journalist Harry Booth (Borgnine); scientist and ESP-sensitive Dr. Kate McCrae (Mimieux), whose father was the Cygnus's First Officer; Dr. Alex Durant (Perkins), the expedition's civilian leader; and the robot V.I.N.CENT. The Palomino attempts a dangerous fly-by of the darkened ship. As they come within close range of it, the buffeting they experience (due to the black hole's gravity) suddenly ceases. They bring more instruments to bear on the derelict, but do not realize the gravity-free zone is artificial; slipping outside it, they are almost drawn into the hole.

Some tense moments follow as V.I.N.CENT goes EVA to secure an outboard door that has been compromised (because, according to the novel, the bay is filled with vital pharmaceuticals). Meanwhile, the human crew members fight to keep the Palomino from falling into the hole. They finally regain control of their ship, but discover that their oxygen-recycling system is damaged and needs replacement parts; otherwise, they will all suffocate long before reaching Earth again. As they pass the Cygnus once more, the ship lights up with sudden illumination. Though the crew of the Palomino does not know who is aboard, they dock and board the ship. At first find a crew of humanoid, faceless robots, then meet the ship's Commander, Doctor Hans Reinhardt (Schell), a prominent scientist last seen twenty years ago. Reinhardt also commands an army of robot sentries, based on S.T.A.R. (Special Troops/Arms Regiment), and the hulking, ominous, mute Maximillian.

Reinhardt reveals to the Palomino crew his most ambitious project, for which he has prepared for the last 20 years: to steer the Cygnus into the black hole and explore beyond. While most of the crew react with incredulity and skepticism upon this announcement, Durant reacts with hero-worship and is even willing to accompany Reinhardt into the black hole.

Reinhardt claims he is the only human remaining aboard the vessel. But the Palomino crew's suspicions are soon raised: Booth observes one of the humanoid robots (who walks with a limp, no less) tending an enormous vegetable garden large enough to feed thousands; Holland discovers crew quarters filled with personal items (and even fresh uniforms), then observes a "space burial" being conducted by the humanoids. An earlier-model robot similar to V.I.N.CENT, named Old B.O.B., reveals that the Cygnus crew mutinied against Reinhardt when the Doctor ignored recall orders from Earth. After killing the rebellion's ringleader — Frank McCrae, his own First Officer and Kate's father — Reinhardt used the fully-automated robots aboard the ship to lobotomize the remainder of the crew and turn them into automatons with no free will; they became the humanoid "robots" on the Cygnus. The Palomino crew considers taking over the Cygnus, but B.O.B. assures them that the humanoids cannot be brought back to normal and that it would foolish to take on the robot soldiers. They decide that escape is the best option.

Durant and Kate have meanwhile accompanied Reinhardt to the Cygnus's bridge. Via her implanted ESP module, which links her telepathically to V.I.N.CENT, McCrae learns about Reinhardt's crimes and informs Durant, who immediately checks the bridge personnel and is shocked to find the accusations true, when he takes off one of their masks to see a dead face underneath. When Durant confronts Reinhardt, he is killed by Maximillian's whirling blades, and McCrae is sent to be lobotomized. While the rest of the crew goes to rescue Kate, journalist Harry Booth attempts to escape alone in the Palomino, but Reinhardt shoots the ship down. In a twist of fate, the resulting crash of the Palomino damages the Cygnus's power center that generates the anti-gravity shielding protecting the Cygnus from the black hole's effects. Then an asteroid storm occurs and damages the ship further, as the Palomino crew attempt to reach a space probe previously used by Reinhardt to scan the black hole.

The g-forces emitted from the black hole cause Cygnus to fall into ruin. Maximillian and Reinhardt, realizing they will have to abandon their great ship, program the space probe (which the Palomino crew is approaching). As Maximillian leaves to prepare the probe for their escape, a large "astro-screen" monitor on the bridge falls and pins Reinhardt against his own control station. Reinhardt calls for help from Maximillian, but the huge robot is already en route to the probe ship, either unaware of his master's plight or totally indifferent to it.

The fight between V.I.N.CENT and Maximillian (who is defeated, while the Palomino's human crew members escape to the probe ship) leaves Old B.O.B. damaged beyond repair; he parts ways with V.I.N.CENT, shutting down for good. Holland, Pizer, McCrae, and V.I.N.CENT escape aboard the Cygnus's probe ship, only to discover that Maximillian has pre-programmed it to enter the black hole itself.

Ending

The film's ambiguous and rather cosmic ending — somewhat similar to Into Infinity, and 2001: A Space Odyssey — has been the subject of some debate.[citation needed] As the Palomino survivors reach the bottom of the black hole after a harrowing flight, they appear to enter Hell and Heaven.[3] We see Reinhardt condemned to eternal imprisonment in the metal body of Maximillian in Hell (a sequence foreshadowed in Booth's line early in the film, that the Black Hole was like something "right out of Dante's Inferno" and Reinhardt's statement that the black hole will bring him immortality), then the crew of the Palomino are guided by an angel through Heaven. Eventually they emerge from a white hole into what appears to be a new universe. The film doesn't make it clear if the crew is literally journeying through Hell and Heaven, or if they've entered another dimension.

In Alan Dean Foster's novelization of the film, Kate's ESP links the minds of the Palomino's crew and allows them to survive (in a fashion) while the atoms of their bodies diffuse and are scattered throughout the universe.

One comic book adaptation of the film bypasses the whole issue of what happens inside the black hole by having the crew enter the black hole on one page and emerging apparently unharmed on the next page into a universe where they encounter alternate versions of Reinhardt, Old B.O.B. and Maximillian. Other comic adaptations released in Europe have the crew emerging into another galaxy, thus confirming Reinhardt's theories. While wondering if they will ever return to Earth, they decide to explore this new universe.

In the official Disney Read-Along recording, the crew in the probe ship emerge safely on the other side of the black hole, while the Cygnus is "crushed like an eggshell". The story ends with Captain Holland saying "We've been trained to find new worlds. Let's go find one for ourselves."

The Black Hole theatrical release history

File:The Black Hole cover (1980 release).JPG
1980 VHS cover

US release dates

Video release history

Cast

* Not credited on-screen.

Errors

The Black Hole contained a number of factual errors relating to space, and at least one major mistake in dialogue. During the (re)discovery of the Cygnus, Kate McCrae states that it held the same mission as the Palomino: to search for "habitable life" in the universe. Other issues included glowing-red meteors (which are, in reality, cold rocks) and the appearance of the crew in the vacuum of space without space suits, yet without asphyxiating from a lack of oxygen, or suffering from a lack of pressure. (It has been rumored that suits were designed but refused by the cast because of their appearance.)

During the escape from the Cygnus, Kate appears unaffected by the G-forces, sitting upright and looking about the cabin while the other crew members are pinned to their seats.

The producers of the film addressed these issues in various magazine articles prior to the release of the film. It was stated in Starlog magazine that the black hole had accumulated an atmosphere, in addition to all the debris that was continually showed spiraling into it in the film, and that this atmosphere was breathable by humans, at least for short periods. The glowing meteors were said to be glowing because of friction they encountered while flying through that atmosphere. Neither of these are scientifically plausible, although they are at least consistent with what we see taking place on screen. The Black Hole is, at root, an action/adventure story rather than a work of serious science fiction.

Soundtrack

Highlights of the score, as conducted and composed by John Barry, were released on an LP by Walt Disney Records in 1979. It was the first-ever digitally recorded score for a film, although using digital equipment different from what is used today. Because of the early low digital bit-rate used during recording, the soundtrack has never been issued on CD, although it is rumored that such a release is in the works. In the meantime, a CD-quality version of the soundtrack can be purchased and downloaded through iTunes.

As issued, the following tracks were listed on the album:

  • "Overture" (2:27)
  • "Main Title" (1:46)
  • "The Door Opens" (3:38)
  • "Zero Gravity" (5:53)
  • "Six Robots" (1:59)
  • "Durant Is Dead" (2:31)
  • "Start The Countdown" (3:51)
  • "Laser" (2:15)
  • "Into The Hole" (5:00)
  • "End Title" (2:34)

Trivia

  • Rap group Insane Clown Posse uses a sound sample from the film of V.I.N.CENT saying "Mr Pizer, I think you should come up here" on their song Amy's in the Attic.
  • Along with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, this was one of the last few mainstream Hollywood productions to have an overture - although most broadcast-syndication prints of the film would later omit it. The overture was included in October 27, 2007 and February 2, 2008 airings of the film on Turner Classic Movies and was also included on the DVD release.
  • The robot name "V.I.N.CENT" is supposed to be an acronym of "Vital Information Necessary CENTralized". B.O.B.'s name stands for "BiO-sanitation Battalion," while S.T.A.R.'s is an acronym for "Special Troops/Arms Regiment."
  • The robot Maximilian was already named before the filmmakers cast the coincidentally-named actor Maximilian Schell (trapped, at the end, in Maximilian's shell) as Dr. Hans Reinhardt.
  • An alternate ending was conceived but never shot. The final scene would have involved a slow panning out from what would be revealed to be the Sistine Chapel painting of Michelangelo's The Creation. Kate's face would be recognizable in the background of the painting, suggesting that the crew experienced the beginning of time. The scene would end showing Kate looking up at the painting, suggesting that the Palomino crew did eventually return safely to Earth.
  • The theoretical physics in this movie appear to be based upon an outdated theory of Stephen Hawking. The name of Dr. Reinhardt's ship comes from the first black hole that was discovered, which was found in the constellation Cygnus.
  • Yvette Mimieux has exactly the same birthday as Stephen Hawking
  • In his last-ever interview (transcribed in the book, What if our world is their heaven?), Philip K. Dick referred to this movie as "crap."
  • This was The Walt Disney Company's first PG-rated production, and its second overall release with that rating. (The first was the sports drama Take Down, an outside production Disney distributed in early 1979.) The version of the film televised on The Disney Channel has been edited for language, with all uses of the words "damn" and "hell" removed from dialogue.
  • Although Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope had popularized the use of computerized motion control miniature effects, The Black Hole was largely shot using the old-fashioned technique of models on wires in front of painted backdrops. The film was something of a swan song for many special effects artists from Hollywood's "golden age", and although their techniques were hardly cutting-edge the results were widely praised. Their place would be taken by special effects companies such as Industrial Light and Magic.
  • The film's opening titles, with their vertiginous music and graphics, were inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo.
  • When the Palomino first examines the Cygnus, the rear of the model of the Cygnus has structural differences from the model used throughout the rest of the film, including the first silhouetted shot of the Cygnus.
  • One of the S.T.A.R. robots was used in a short screen test of a project that would eventually become Tron.
  • The track "Zozobra" by post-metal/hardcore band Old Man Gloom contains samples of dialogue from the movie, as does Dan the Automator's Deltron 3030. The track "It's Not Too Beautiful" by electronica group The Beta Band utilizes a section of the film's overture.
  • The meteor storm sequence was used as background during the science fiction portion of Dreamfinder's School of Drama at EPCOT Center's Journey Into Imagination ImageWorks entitled Acrobatic Astronauts in Galactic Getaway. [4] Children would perform behind a green screen and their performance would be shown on monitors with the meteors crashing through the ship.

References

  1. ^ Cinefantastique Magazine, "Black Hole Special Issue", Spring 1980
  2. ^ Buzz Cinema - Touchstone Pictures
  3. ^ Does The Black Hole still suck? Movie review by Joshua Moss, June 2, 2000.
  4. ^ Smith, Dave, Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia (New York, 1996: Hyperion), p. 151
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