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The Black Hole (1979)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
21 December 1979 (USA) moreTagline:
A journey that begins where everything ends! morePlot:
A research vessel finds a missing ship, commanded by a mysterious scientist, on the edge of a black hole. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Four Inevitable Disney Live-Action Remakes (From IFC. 12 March 2009, 6:28 AM, PDT)
The Black Hole Will Trap Ernest Borgnine, Destroy the Universe
(From amctv - SciFi Scanner: Fact vs. Fiction. 9 April 2008, 12:24 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Light at the end of the tunnel.... moreCast
(Complete credited 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 Mc Loughlin) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
98 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 moreCertification:
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:LFilming Locations:
Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California, USAFun Stuff
Trivia:
The spaceship Cygnus was actually a 12-foot-long model weighing 175 pounds. moreGoofs:
Revealing mistakes: During the dinner sequence after Reinhardt excuses himself to meet up with the probe ship, the film runs in reverse on an exterior shot of the dining room. You can clearly see Captain Holland walk backwards around the room and sit down. moreFAQ
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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.