Everything about The Black Hole totally explained
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For the 2006 film, see Black Hole (2006 film)
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 (though work on the film was already underway as early as
1975), at $20 million (plus another $6 million for its advertising budget) 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 (for example,
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 arm to handle films considered too mature in nature to carry the Walt Disney label .
The Black Hole has been released several times on VHS and DVD.
Tagline: A journey that begins where everything ends.
Plot
It is the year 2130 A.D. 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 don't realize the gravity-free zone is artificial; slipping outside it, they're 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, that'll all smother 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 doesn't 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's 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's 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 can't 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's 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 that'll 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... which it does.
Ending
The film's ambiguous and rather cosmic ending — somewhat similar to
Into Infinity, and — has been the subject of some debate. As the
Palomino survivors reach the bottom of the black hole after a harrowing flight, they appear to enter
Hell and
Heaven. 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 that'll 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
US release dates
Video release history
1980 (VHS & laserdisc)
May 10, 1981 (VHS (UK only))
August 3, 1984 (VHS & laserdisc)
April 20, 1985 (VHS & laserdisc)
August 22, 1985 (laserdisc (Japanese version))
1986 (VHS and laserdisc)
1987 (videodisc (Chinese version)
1989 (VHS and laserdisc - Walt Disney classics)
1990 (VHS and laserdisc - 11th Anniversary Edition (re-release))
June 18, 1997 (laserdisc)
May 27, 1999 (VHS & DVD)
May 7, 2000 (DVD (Japanese version)
May 17, 2000 (videodisc (Chinese/Japanese version)
June 8, 2002 (VHS & DVD)
January 5, 2006 (DVD 5-box set)
2007 (DVD 6-box set, Blu-ray DVD)
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 McRae
Ernest Borgnine ... Harry Booth
Tommy McLoughlin ... Captain S.T.A.R.
Roddy McDowall* ... Voice of V.I.N.CENT
Slim Pickens* ... Voice of Old B.O.B.
* 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're 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's 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)Further Information
Get more info on 'The Black Hole'.
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