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All Flixster 3.0 Stars (1979) Want To See 542 Not Interested 4542
Female 2.5 Stars (549) Want To See 150 Not Interested 1261
Male 3.0 Stars (1430) Want To See 392 Not Interested 3281

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Plot: Disney's foray into big-budget science fiction, close on the heels of Star Wars, had some of the most impressive special effects to grace theater screens in the 1970s. Graced by handsome prod...( read more read more... )uction design--most notably a glass and latticework interstellar craft that looks like a battleship crossed with a modern skyscraper--The Black Hole is in many ways the most beautiful science fiction film of its era. Unfortunately, the graceful and gorgeous picture is jarred by dialogue that wouldn't pass muster in a comic book and a silly conclusion that plays like a murky, dime-store knockoff of 2001. Too bad, because the visual realization of the film is a veritable haunted house of futuristic phenomena, from the cloaked zombie-like drones shuffling through corridors to the devilish, crimson robot Maximillian, the strong arm of the mad scientist played by Maximilian Schell (a kind of wild man Captain Nemo with an even more ruthless temperament). Only the way-too-cute robot V.I.N.CENT (voiced by Roddy McDowall), a merchandising gimmick that looks like a Fisher-Price toy, mars the technological landscape. Robert Forster is the quietly authoritative captain of an exploration ship that stumbles across the seemingly derelict ship, and Anthony Perkins, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine, and Joseph Bottoms fill out his crew. This is one case of a triumph of art direction and special effects over story--it's worth sitting through it to see the magnificent scene of the fireball rolling through the ship's enormous hull alone. The rest is just atmospheric gravy. --Sean Axmaker

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Recent Reviews


  • 3.0 Stars
    MCT:
    September 13, 2008
    Some dodgy acting, some very iffy science behind the story, very dodgy special fx (you can see the wires... A LOT!) and a ending that will have you going 'HUH?'

    BUT

    It's still pretty good and a childhood fave (I even used to have the Maximillian toy as a kid who I used to beat up Darth Vader *put evil laugh in here*)

    Talking of Maximillian, he's still pretty damn cool and evil looking and a highlight of the movie.

    Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens seem to take up a fair bit of screen time as robots V.I.N.CENT and Bob and although the voice work is great the effects suck with all those wires,

    This movie cost something like 20 million and even in 1979 this movie was already dated and unfinished looking for all that cash being spent on it.

    For all it's flaws though (and there are many) I still have a soft spot for it and a place for it in my dvd collection.

    Oh, the music... yea I love that:D
  • 2.0 Stars
    MCT:
    July 27, 2008
    It's supposed to be ABOUT a black hole. It's not supposed to BE a black hole. Produced by Disney two years after the release of STAR WARS, and as an answer to George Lucas's saga, this 1979 sci-fi tale about a spaceship crew -- complete with a cutesy talking robot named V.I.N.CENT. (an uncredited Roddy McDowall) -- trapped on a mad man's craft perched on the edge of the titular force of mass plays out more like 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA in outer space. The aforementioned mad scientist, played to the hilt by Maximillian Schell, is a dead ringer for James Mason's Captain Nemo. The real problem with THE BLACK HOLE, in addition to being incoherent in terms of space facts (did the scriptwriters know that you can't survive on a hull in outer space without a suit?) is that it is droningly dull for more than two thirds of its 98-minute running time. With the exception of Schell, the robot V.I.N.CENT. and the even more menacing Darth Vader-esque scarlet giant Maximillian, none of the cast leave any lasting impressions on the audience. John Barry's score is impressive and the special effects are quite amazing for their time--but these saving graces don't mesh into a compelling or coherent sci-fi drama. The best (and most embarrassing) moment in the film is the trip into the hole itself, in that it offers a frightening spectacle of Heaven and Hell, but it both comes out of nowhere and is no more exciting than a majority of the rest of the movie.
  • 0.5 Stars
    MCT:
    June 14, 2008
    this was such a bad movie... felt like it had no real story, the characters weren't developed, and the acting was horrible. bleh.
  • Not Interested
    MCT:
    June 10, 2008
    I wish I could watch every movie ever made but I sadly don't have the time. I'm not interested in this movie because I don't think I'll like it or don't know enough about it to think I might like it. I may still end up seeing it some day though.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    May 13, 2008
    Pretty cheesy and obviously made so that smaller kids could follow and enjoy it. That said it was extremely enjoyable, the perfect kind of cheesy bad. This goes right up there with Tron in my book ... so take from that what you will. :) Also the ending is pretty inexplicable though. When you see it you'll know what I mean.
  • 1.5 Stars
    MCT:
    April 9, 2008
    Ick. A third-rate sci-fi horror story that features an annoyingly cute robot voiced by Roddy McDowell. People walk around in the vacuum of space without space suits. Multiple characters die horribly before the incomprehensible conclusion. And it's a Disney film. Wha...?
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    February 19, 2008
    This Disney film used to scare the crap out of me when i was a kid. The Black Hole is a underrated Sci-Fi adventure film.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    December 10, 2007
    Awesome late-70s science fiction with its fair share of freak out moments - including Anthony Perkins being killed by a circular saw. Did I say this is a kid's movie? The bizarre ending sequence is surreal in the extreme, and would be worth the ticket price alone. Maximilian the killer robot is wicked, as is Maximilian Schell. Also features Yvette Mimieux running around in a tight pair of astronaut pants. Best bit: Maximilian - this blood red über-robot should have had his own film series.
  • 2.0 Stars
    MCT:
    November 1, 2007
    I fell asleep in the theater when I was a kid and watching this recently reminded me why. The Black Hole is a somewhat decent story that spend too much time stealing pages from George Lucas' playbook than developing a story. It started off okay enough, but got sweaty about halfway through. The action doesn't serve much purpose, the effects are pretty weak and well... it's just generally forgettable. The 2001 ripoff sequence at the end is reasonably disgraceful and Maximilian was a bad version of Darth Vader. But Vincent kicked ass.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    September 30, 2007
    Maximilian Schell plays a mad scientist (are there any other kinds?) intent on traveling through a black hole. This film has actually got a pretty good cast with Borgnine, Forster and Perkins also starring. The special effects do look dated compared to today's standards, but visually it still looks good. It also contains three great robots, V.I.N. Cent (voiced by Roddy McDowall), B.O.B. (voiced by Slim Pickens) and the villainous Maximilian. As this was one of those films I used to love as a kid and seen it many times since, I still think this is a good science fiction film and still doesn't get the recognition it deserves.
  • 4.0 Stars
    MCT:
    September 12, 2007
    It was good, watched it again after a long, long time.

    The only real complaint could be that the actors looked a bit daft pretending the gravitational forces, but hardly a major complaint.

    An entertaining film, quite quite wierd at the end.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    September 3, 2007
    For all it's flaws, still, a pretty impressive piece of art/design work. Has a hell of a somber mood for a Disney film.
  • 3.0 Stars
    MCT:
    August 28, 2007
    I can't explain it, but there is a special place in my heart for this film. One of the few films I remember watching from my childhood. I doubt I could even watch it now.
  • 2.5 Stars
    MCT:
    July 21, 2007
    A great idea crippled by having to be done "the Disney way". This one begs for a big-budget remake. Best part: The design of the Signus.
  • 2.5 Stars
    MCT:
    July 3, 2007
    It had its moments but it seemed to try to hard to appeal to adults and children. The ending was really confusing and didn't tell you what happened to the survivors.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    June 4, 2007
    Very interesting concept for a movie. It could be done so much better with the technology we have today.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    May 26, 2007
    The robot was cute, but I was cute-sied out by R2-D2 of Star Wars and Twikki of Buck Rodgers when I had seen this. Still an enjoyable flick.
  • 1.5 Stars
    MCT:
    May 23, 2007
    Disney's attempt to jump on the Star Wars rip-off band wagon, this poorly executed sci fi has dreadfully cartoonish production design, a made for TV script and just feels cheap and shoddy all round. The "action" sequences in which a bunch of static robots shoot it out with a floating Pez dispenser are particularly feeble.
  • 1.0 Star
    MCT:
    May 14, 2007
    Fresh on the heels of Star Wars: A New Hope comes this steaming pile. The robots...one looking like R2-D2 and one like Darth Vader. Maximillian...what a name. LOL. The sentries also resembled Stormtroopers.

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Details


  • Rated: (PG)
  • Directed by: Gary Nelson
  • Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Kids & Family
  • Released: December 21, 1979
  • DVD Released: April 20, 1999

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