The Black Hole (1979) - The Salvation of Dr. Hans Reinhardt

[@LeanderNadeltanz]

Maximilian Schell is in Maximilian's Shell !!!!

[@KarstensCreationsKC]

+Августовское воодушевление Congrats for that pun...you win the internet today...;)

[@mrb7094]

In Maximilian's Hell !

[@jagarcia0705]

*inception music plays*

[@MistressGlowWorm]

Августовское воодушевление this wins the entire thread.

[@xaenon]

...in hell.

[@MrRolyat98]

Can we take a moment to applaud the musical score? On a good music system it sounds almost ethereal.

[@roystonlodge]

John Barry liked it so much he recycled it for The Living Daylights. ;-)

[@laurencedawson7754]

And moonraker

[@tuttt99]

John Barry was the best!

[@rictusmetallicus]

Yes, we can

[@PeachLover94]

And since this is from a PAL/SECAM print of the movie, the music's pitch shift is noticeable... yet more appropriate as it conveys a sense of melancholy, tragedy and sadness to the fates of the _Cygnus'_ crew.

[@PJVids83]

This depiction of heaven and hell is a work of art. Absolutely mesmerizing sequence.

[@rogerdonaldson1133]

@Demi AngelCat agree Philip. NO CGI practical effects and man could John Barry score a film whether Bond or this - his score is perfect imo. RIP JB.

[@marleymcleay9228]

The music has the same dichotimy, It becomes very angelic as the gateway opens up and we pass through. Very powerful music.

[@johnearle1]

Wagner would have loved this film.

[@weneedheroesnow]

Almost 40 yrs later scene still gives me the chills. Don’t want to end up there.

[@seansmith2690]

Put your faith in Jesus as your savior and you will be saved from hell. Check out the Gospel of John! "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." Call on his name and you will be saved. If you seek him, you will find him.

[@Trendkillertrendy]

Scared the absolute h**l out of me as a kid, but I recognized the brilliant concept behind this scene and the incredible musical score. I mean, you’ve got this improbable movie plot, then at the end they hit you with something incredible like this.

[@anthonylowder6687]

If you don’t want to end up there than ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior…..ask Him with all your heart and soul to forgive you of all your sins and fully trust in Him for eternal life and you will have it. Reading the Bible and attending a Bible believing church you will grow in your salvation as well as making new friends who can help you in your new life. Here’s a simple prayer you can do just open your heart to Him and say: Dear Jesus, I know I’m a sinner and I am sorry for my sins. I believe that you died on the cross to pay the price for my sins and to offer me the free gift of eternal life and salvation. I believe that your precious blood paid the price for my salvation. Please forgive me for all my sins that I have committed. I accept the free gift of salvation that you offer me here and now and will follow you from here on out. Thank you for hearing and saving me. Thank you for saving my soul. Amen

[@leonardHughes-iq3wv]

Same here.

[@OsheyBaddest]

lol well u will so get ready ooo

[@brianmcconnell1817]

This film is from the bygone era when filmmakers and production companies were willing to take creative risks and in the process we got some pretty amazing movies. I remember seeing this film as a kid and the ending scared me. I interpreted it as Reinhardt getting trapped inside the black hole in his own personal hell. While the rest of the crew escaped out the other end of the black hole and into another universe. The black hole seemed to be a gateway to other dimensions and realities. And who we were in life dictates the experience we have while in it and the final outcome. But that’s just my interpretation.

[@anttam117]

Yeah, I was a kid as well when I saw this movie for the first time and I still have the ending burnt into my memories. That’s pretty much the only thing I remember from it. It was so unlike anything Disney has done since. An amazing movie from an incredibly creative time that is, sadly behind us.

[@skipads5141]

Yeah, some druggie shlt like that.

[@MrMoorkey]

I miss the days you could come away from a movie with your own interpretation.

[@TheAdamisgay]

You still can find that, but it's all in independent studios.

[@jdogcisco1]

I don't know. I see there's a recent movie out, 80 for Brady. - looks pretty creative. /s

[@scottmedia76]

One of the best soundtracks ever. John Barry was an underappreciated genius.

[@DrumsTheWord]

This scene will stay with me forever. Thank you Disney for a genuine attempt at an adults/kids film...oh, and the music?! Thank you John Barry!!!

[@richardstevens8839]

+www.DrumsTheWord.com yeah, where have all the great film composers gone?

[@FilmCompos3r]

+Richard Stevens Blame the directors and the studios man. They dictate what we write! And besides, there are PLENTY of great composers working today if you listen for them. One of the reasons they go un-noticed is that main titles no longer exist, AND music tends to be mixed lower - so great music is simply not registered by the audience.

[@nathanbosley76]

Devilikg Learn how to spell. I couldn't understand your comment. What are you, 5?

[@arvizturotukorfurogep6235]

+Devilikg What is there not to understand? The bad guy went to hell and the good guys went to heaven.

[@arvizturotukorfurogep6235]

+Devilikg It's Disney, you know. Their productions always center around the blatant theme of good vs evil, and play on the feelings rather than on logic. Those with love and compassion conqering selfish power hungry foes. Moreover, in the beginning of the movie, a crew member says about he black hole that it's so scary, he can easily imagine a horned guy with a pichfork in it, aka the devil. The shilouette of the merged scientist/robot on the cliff at the end looks like a screaming face with horns. Pretty obvious to me.

[@ReverendSyn]

*Quite possibly the ballsiest ending for a Disney movie ever.*

[@stewartlynch7859]

Still it beats ending the film with the words: "The End - A Walt Disney Production".

[@walthammassagefitness]

@Neb6 Great flick, loved it when I was a kid and it holds up.

[@Nighthawke70]

Back then they never thought of a sequel, and I doubt the crew and actors could stand each other for another 30odd days of filming. And a remake of it, which was hinted in TRON: Legacy is current in Scripwriter's Hell, and may never emerge the same as the original outline was laid out.

[@jimziemer474]

I don’t get it.

[@Ozzy_2014]

@@jimziemer474 he is in hell, the cew found heaven. So you can read it.

[@ice_fox]

An old philosophy college professor once asked us to choose a quick video scene to describe humanity. He was very intrigued when I chose this.

[@daddysbaby4667]

You're brilliant.

[@MistressGlowWorm]

Your profile pic o.O

[@Timelord2001]

He shouldn't have been. It is the easy American xtian choice. No real courage at all.

[@GrantPattersonPlaysGames]

Timelord2001 That’s a very oversimplified take on it. It might have less to do with blatant theology references and more about how we as a species are both redeemable and damnable by our reliance on technology and what we’re willing to do to our fellow man in order to create it. It could lead us to new worlds, or it we could be entombed by it. The easy choice that lacked courage was your snap judgement, “time lord.”

[@ice_fox]

@@GrantPattersonPlaysGames ^_^

[@RD-lt3ht]

Dr Rieinhardt's Maximilian was his crowning glory in A.I., but also his worst nightmare...how fitting then that he should be entombed forever INSIDE him...ego and alter-ego together evermore -- pure poetry.

[@DietColaofDeath]

this was the darkest and most disturbing moment of my childhood. I remember it vividly even before scouring the internet to find it again.

[@vanar6011]

This and the cyborg from Superman III

[@Punnery]

Like going to the theater to see "The Muppet Movie" and getting that trailer for "The Shining"....

[@kevinlavery6985]

Just one more moment that built Gen X into who we are today.

[@casbot71]

It's such a great kids film for 8 year olds. Admittedly, I'm the youngest, so I stayed up late to watch The Exorcist on TV back when I was 6 or 7, with my teenage siblings. As soon as everyone went to bed, I put tubular bells on the stereo and very gradually increased the volume.

[@iad77]

The music.... Oh the music ... Still gives me chills today.... The scene where he's flying through the arches is gorgeous

[@danacarter9147]

Same here. That beautiful scene is still etched in our brains, to this day.

[@markpierce4416]

How is that Reinhardt?

[@cmkwan59]

Still haunting, after all these years!

[@Robert_Douglass]

cmkwan59 Very.

[@ysmigraarzygler8387]

RIP Maximillian Schell. The ironic part about this ending is that Maximillian Schell would spend all eternity trapped inside Maximillian's shell.

[@Maizerus]

Then who was that floating down the heavenly hallway at the end? I always took the ending to mean Reinhardt spent a small time in hell but somehow was redeemed.

[@christosvoskresye]

@@Maizerus That seems to be wishful thinking indulged by only a minority. No: Reinhardt did not emerge from the white hole. The figure was seemingly a guardian angel there to conduct the survivors past Reinhardt's eternal prison and to safety on the other side.

[@les4767]

@@christosvoskresye I think it's like the "Trip beyond the infinite stargate to the starchild" sequence of "2001: A Space Odyssey" It's so interpretable in different ways that anyone watching it may form their own conclusions of what it really meant. I like your interpretation a lot.

[@erikhawkke4861]

@@Maizerus Dr. Mcray, Kate's father was always my belief. Who else would Reinhardt have stuffed in Max before him? The one who led the revolt. Maybe he was the first humanoid robot in that monster's body..

[@SpaceHospital]

@@erikhawkke4861 Whoah. You just blew my mind. It makes perfect sense then too that he destroyed RienHardts calculations along with the only character who was sympethetic to him. And then was released from his prison when Maximillian perished.

[@TANKTREAD]

Such a fantastic score composed and conducted by John Barry.

[@richardstevens8839]

Outstanding Score by John Barry

[@maxauburn]

This is a great movie! It's 36 years old and I still love watching it! This is a very powerful scene. The music is intense and beautiful.

[@KarstensCreationsKC]

+Jack Wells Music by John Barry, of James Bond fame...he also scored the Disney film, 'The Black Cauldron'...

[@adamskijh]

+Karstens Creations It sounds very reminiscent of Moonraker, which came out the same year.

[@kuribayashi84]

+Karstens Creations "The Black Cauldron" was scored by Elmer Bernstein

[@KarstensCreationsKC]

I know...thanks...;) (I have a lot of Bernstein's scores)

[@EphemeralProductions]

+Jack Wells The second part is! And the first part of music is creepy and haunting! The genius of John Barry. (RIP)

[@Fr0st1989]

that music is top notch

[@EphemeralProductions]

From what I've heard, this is one of John Barry's best songs, this ending heaven/hell part.

[@msh6865]

The opening or main theme is very catchy too.

[@hawker7488]

John Barry. Nothing else needs to be said.

[@spellbinderart]

The Black Hole got some good ass music. One of the best soundtracks ever.

[@TakeBushOut]

love the intro hehe

[@buzzcrushtrendkill]

As I've heard it explained, "..Max and Reinhart crash the Cygnus into the Black Hole and are torn to atoms, but their consciousness merge (Max's mind was an imprint of Reinharts) and they are trapped forever in a pocket dimension haunted and tormented by the memories of the crew they killed."

[@roberthaworth8991]

Yes; the "skeleton" seen in the Hell sequence isn't that of a huge animal, but the brunt-out wreck of the Cygnus.

[@ronin667]

That's how it's explained in the novelization, however the final scene in the film where the spacecraft emerges from the other end of the wormhole contradicts this version.

[@Wahidfelty]

So the hooded figures, are not the actual spirits/souls of the humanoid crew, but rather demons made in their image to torment Max and Reinhart? I've never understood why the crew who of all involved were the most blameless, would be in Hell with them.

[@leonardHughes-iq3wv]

Thanks I was trying to find the words to describe this.

[@peterisnardi1197]

Saw this movie as kid when it came out and this whole part of the movie gave me nightmares...I still have dreams of falling endlessly outward into space...and the whole thing with him being stuck inside the robot in hell just messed me up...

[@leonardhughes4521]

Same here.I was just about finished with catholic grade school when this was released Dec of 79.

[@dewfall56]

Sure expanded your mind though, huh? This particular movie didn't do to me what you described, but I saw others as a kid that certainly did like: Saturn 3, Brainstorm, and Prince of darkness.

[@brazillo19]

Well in the real Hell, it's a lot worse than what appears in this film, and more gruesome and hideous.

[@jeffreybanner4144]

Saw it as a kid also but everyone in my elementary school class thought it was cool because of lasers and robots blowing up. We never got into existential discussions on anything.

[@swifty1969]

@@brazillo19 I'm assuming by your description that you took a little fieldtrip there.

[@atroyz]

I watched this when it first came out and this is some solid nightmare fuel.

[@porflepopnecker4376]

I saw this twice at the theater when it came out and have always liked it. It's like a space-age Jules Verne story, with Reinhardt as Captain Nemo. And the old school SPFX are gorgeous.

[@lunawenko9324]

I don’t really think you can compare Reinhardt with Captain Nemo. Nemo was an ideologist, fed up with the world around him, which is why he exiled himself under the sea and built the Nautilus with his fellow idealists. Reinhardt used a scientific mission to go to his own endeavors

[@Tracer_Krieg]

Salvation? More like his Damnation. Maximilian (the robot) is the literal Prison, the iron maiden, of Reinhardt. He is trapped within him, in Hell, for eternity.

[@comicbookreviewer4856]

Jacob Sailer just think if he needs to go to the bath room

[@CliventheTraveller]

+Jacob Sailer Exactly. Hans was consigned to Hell, tho he was in a position of leadership over his damned crew, which is pretty unfair, considering they had not done anything wrong themselves. mayhap it was just the remnants of them he ruled. The salvation imagery was for the Palomino's remaining crew on the probe ship.

[@7judas77]

+comic book reviewer it's been verified as a consideration for his punishment. The fact he has to soil himself and fester in it for eternity was by design.

[@Exabyte2e64]

And the position is irony. He is at the top of the mountain, like he was at the top of the tower in the Cygnus, but he is the most doomed and trapped soul. He is immobile, and the spirits of the crew seem to be slowly ascending.

[@singalingalongaling]

Why did Maximilian betray Dr. Reinhardt in the previous scene and not help him when he pleaded for help when he was trapped in the ship.

[@gerardoarellano7698]

In 1979, two things freaked me out as an 8-year-old kid: the transporter accident scene in Star Trek TMP and this scene here where Reinhardt is “fused” together with Maximilian. Also, unlike a lot of other commenters, I (as a kid) didn’t see Reinhardt and his drones(?) as somehow having descended into hell, but rather winding up on some alien planet, and the fires in front of them were actually the burning wreckage of their ship, the Cygnus.

[@BCtube01]

Interesting. That’s probably what ended up happening. He is stuck on some alien planet... but the fusing with the robot, that may not be so easy to explain

[@oomusd]

that's the same thing "biblical hell" or random burning planet living inside a robotic case with drones as companions it's the same thing : he's the king of his own _hell_. A horrible fate for a horrible person.

[@alejandrodarias_arquitecto]

The transporter scene in Star Trek TMP horrified me. As an adult, I always press the FFWD there.

[@gerardoarellano7698]

@Alejandro Darias_Arquitecto As do I!

[@madquest8]

​@@alejandrodarias_arquitecto "Oh no... they're forming!" "What we got back... didn't live long... fortunately"

[@patrickdhamilton]

Welcome to the one scene from an almost forgotten Disney movie that inspired the movie Event Horizon.

[@debonyangelgirl6497]

Dear Patrick, Event Horizon and The Black Hole are two different movies with two different story lines, the only thing that they have in common is the concept of The Black Hole. In The Event Horizon, the creator of the ship, The Event Horizon, uses the power of an artificial black hole to travel faster than light to other galaxies and other dimensions, but ended up traveling to Hell. The Black Hole is about a mad scientist who is obsessed with the Black Hole and turns his entire crew in to mindless zombie humanoid robots and creates a monster 👹 robot 🤖 and sentry henchman . In the Event Horizon, the evil spirits that take possession of the ship, kills the original crew. So both movies have a central theme of The Black Hole, but different story lines.🤖👾🌕🌌🤖🚀✨🖤🕳️

[@sotiriosnovatsis4529]

@@debonyangelgirl6497 Everything you wrote supports what Patrick wrote. Patrick said that The Black Hole inspired Event Horizon. He didn't say that one was the sequel of the other. Event Horizon very clearly has a lot in common with The Black Hole, more than coincidence would suggest.

[@Muzzlepaint]

I first saw this as a kid in the theater and this end still sticks with me today.

[@Lover-of-Creative-Priorities]

Such an underrated film. I can imagine Vincent making others feel happy to be in his shoes if U were in a space adventure film🌌

[@williamgorelander8290]

My uncle took me to see this movie when I was 7. I stayed up so incredibly late (for me at the time) to see the movie. The ending still kinda creeps me out to this day. I just watched the show (in 2022) and some of the special effects are still great (the black hole, the bridge). Also, RIP Yvette Mimieux (Dr. Kate McCrae) who passed this year (2022) in January.

[@EphemeralProductions]

I wasn’t aware. RIP Yvette.

[@scottballard5575]

Saw this when I was 6, this scene destroyed my mind for years, complete nightmare fuel as someone else has surely said.

[@brianm3849]

Dude, it was this scene, Louise Fletcher's death and afterlife scenes from Brainscan, The Dark Crystal, and Flynn's scene entering the Computer world. Nightmare fuel doesn't even cover it for me.

[@brianm3849]

BTW, I didn't turned 6 until 1983, in October.

[@zoso1980]

I saw this too in the theatres at six years old!

[@thecitizenoftheinternet1077]

Same

[@plasticpeon]

Weak!! Lol jk

[@kev3d]

So insane. Such a bold thing for Disney to do. I'm supposed to hate this film but I find it terribly entertaining.

[@90lancaster]

Me too Vincent is flipping Spectacular Old Bob is sad & endearing - and 1000 time better than the fleshy fools he shares a ship with - heck even Maximilian is a million tons of awesome and he never says a word - just looks more intimidating that a 100 Decepticons in a bad mood.

[@gerfmon1]

I saw the movie when I was in my late teens. Other than the Vincent robot being kind of corny, I loved the movie. But I was in the minority. Most of my co-workers and friends thought it was awful.

[@cernstormrunner7263]

Why are you supposed to hate it

[@msh6865]

Yes, agreed. So many holes (no pun intended) in the script and poor acting that this film should be universally despised. But, for some reason it isn't. But, the ending...so totally different from the rest of the film. Like they called in some totally different writers and said "help us create a ending for this movie".

[@swifty1969]

@@msh6865 what's wrong with the acting? it looked perfectly natural to me. I don't get why people must find a reason to hate this movie. To each his own I guess.

[@mrstardian]

I was sitting with my mouth wide open during the last 7 minutes, one of if not the darkest and most haunting endings to a Disney film ever. The score by John Barry added SO much dread and hope to the whole sequence, absolutely fantastic.

[@Bu33ab3]

I have always considered that the film "Event Horizon" is an unofficial sequel to the film "The Black Hole".

[@nesbitt615]

Just with more eye gouging and bloody butt rape!

[@robertkelley9195]

Excellent analogy, I’ll have to rewatch both now👍

[@josemorales5117]

As an adult event horizon scared the shit out of me

[@alexmartin3143]

I consider myself a 30 foot tall alien that bleeds orange juice..

[@trence5]

I've wondered if the premise that black holes are gateways to either Hell or Heaven originate from this film's ending.

[@MrMojoman1976]

Taking some time to watch this again after many years , here is my conclusion: Reinhardt got fused with Maximilian as punishment for what he did to the crew. BOB said death would be their only release from the trance, and that’s what is happening. If you look you can see they no longer have on their face plates , so they are free and leaving Reinhardt to his fiery fate . The angelic figure is leading the Palomino crew beyond the known universe into a new one , possibly the one that existed before ours (maybe heaven) . God , or whomever was acting as gatekeeper, judged them worthy of crossing over without dying .

[@mattdawg83686]

I was six going on seven when my parents took my sister and I to see this. I wasn’t able to process this sequence at all, and when Dr. Reinhardt popped up into the frame, it scared the bejeezus out of me. Him merging into the shell of Maximilian and the hellscape and afterwards was beyond my thinking at the time, and my parents didn’t understand it either.

[@dk6173]

Same. I was 9 when I saw it and it creeped me out too.

[@kylehorvatis7357]

Exactly the same here.

[@doncarlin9081]

Indeed. My classmates were freaked out by movies like Amityville Horror, which I thought was laughable, while movies like this one and Futureworld kept me awake at nights.

[@dede9806]

Fun fact : Reinhardt's character was played by Maximilian Schell (died in 2014). Same name as his Killer Robot, which was already in the script before casting Maximilian Schell...

[@havenm6181]

and he's inside the shell of maximilian. i don't know if they intended that but that's pretty damn cool

[@mikebasil4832]

The Black Hole’s ending can spark much for our imagination. I’ve even had some dreams about it. Thank you for posting it.

[@EphemeralProductions]

RIP Max Schell and John Barry. Both of you (respectively) made this scene what it is, and as memorable as it is. And, instead of a place like this, I know you are both enjoying a beautiful place of love and light. :)

[@lunawenko9324]

The soundtrack does give me slight Bond vibes in some parts, which makes sense since it was made by John Barry

[@riverstone6382]

This scared the crap out of me when I was a kid

[@thecitizenoftheinternet1077]

Same. I still feel bad for Reinhard. He may've been an asshole but I really feel bad for him.

[@tempest411]

I remember being ten years old and seeing this movie...The ending was creepy as hell! At 50 I find it an incredibly compelling scene, amazing actually. You sure wouldn't find Disney doing anything like that today. It was really out of left field back then.

[@BrianRoberson-k7g]

@@thecitizenoftheinternet1077 Yes, Reinhardt is complicated. You can't really hate him but he's so hyper focused on his plans that he winds up becoming very dangerous. He's an allegory for becoming so focused on a goal that humanity and empathy are lost. I think of his character as a commentary on the scientists who created the atomic bomb.

[@rattywoof5259]

1:12 - there's a similar shot on 'Fantasia', during the 'Night on Bald Mountain' sequence.

[@stevebishop9468]

That music is beyond perfection...

[@mjproebstle]

40 years and still relevant. still so many questions...bravo disney, bravo!

[@DeltaPi314]

Questions like: Why didn't anybody at Disney study what a black hole does? Why is this movie suffering from continously shifting tones? Why are all the lines delivered with the performance of D quality Collage student porn actors? Why did the plot make zero sense? Why was Disney so desperate to cash in on the space franchise instead of making its own thing? Why is this movie suddenly being pushed by YT again? Are they hyping up a remake? Please God, no.

[@triplejazzmusicisall1883]

Why does this movie with the masses cop so much flack, It was and is a superb movie. Beautifyl shot with a much darker haunting tone than other sci-fi flicks. The ending whoch could have been a total flop and destroyed the entire film was an artistic triumph. Magnificently collage and compiled together with stunning sihloiuette imagery and the eyes of reinhardt inside the shell of Maximillian was sheer brillance. This movie remains a classic in my opinion. Even the oblighatory cute robot 'Vincent' wasn't cloying and genyineky felt like a human character more developed than many lead actors in modern movies today. If any movie ever has underservedly been underrated (a word vastly overused) it is this one. Adventure, tone, narrative, symbolism, musical brilliance, design, scale all coming together to create a masterpiece. I had forgotten that the actual actors in this were fine. My poor memory had decieved my mind into thinking they weren't that good but they all had interesting atributes and whilsy maybe not stellar they were certainly distinct from one another. Maximilian Schell's characterisation was magnificent.

[@joshualavender]

Watching this on Betamax as a kid, I was spooked out of my skin. Last year, I watched The Black Hole again, first time in forever. It's a pity the whole film doesn't hold up as well as this scene and some of the film is so scientifically inaccurate, even by what people knew then, it just made me laugh. But what a dark, heavy ending for a Disney film! What a treat to see again! When I next get the chance, I'm re-watching Tron. :)

[@hendrsb33]

Interesting to see this again after so many years. I always took this sequence as a symbolic expression of Reinhardt's madness, the Hell he created for himself and the crew of the Cygnus. As the universe is infinite to us, his imprisonment within the shell of his robotic creation would be as infinite and hellacious. I'll always remember those crazy eyes, though... no salvation there.

[@EphemeralProductions]

He had them eyes when he was alive too. lol. DEFINITELY no salvation. lol

[@christopherr3676]

I love the ending of the black hole It's a total freak out . I Respect an ending that you can interpret various ways

[@sarrjel]

There is something hypnotic about the music and visuals.

[@markjones8983]

I believe this scene first shows us "evil" Reinhardt's / Maximilian's hell, and then contrasts this by showing us the "good" spirits of the Palomino's crew as they exit the black hole. Remember the whole scene starts with us zooming into Dr. Kate's eye suggesting that this is what she is experiencing in her mind's eye, and it may not be literally happening at all. After all, she is the one who said to Reinhardt, "If there is any justice at all, the black hole will be your grave." I suppose its all open to interpretation. I'm going to get the novelization to see what it says.

[@jamiebraswell5520]

You pretty much interpret the scene exactly as I do. I used to post this idea on IMDb way back in the day. I think the fact that we zero in on Kate's eye says it all and offers the proper context for how to view everything that follows. The idea of hell is introduced at the start of the film when Dr. Durant (well, I think it was him) stated that it looked like something out of Dante ' s Inferno. The idea was there in the characters minds as well as the audience. It can either be a sequence that Kate imagines, or her ESP could somehow enable her to see what is happening in the afterlife due to some effect from the black hole. Oh, forget the novel having answers. It does not delve into the ending as seen in the film. The crew is crushed and become colors or something like that. It does not utilize the religious angle at all.

[@debonyangelgirl6497]

@@jamiebraswell5520 Dear Jamie, It was Harry Booth( played by Ernest Borghneigh)I don't think I spelled his last name right, but it was his character that said that about Dante's Inferno.🕳️🤖✨🚀🚀👾✨🌈🌈🌈🌈🔆

[@PrestigeLearning]

The novelization is useless. The main characters enter the black hole and get vaporized, turning into disembodied minds free to explore the universe. The photo storybook ignores the hell sequence and simply states that they come out of the other side to a new world and an unknown future. This scene will always be left to the viewer's interpretation.

[@debonyangelgirl6497]

@@PrestigeLearning Dear Prestige Learning, I agree with you, everyone has they owe interpretation of the ending of the movie; however, even when I was a child, the ending seemed obvious to me. As the remaining members of the Palomino crew travel deeper into the Black Hole, they experience thoughts 💭 and visions,one of which is seen through the minds eye of Dr. Kate. She envisions Dr. Hans Reinhardt receiving his eternal punishment for turning his crew into mindless zombie humanoid robots. He himself is imprisoned in his monster robot, Maximilian, doomed to watch the wreckage of his ship🚀, the Cygnus, burn in the fires of Hell forever . Meanwhile, the Palomino crew travel safely through to the end of the Black Hole guided by a guardian angel. I have a few more details about the ending, but that's my basic interpretation of it.🍿🚀🤖🕳️

[@skylx0812]

Perhaps its also a reference to Janet Lee's dead eye from Psycho. Her story ends abruptly there. Here we see another inward journey through another eye. Celestial intervention in space seemed be a common theme in the late 70s. This film came out in 1979. The tv series Battlestar Galactica had a similar episode, around that time, where the main characters battled a malevolent being who killed one of them. But a race of angelic aliens intervine and escort them out of danger.

[@nathanbosley76]

Saw this film in theaters when I was 4. It remains to this day one of the most amazing and dark classic Disney films I've seen. A masterpiece.

[@U3X6785]

I was in first grade watching this in the indoor theater. Was my favorite Sci Fi next to Star Wars. The eyes in Maximilian freaked me out..

[@crazysnakey]

Say what you will about the movie as a whole, this scene was just incredible.

[@billyb4790]

Finally someone who interpreted it the way I see it! Hans didn't go to hell. He got a glimpse of it before he passed into heaven.

[@chrismoss8006]

Bad ass movie man my age is showing tonight!!!

[@getshorty7549]

+Chris Moss Mine too brother.

[@ViperEye]

0:12 - 2:30 That music is genuinely, downright haunting.

[@BritanniaPacific]

Especially when it gets to 1:06

[@thecitizenoftheinternet1077]

@@BritanniaPacific 0:40 Is haunting as well

[@msh6865]

John Barry at his very best. The complete, extended soundtrack can be found on Amazon.

[@Tomfoolery1972]

Masterpiece 👌🎼🎶

[@chrisradzion2148]

This was one of my favorite movies as a kid. For it’s time, the effects are pretty good, and the score is just eerie. Amazing that this was a Disney film. We forget that Disney was able to do some real, darker storytelling (another example would be “2000 Leagues Under the Sea”, which parallels this movie). They took “Star Wars”, “2000 Leagues”, and an ending that’s almost as ambiguous as the ending of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and combined them into a story that’s entertaining 40 years later.

[@wolfslynx8118]

I don't why people hate on this ending I am in minority and think what they did with practical effects along with John Barry's score is awesome. The concept that the escape pod passes through the black hole to a white fountain but in process journey ana and kata into fourth spatial dimensions of hell and heaven. The world the probe flies to after exiting the white fountain/epr bridge is supposed to be Kolob, or a non Mormon version of it: the world closest to Gods throne. I am told the script doctor was Mormon from someone who worked on film. A white fountain universe and that is not Reinhardts spirit it's an angel guiding them from Ana hell thru kata heaven to one of the many mansions ie dimensions in Gods realm.

[@leejackson4724]

wolfs lynx are you sure that that is hell? I don't hear any grunge music...😜

[@SgtHodl]

This is the best explanation I've heard the crew flying towards Kolob fits best

[@delavalmilker]

I saw this movie in the theater back in 1979. And have watched a couple of times since. And I'm still thinking: WTF???

[@alucardhellsing666]

bro its just fire calm down

[@galaxyman2007dtl]

I saw this movie at age 12...I am 51 now. Over the years...I've been involved heavily with amateur astronomy. I love science...and I'm an Atheist...YET...this scene still enthralls me...Einstein himself stated something along the lines that it bothered him to think that such places(Black Holes) existed...and he admitted that he knew they did.

[@scowlfarm3061]

This, along with KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park, are two of my earliest childhood memories.

[@drekherd5810]

Thanks Pan.

[@EphemeralProductions]

I have to say it, as I apparently never have. But I am a believer in Jesus and thus in Heaven, so when I see that beautiful hallway that appears to be made entirely of gold, it always makes me think about the streets and hallways in the heavenly city and how beautiful they will be! I hope other believers can relate to this comment and can see it and agree!

[@gionnijohnson408]

I believe in God too, but the hallway kinda looked like glass and crystals.

[@EphemeralProductions]

@@gionnijohnson408 still so pretty either way! ❤️

[@gionnijohnson408]

@@EphemeralProductions no it's not pretty, IT'S GORGEOUS!!!!💕🔥✨😇

[@Hans-be6sm]

Why don't you wait until you're dead and you can come back and tell us all about it. Just don't be a zombie.

[@KENNETHUDUT]

major nightmare fuel as a kid and yet - loved the movie. Watched it over and over again. Raised Methodist, they didn't even mention the WORD hell, so my whole formation of the concept of Hell is solely based on The Black Hole, which I didn't see as Hell but as nasty burning bit that they accidentally got caught up into, rather than something they deserved.

[@EphemeralProductions]

Well in this guy's case, he DID deserve to be there, considering how "mad scientist" evil he was and how he mistreated all his slaves with the mirrored masks.

[@KENNETHUDUT]

tall32guy he *was* about as evil as a mad scientist ever got in a movie 'tis true!

[@KENNETHUDUT]

How did I get back here 10 years later? wth Hi me! I had to see that ending again.

[@drayvelharris8348]

at 3.01 you can see a red recording light from the camera reflected in that cathedral archway

[@chevydryden4508]

Why isnt this classic on youtube

[@CoolDudeClem]

On another note, one time I passed out while in college and saw this exact image at 2:45, yet I hadn't even seen this film back then.

[@KaitainCPS]

Should this not be "damnation" rather than "salvation"?

[@mfletes]

That's my take. I think i already had a conversation with either this poster or someone else who is convinced that Reinhardt is the angelic figure seen flying at the end. I don't see the logic on that. Reinhardt was evil. Why would he be rewarded by turning him into an "angel?"

[@mrb7094]

No. He goes to heaven at the end. He has salvation. Just watch it.

[@KaitainCPS]

No he doesn't. He's marooned in hell. That isn't Reinhardt you're seeing in heaven. You're simply shown heaven as a contrast. There is absolutely nothing in the story thematically that supports the notion of Reinhardt suddenly having his damnation cancelled and being whisked off to heaven instead.

[@mrb7094]

There's a bit more going on with that. I think it's the crazy hair. It's the same on both the Reinhardt that gets trapped in Maximilian and on the angel. And of course, if it's not Reinhardt then who is it? I don't think it's a random angel.

[@KaitainCPS]

The hair just looks like that of a woman, blown by a wind. It seems much thinner than Reinhardt's wild thatch that seems almost to have coalesced into dreadlocks. I find your interpretation intriguing, but not particularly convincing. I mean, it's pretty hard to say, "I'm right and you're wrong!" given the slightly wacky nature of the entire sequence (which seems rather 2001-influenced), but I can't see any compelling reason to think that the angel is supposed to be Reinhardt. It's a slight, feminine-looking figure, wearing a thin dress or shift, as opposed to Reinhardt's red jacket and trousers. I have never encountered anyone else who holds the view that the "angel" is in fact Reinhardt being let off the hook for some reason. That doesn't mean you're wrong, but it does mean you're in a minority and that if the film-makers intended for the audience to think they were seeing Reinhardt being redeemed, they failed.

[@wipeout2098]

Seems exposure to black hole gives you space-dreadlocks.

[@Tehrasha]

'spaghettification'

[@SirEpifire]

If there ever is a reboot of this, it damn well better be as dark and gritty as the first.

[@jeffreywebb4029]

I was maybe 7 when this came out. The depiction of the Dr being trapped in his evil creation in hell was powerful even to a child. Crazy that I understood even being a little boy.

[@richardcochrane1966]

Without doubt, THE BEST movie ever made by Disney, and so unlike their usual fare....dark, brooding and magnificent!!

[@halleck3]

for a disney movie, this is awfully dark.

[@EphemeralProductions]

Yep. The darkest one they've done, comparable to the "evil ruler" in Fantasia (or whatever his name was). LOL

[@raksh9]

Another dark movie they did was Dragonslayer, which had nudity and some weird violence. After The Black Hole and Dragonslayer, Disney formed Touchstone Pictures to make more adult fare.

[@motownstickman8959]

imagine seeing it as an 8 year old, like i was, when it was in theaters. freaked me the hell out! & yet, they merchandised all the robot action figures (i suppose the humans also), cuz my friend had a 'vincent' toy.

[@KingswayMovies]

Dragonslayer = Paramount

[@hakemon]

It was a co-production between Disney and Paramount (Dragonslayer), not just one or the other.

[@fodsaks]

You can definitely hear some James Bond stylings in the music.

[@marklane2718]

You probably would, since John Barry also composed the soundtrack from Moonraker

[@vanar6011]

And every 007 movie from DOCTOR NO to LICENCE TO KILL...

[@mangrove]

I saw this movie in the cinema when I was but three years old. I inferred the eyes within Maximilian's shell as another human that was a victim of Reinhardt's experiments. I understand it a lot better, now.

[@JohnSanborn-y2n]

What a horrible way to spend your days in hell. The frightened eyes of the captain looking out as he was forced to become one with the robot. You can't live but you can't die either. Living forever tortured in an eternal hell.

[@christophewillmann7565]

John barry verry good musique

[@Tony-1971]

I loved this movie as a kid. Now as a 50 year old man i adore it.

[@FormatorBlack]

I was there, too! I was born in '71, thank GOD Star Trek:The Motion Picture (also a great film) was sold out that night! I still remember my brother consoling me by telling me "We're going to see the Black Hole instead, it's another science fiction movie." My parents got tired to me trying to imitate the sound effects of the lasers and the beep Vincent made before he spoke! I had both movie storybooks, pajamas, everything! Good times!

[@Tony-1971]

@@FormatorBlack Yeah same, i was born in 71 too. I was crazy on all those 70's and 80's sci-fi films/tv shows. Still am. I had a couple of the Black Hole action figures. It was mostly Star Wars for me though. I was always a big fan of the movie Logan's Run, and the short lived tv show. Great times. Glad i grew up then rather than now. I honestly don't see any good sci-fi movies/tv shows being made these days. Its a shame.

[@DethOfDrgnz]

I saw this movie and this ending always freaked me out. I always thought the bad guy merged with maximilian, for some weird unknown reason, and he ended up in another dimension that looks hell, but is not hell. The good guys came out of the other side of the blackhole alive. At least that's how interpreted it.

[@martymatic3575]

I just realised, that after the cygnus was destroyed and swallowed by the black hole, Reinhardt seemed to age for decades floating through space. As he dies on the ship, his beard and hair are still black and way shorter, but when drifting through the black hole, noone can tell how many years he's been in nothingness, before being confined into a shell... cosmic horror ladies and gentlemen.

[@deansouthgate5837]

I've watched the black hole quite a few times now, still a great film,I now own all of the three robots, pictures cards from the film & the poster,it took a long time to collect these items

[@jakubkrcma]

Have always loved this movie, the soundtrack (recorded by a Czech orchestra, if I remember correctly), etc.

[@adolf-8834]

I went to see masterpieces like this as a kid. The Dark Crystal was another trippie one.

[@Cellmate412162]

You know, a though just hit me... If the Hell scene here didn't exist, we might never had the concept of Hell in space like in the Doom videogame series. If my memory serves right, The Black Hole was also part of the influence for Paul Anderson to create Event Horizon. This scene may have been rushed out the door at the last minute, but left behind the start of a great concept.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

You can't fault the studio there I suppose.

[@KaosNova2]

The plot of Event Horizon is about the same as Black Hole.

[@Theri4444]

In Event Horizon the guy who built the ship theorized that you could use black holes to travel the stars and in the black hole movie the captain who killed his own crew thought the same thing. Captain Reinhardt thought that you could use black holes to travel great distances

[@KaosNova2]

Theri4444 and in both cases, there is Hell itself inside the Black Hole.

[@andrewtodaro2874]

Yeah, but the hell scenes in Event Horizon makes this scene look relaxing!

[@hpa2005]

I can just imagine the reaction of the audience who saw this for the first time.

[@nickruisi5569]

OK, check this out. Even the evil can be redeemed. Hans is imprisoned in his evil hench robot (his creation, used to do evil). When this evil is burned away (I guess this is a hellish purgatory?), he is freed and finds his way. The theme of "hell is of your own making" seems to be very heavy in this one. I saw this as a kid in the theater, and 100% all of this went miles over my head. This is INCREDIBLY Catholic-Christian in general concept.The music is perfect for what is happening on the screen. Barry is a master, and whoever synced the score w/ the movie should have gotten an oscar.

[@EphemeralProductions]

Who’s to say though that the man flying through the hallway was him though? It WOULD fit and make sense though, I agree.

[@davidking7205]

The whole last part of this movie was amazing

[@gionnijohnson408]

Fr.

[@russellthompson9271]

One of the best scenes in Sci Fi cinematic history.

[@EdgarGonzalez-mx6fn]

I remember this movie it was on channel 11 two months late

[@skrag2112]

RIP Maximilian Schell.

[@JMC1992]

I think I watched this at ~5 years old. Certainly affected dreams, but I was already atheist.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

2:43 Beautiful imagery.

[@crazyman8472]

Freakiest thing since “2001”! 😵‍💫

[@andys8483]

I'm surprised they haven't remade this film already! Luv it & the music is astounding! At least bring out the blu-ray,please Disney

[@earthwatcher2012]

its still freaks me out to think of Dr Reinhardt stuck in Maximillian forever in hell

[@KaosNova2]

He came out again, with his soul inside the Starship known as Event Horizon

[@earthwatcher2012]

@@KaosNova2 oh wow! that’s an incredible thought

[@travisbell736]

The title of this video is wrong. It’s not the salvation but the damnation of Hans

[@AllenJones-w3p]

Tony Perkins doesn't play the villain here; Max Schell does. In a twist worthy of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, Hans Reinhardt is punished for his evil deeds by spending eternity in "the other place".

[@DEKA1]

when I saw the Hell scene for the First Time, I thought the back story was that Dr. Reinhardt lives on using Maximilian as a kinda Life Support Suit (since he built Him), the Fire was the Wreck of Cygnus which had Crash Landed on a unknown Planet after exiting the Black Hole, and Almost all the Humanoid Robots Survived Due to there Cyborg Status, and Reinhardt is still calling the Shots in a Brain in a Jar Form using Maximilian as he's new Body !

[@veeseee128]

good explanation that's one way of looking at. I thought they had entered another dimension and was able to get a glance of heaven and hell.

[@veeseee128]

if Reinhardt is inside his robot how did he get his legs inside? the robots legs spread out.

[@DEKA1]

Maybe the Chest Opens, like Iron Man, maybe inside something else happens, like the Head is Removed like the Cybermen of Doctor who, and locked in with Wires, who knows maybe the Brain is removed from the Skull, like Robocop 2 how all we See is the Eyes, because the Brain can live on with out the Body, making Reinhardt Immortal ! after all Reinhardt was like the Borg Queen forcing all his Old Crew to be think the same, and became something he would just Command, with out Reason, simply Playing God, perhaps he can now play God forever like the Emperor on WarHammer 40k, depanding if Maximilian's Power Source is Nuclear !

[@obadiahnormal8070]

Nah I think the explanation is a more sinister one. Hollywood is full of Satanists and often have little satanic allegories in their movies. Reinhard is supposed to represent god. God has converts which naturally for Hollywood are represented by unthinking Robots. God has another creation, Satan, represented by Maximilian. At the end of the movie we See God and his converts confined to Hell, and God and Satan change places. God becomes Maximilian and Maximilian’s soul is freed to go to Heaven to reign as the supreme deity. We know he is going to heaven, as its portal looks like crystal and in the book of enoch heaven is portrayed as being made of Crystal.

[@raksh9]

You just passed the Cinematic Thematic Apperception test with a high degree of optimism and positivity.

[@BritanniaPacific]

I don’t know what it is but the score for this scene is most memorable for me after watching this movie. John Barry knew what he was doing when writing this piece.

[@veeseee128]

John Barry did the music for somewhere in time 1980 and Game of death 1977.

[@unsolicited577]

Don't forget he scored the 1976 remake of King Kong and 1979's Moonraker.

[@EphemeralProductions]

And Midnight Cowboy, and a few other. :)

[@raksh9]

No wonder I'm reminded of classic James Bond movies when I watch this scene.

[@jacenstarhunter8988]

WHAT UP? And 11 James Bond films, the 1977 King Kong movie, Somewhere in Time, Dances With Wolves and Raise the Titanic

[@mattgearytransplanted]

maybe that's why reinhardt asked kate to protect him from Maximillian because he had turned her dad into Maximillian? and the reason he killed durant is because he was trying to take her away from him?

[@AdrianFahrenheitTepes]

I never thought of that