The Black Hole - The Best Movie You Never Saw

[@BenniRoR]

"No one at Disney really knew how to make a space opera." I guess that has not changed since then.

[@pancake_crab4457]

It's gotten worse, they're forgetting how to make movies in general.

[@BenniRoR]

@@pancake_crab4457 Take a look at those superfluous live action remakes they are doing at the moment: "Wooaaah, those effects!! Whoooah!" That is the mindset of the casual moviegoer and that is all Disney cares about.

[@danielduncan6806]

@@BenniRoR It is remarkably pathetic how egregiously ignorant, naive and shallow our people have become. This is what 100 years of undereducation gets you as a nation; a nation of complete idiots. And I really can't fault Disney for for taking advantage of the weaknesses of our people. If I had the capital I would do the same thing. If you can make money off of people's stupidity, why wouldn't you? I hate them for doing it, of course, but I do not hold them accountable for it. After all, it is up to each individual to continue educating and enriching themselves beyond the public education system, the learning never stops.

[@negativghostrdr]

What about Treasure Planet? That was awesome. I get the comment regarding Star Wars, but Treasure Planet is really an overlooked gem. Probably the best sci-fi (ish) story Disney has done.

[@negativghostrdr]

@@danielduncan6806 Wow Daniel, tell us what you really think! I think Mandelorian is a great show, I also thought Rogue One was pretty good. Both of which are Disney productions. This really isn't about audience intelligence. The merch isn't selling because the audience isn't digging what they did with the trilogy. I imagine it has a lot more to do with Hollywood politics than making sure the audience gets a memorable experience. I think it's just as easy to make a great movie as it is to make a bad one if you have the kind of money Disney has to throw behind a production.

[@realbrooklynjes]

Disney's version of the Event Horizon ... this movie scared the shit out of me when I was a kid

[@onchristieroad]

Definitely.

[@turn1210]

Me too, that Maximilian with his spinning blades and all the dead crewmen.. pretty terrifying to a kid

[@Perkiestgoth]

C A this statement is so true. Re watched it recently and it’s still creepy.

[@AdamIsUrqed]

I had nightmares for a week.

[@jamiebraswell5520]

Event Horizon is that studios version of The Black Hole.

[@JediMike71]

I’m 49 years old and first saw The Black Hole when I was eight years old when it came out on 1979. I really enjoy it! I love Roddy McDowell’s Vincent and Slim Pickins as Old Bob. I own it on DVD and Blu-Ray now. It’s one of my favorite movies.

[@CoopyKat]

@Mike Buckley Now you're 50, and you still have BAD TASTE.

[@d.t.4581]

I am 51 and I loved it when I saw it at the cinema.

[@germanicelt]

......cause you didn't get out to the cinema more.

[@christopherr3676]

Maximillion scared the f out of me as a kid . The music score is amazing

[@christopherr3676]

@A H he played that part to a T

[@CreativeCreatorCreates]

Same!

[@paulsalerno6362]

He’s crazy scary

[@Aymster]

💯 our family went and I’m the youngest. When we got home my mom tapped on my bedroom door and I started screaming hysterically because I was still traumatized from the movie.

[@BangBang-hk4rg]

I’m right there with y’all. That SOB gave me nightmares for years.

[@80sOGRE]

IMO the gold in this movie is 1) The unnerving score by John Barry, it sounds like you walking into a long abandoned haunted house. 2) The emptiness of the ship, a foreshadowing of the Cygnus crew, walking around as soulless cybernetic zombies. 3) The gothic glass house look of the Cygnus, perched next to the most destructive force in the universe. 4) The Hell / Heaven sequence at the end, which as a 7 year old raised in a time of wholesome family viewing, scared the sh*t out of me and had me in a mild shock on the bus ride home.

[@arohk1579]

Seen this as a kid and still enjoy watching it. Silent Running is another enjoyable classic.

[@hgwells1899]

Love that movie

[@Shockedbywater]

Silent Running is a great movie and much better than Black Hole

[@jamesomeara2329]

Funny thing is that I never took this to be a Star wars type knockoff like Battlestar or Buck Rogers. From 2001 through to The Black Hole with Silent Running in there, there's an aesthetic style for about a decade or so in sci-fi of grandeur, music, and timing that several films had that were not strictly adventure, but the cerebral as suggested in here. Anyways thanks for this!

[@arohk1579]

@@jamesomeara2329 this and Silent Running could never be mistaken for Star Wars rip offs IMO also, the only thing one could say is Disney wanted to rent the Dykstraflex camera system which was developed for A New Hope but was to expensive, so like ILM did they made their own a more superior system called the Automated Camera Effects System. Watching this on the big screen was pretty cool as well :).

[@JerBuster77]

This movie was really fun to watch as a kid.

[@chasehedges6775]

I recently just watched it. The ending was something.

[@longgroove]

I remember seeing this in the theater.

[@trhansen3244]

It's still better than any recent Star Wars film.

[@Aurochhunter]

Ikr, I remember my 4th grade weacher bringing it to school for the class to watch.

[@wstine79]

"A wolf is still a wolf. Even if he hasn't eaten your sheep."

[@anonb4632]

The angriest wolves are vegan.

[@glyph241]

I read the novelization of this movie in jail once…

[@wstine79]

My dad watched this movie and was wondering why Norman Bates was in space.

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

Because he was a psycho on earth

[@troyo.8294]

Two moments I had to look away at 9 years old: -Humanoid / mask removal face reveal. -Reinhart’s space tumbling face jump scare. Truly freaked me out then.

[@adambusenlehner3689]

You have to love that dialogue. "It's mission to find habitable life in outer space." Habitable life? LOL! I'm sure they meant habitable planets.

[@PlaysByEar]

getting "blown out the sky" (used twice) caught my attention. You're in outer space. There is no sky!

[@jamiebraswell5520]

Just the tip of the ice berg regarding science gaps in this movie, lol. Oh well, I still love it!

[@ShamrockParticle]

Run-on sentences and the ilk are the best. It'd proof moden movies aren't the only imperfect ones, though unlike in the past people figured out how to make sci-fi while being reasonably scientifically accurate. Even fantasy can be believable if they keep things to a set of conditions just like the laws of physics must. A light saber is clearly fantasy but a lot of us feel in the scenes anyway. Maybe not the prequels, but the more emotionally tight OT and even scenes from the ST did it right. A billion cgi blobs with green and blue glowsticks thrashing on screen isn't always all that epic. And to really sell it as such is not easy.

[@alucard624]

@@jamiebraswell5520 It's a guilty pleasure on many levels, especially if you ignore all the issues it has.

[@FanPhys]

I chuckled when there was mention of "turbulence" outside the black hole. Turbulence... in the vacuum of outer space, LOL. Doubling down on the ignorance of the masses back in the 1970s, I guess!

[@rbravender1]

A movie from that era I feel is always overlooked: Dragonslayer.

[@michaelschwartz8730]

I love Dragonslayer! And I'm also old enough to remember how much hate it got when it first came out. Still don't understand why, honestly. I think it's damn clever

[@rbravender1]

I know! Peter MacNichol is probably one of last surviving cast members, and he seems to hate it.

[@daleandrade8140]

Dragonslayer is amazing.

[@dudelebowskithe2nd373]

Love Dragonslayer!

[@thethoughtcriminal8786]

I agree...but we are talking about the golden age of movies. Conan, Krull, Clash of the Titans, Dreamscape, Red Dawn, Escape from New York....when movies were actually fun.

[@grapeshot]

There's one thing about this movie that I've always liked actually two things. I love the intro with the music and the green grid square pattern and also like the robots Vinson and Bob.

[@grapeshot]

@@mtechcom4863 oh well it is what it is I believe I got my point across.

[@supremeobliterator]

Me to, but ESP for robots was kind of wierd.

[@bovnycccoperalover3579]

Vincent

[@XperimentorEES]

I remember getting this as a Christmas gift all those years ago, and it's what spurred on my love for science fiction, glad it's not as forgotten as I thought!

[@zepmarq]

Great retrospect on a classic. This is on of the movies my late dad rented for my brother and I during the dawn of VCRs. Kudos on the white plastic VHS boxes reference that Disney used on their tapes... I remember those! 😁

[@DrJReefer]

I'm old enough to have bought the collector cards for this film

[@SJHFoto]

ME TOO! I used to love movie collector cards (I wasn't into baseball and most kids liked baseball cards) Before VCRs became common, it was the only way to remember scenes from movies

[@SJHFoto]

@A H Why do you feel the need to employ vulgar language?

[@DrJReefer]

@@SJHFoto Why do you feel the need to care?

[@SJHFoto]

@@DrJReefer Because it is vulgar and wrong

[@DrJReefer]

@@SJHFoto Says you. If you find harsh language offensive. I suggest you take a look around the world we live in and then shut the fuck up.

[@adambrown3918]

Thank you so much for putting up this great video! I loved this film so much ever since it debuted in 1979. I begged my parents for the books and the action figures! I even had a family friend record the film on audio tape. I listened to it SO MUCH I ended up memorizing ALL the lines. Oh man! Such memories. I believe this is considered Disney's one and ONLY horror film? I'm probably wrong. Anyways, thank you for posting and the trip down memory lane. 😊🤗❤

[@gooseman_x]

Oh boy, this is how big of a nerd I am, and how much I loved this movie growing up ........ @8:17 - " ..... that's V.I.N.CENT. ... which all stands for something, but I can't remember....." Vital Information Necessary CENTralized

[@doubleheadedeagle6769]

I saw this at the theatres when it first came out. The ending was a bit of a head scratcher if you were a kid. The effects were amazing for the time it came out. No CGI used.

[@dunebasher1971]

The opening titles are genuine CGI, but no, none of the effects in the main body of the film are.

[@ericdudley4169]

“You’ll never be obsolete. Cary on the tradition…”The brave and dying robot “Bob” played by Slim Pickens to his fellow robot Model V.I.N.CEN. Such a profound thing for a robot to tell another fellow robot… Still gets me in the feelers…

[@notpc48]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5OqgKaHe7J4mNU

[@zdb4915]

I’ve seen the movie at least 20 times and I still love it.

[@chasehedges6775]

Definitely a classic and much better than some of the other live-action Disney keeps churning out.

[@okidokicreations1075]

I've never seen it, but you made me curious

[@jasongerrard8940]

@@okidokicreations1075 is as it once watched it and it bored me to sleep, take my word for it, the star wars holiday special and this are long lost bedfellows, I used to tell my ex wife that she had the black hole, I did get a few digs.

[@trhansen3244]

Great film!

[@epe1238]

Saw this as as a kid in the theatre and got to see Maximilian in a prop tour at Disney MGM Studios years later in the 90s.

[@satelitemikedatapro2498]

The great Ernest Borgnigne

[@dnorth98]

I loved this film as a kid and I've probably watched it 50 times. The music I found so darn eerie and I still get chills when watching it due to this. I remember having the action figures (even Vincent!). What I wouldn't give to have them back today

[@Cbiz210]

Dude! That movie was always on HBO or Showtime in the 80's ... Must have seen that movie at least two dozen times.

[@CreativeCreatorCreates]

...Also the disney channel. I watched it so much back then. My mom worked for a cable company so we got it for free. Otherwise we’d have been out of luck.

[@martinsorenson1055]

He really should call this series "The Best Movie I Never Saw But Then I Discovered That Most People Have Seen It."

[@carter358]

Remember those book & record sets from the late 70s/early 80s? I had The Black Hole as a kid. It totally skips the Heaven & Hell scene and instead has the probe ship safely arrive in a new galaxy. Robert Forrester says something like "There's a whole galaxy of planets out there. Let's go find one for ourselves." Later as a teen, I would learn that the movie's ending inspired the Black Sabbath song and album Heaven and Hell, one of my favorites to this day.

[@Terry.W]

I remember watching this in a half empty cinema ....but I really enjoyed it then and now .. can't wait for A4 K release

[@Hiraghm]

I watched this when I was in highschool... favorite parts were Vincent and Bob. I felt bad about Bob's death scene at the time. Now that I'm old and beaten up myself, I get a tear watching beat up ol' Bob.

[@notpc48]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5OqgKaHe7J4mNU

[@HansCholo619]

this movie was SOOOO ahead of its time....a great movie that doesnt get enough credit

[@forgalzz7]

The Cygnus is still one of the best ship designs ever.

[@MamaPinks]

I remember watching this on HBO over and over and over. I've never seen it as an adult; I'll be 51 next month.

[@thevoxofreason8468]

As a child, I had a "read along" book with record of this movie.

[@phineasdecool8982]

I really get nostalgic when I think about this movie. I do enjoy it every time I re-watch it!

[@trhansen3244]

The novelization by Alan Dean Foster is first rate, too.

[@jeffmcarthur5617]

I saw this movie when it first came out and LOVED it. As I grew up, I of course saw the rough spots of it, but I've always had a soft spot for it. I think it's the ultimate example of the type of movie that ACTUALLY should get a remake. It's been started, but then stopped suddenly for other projects.

[@jimbrown5091]

I saw The Black Hole in the theater, I had the poster...and...for the record, 9 y/o me loved Condor Man...synchronized Porsche assassins!

[@goodbonezz1289]

Saw it in the theater when I was a kid...maybe 8..definitely made an impression.

[@PUBHEAD1]

Always loved the music, ship design and black hole effect and star fields.

[@germanicelt]

This movie brings back memories of 9th grade for me. I recorded it on VHS in 1988 and watched it alot back then. Wouldn't have seen it since the late 80s. The end scene with Max on hell mountain and him drilling that guy through the notebook are virtually the only scenes that have stayed with me for over 30 years.

[@onchristieroad]

I remember watching this a lot as a kid, and I loved it. I just felt it had a kind of dark, existential edge to it.

[@bovnycccoperalover3579]

Because it was!

[@RogbodgeVideo]

I saw this on my first trip to the cinema and loved it - especially the music! (I now have the DVD) Regarding the effects, the camera system developed for The Black Hole was actually more adsvanced than the one used for Star Wars!

[@stuartbrownlee3108]

I recently ordered this to watch around Xmas time. A fascinating history around this movie indeed.

[@backpedal7546]

Thank you for mentioning Condorman! That was my favorite movie when I was six. I found a DVD recently…and it kind of holds up.

[@samcro6268]

i found The Black Hole pop up story book at a garage sale a few years ago. Beautiful awesome book.

[@dirkbogarde44]

One of the few films i went to the cinema with my late dad, so i have fond memories of the movie.

[@jlwilder8436]

GREAT Job! This was cool. I had been wanting to show my mom Interstellar for a few years and we finally watched it together the other night (she loved it, of course, Interstellar IS a masterpiece, I think), and when they were approaching "Gargantuan" she said, "when you were a kid we use to watch this Disney movie called Black Hole, with these weird robots and a creature named Maximilian..." And I practically lost my mind; not because she was talking during Interstellar, but because I all but forgot about this movie and whenever I remembered it it was only in vague fragments of something I use to love but couldn't exactly remember why/what, let alone its name. I was very impressed by her recall of that, and although FEW (space or sci-fi) movies are as great as Interstellar, or Gravity, (or the underrated Ad Astra, IMO) there wouldn't be as many as there are today to choose from if not for those that pioneered the way, "long, long ago in a galaxy..." (well, a lot like this one!; ) And needless to say, we will be watching The Black Hole together in the near future for the first time this century/more than a quarter century for sure. (I can't wait!: ) Thanks again for making this.

[@GregNixon]

I remember watching this on cable back in the 80's. Can't remember which movie channel, but for like a month or two, that movie got a LOT of airplay. I must have watched it 10 times!

[@hgwells1899]

Hugo Kant's Out of Time nu jazz/ trip hop album is based around this movie, with sound fx and dialogue all over the mix

[@txdave13]

I saw this in the theater when I was a kid. That scene with Anthony Perkins getting impaled on Maximilian's spinning blades terrified 8 year old me. But, for months, my friends and I were going around recreating the double barreled blasters with our fingers. I haven't seen it since then, may be worth checking out.

[@alastairward2774]

He got his insides chewed up, they show what happened to his book going into Maximilian's blades before they start on his guts...

[@stevegeorge6880]

I used to watch this all the time as a kid. Even then, the science struck me as less than perfectly worked out. Had no problem with the deliberately cute robots. This one does have real atmosphere and some great scenes. I wouldn't have been surprised if they worked in parts of the sets into some Disney World exhibit or ride.

[@wpflesh6510]

Love this and a Condorman shoutout as well!

[@JeffreyDeCristofaro]

Man, this episode is a trip down nostalgia lane! I once had those same white plastic VHS boxes at home for the animated classics as a kid and also had those Disney picture books, the latter which existed in different formats ranging from small books with accompanying audio cassettes that you could listen to while reading, and the big shelf-hugging volumes. That being the case, I didn't tune in to ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney as much - we had the Disney Channel on cable at that point - but I did watch a number of Disney live-action classics before, well, seeing movies like PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN on the big screen (for a time, that's when I got interested in Disney again, and long before they became a corporate monster and bought properties like Marvel and National Geographic) - although still, 1954's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA still remains my Top Favorite live-action Disney film (and back from a time when Walt Disney still owned Disney). I kinda have mixed feelings about THE BLACK HOLE, but it's definitely not as bad and boring as some folks (including my old man) made it out to be, and I love that John Barry score and Roddy McDowell-voiced robot as well. Back during my early years as a full-blooded cinephile, when I was gorging myself on classic films and building up my own movie collection with allowance money, I picked up THE BLACK HOLE on DVD and found it strangely fascinating if uneven (it looked like a cross between late 1960's psychedelia, atmospheric Gothic Hammer horror and pre-STAR WARS/post-2001 space movies like SILENT RUNNING and DARK STAR, a pretty improbable but impressive mixture). Although TRON three years later was far better, not to mention ground-breaking thematically and visually, this wasn't a bad start by Disney to try to get in on the "hard sci-fi" game (previous movies like THE ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR and the WITCH MOUNTAIN movies, which I also saw, are more straightforward fantasies with minimal sci-fi elements), and if anything, I will definitely take THE BLACK HOLE any day over any of the lousy STAR WARS sequel trilogy films.

[@driver8sk]

What gets me is how square things like the dialogue, costuming and general vibe of the movie was. Except for some of the effects, this could've been a movie from the early 60's.

[@jasonblalock4429]

The script had been in development for years, since like 1971 or 72. It originally began as a disaster movie, basically The Poseidon Adventure in space, before being massively retooled after Star Wars hit. So undoubtedly some of those influences stuck around.

[@r.morris5589]

I have seen this movie over 100 times. My kid loved it and watched it weekly for months. It is fun and family friendly. The actors did well, the music was great as was the special effects. Wish Disney could be this good again.

[@NP-ip3nj]

Oh I've seen it.....multiple times. It's the only thing by Disney I'll watch. It's weird - but moody and atmospheric. I love it, even with the goofy bits.

[@derkcast620]

you mad sunvfoa, you did it!! lol i spent and hour a year ago looking for re:reviews on this movie and came up (almost) empty. Great pick for BMYNS!

Love the cough at the beginning... ;)

[@Seriousgreeen]

I noticed the Bob robot shakes, sorta the same way as Wall-e. shivers when afraid.

[@micahleis5424]

We had the book for this movie that you showed; I remember being fascinated by it as a child. My only memories of the movie itself are the red robot (Maximilian) with the spinning blade hands and the laser guns that were like twin blasters. What a throw back to see this come up.

[@DJ-jn3on]

Still remember going to watch it at the pictures when it first came out, and I really enjoyed it. I still enjoy it to this day.

[@chasehedges6775]

A journey that begins where everything ends. -- Tagline.

[@mlawson7341]

Saw this in the theater when I was a kid. Still have the action figures. It’s on Disney Plus now. Good B movie.

[@wrbrown571]

Very nice! The first time I saw The Black Hole I was a little kid, with my parents at the drive-in. 😳 It was a double feature. Maybe with The Black Caldron or The Sword in the Stone.

[@shainewhite2781]

I watched this film in school in 2003 and it looked pretty good. This movie reminds me of Interstellar, if it was released on 1979. It even has elements that would later be used in the sci-fi horror thriller Event Horizon. There were even talks of a remake as far back as 2009, but nothing has come of it.

[@davidelswick6660]

I love this movie. A few years ago, before there was an online Disney service, I ordered the DVD.

[@CappyLarou]

since you mentioned Moonraker, I feel it necessary to point out that that is one of the funniest unintentional comedies I have ever seen... Little weed didn't hurt either

[@CappyLarou]

The evil robot in this movie haunted my nightmares for about a year after I saw this in theaters

[@biguy617]

I would not mind seeing a remake of this.

[@DeathCultFan]

Not only a favourite of mine when I was a kid (saw it at the cinema) but a favourite of my son's when we watched the DVD last year!!!

[@envisionnewagemultimedia9648]

I was a projectionist when this movie came out. Only saw parts of it, as I was working. Decided to watch it the other night. I enjoyed it and was entertained for the length of the movie. I didn't dislike it for all those reasons you mentioned. The soundtrack stuck in my head for a few days! I am used to good Star Wars, Star Trek and Stargate but this is wortth a look.

[@kennethkossan5547]

Saw it in the theater. I even had two Vincent models.

[@thetreblerebel]

I watched this for the first time a month ago. It's got a great OST and it's a good sci fi tale

[@hornet718]

The Black Hole is still may all time favorite movie! I just watched it the other night and I am taken back to that time when I was a kid in the theater watching this for the first time!! Even though I have some hang ups on certain scenes (none of the characters not putting on space suits at the end), I still enjoy this movie. I so wish there was a more in-depth look into the universe behind the histories of the characters, the Cygnus and what was the space exploration program like on Earth. I hope it would maintain its 1950s style of space genre as that would be classic and cool at the same time. And yeah, Maximillian still scares me at my age unless I have a diamond tipped drill in my hand!!! LOL

[@jamiegarth7222]

Yes , Condor Man!!,,,,,

[@agentgoob3697]

I’m 13 and my dad introduced this movie to me when I was pretty young. This movie will always be part of me and my childhood.

[@bfscsstudios6736]

Thank God Disney didn't buy Star Wars any earlier

[@danielmarshall4587]

Saw at the cinema as a kid LOVED IT. The story went over my head, loved the special effects.

[@sclogse1]

Seeing Waits in the opening sold me on this channel...

[@samcro6268]

Also, it was cool that both ships were both realistic instead of the flash gordon rockets.

[@FormatorBlack]

Great movie...thank God Star Trek The Motion Picture was sold out that night, I remember my brother telling me we were going to see this instead....still fascinated by black holes all these years later....was obsessed with this film as a kid, had both album storybooks and still watch it occasionally as a special treat, like with pizza on my birthday!

[@billyb4790]

dude thanks so much for reminding me of The Humanoid. You have no idea how long I was looking for that movie!!!! I found it here on KZbin ! :D

[@scottcampbell9515]

I unapologetically love this move, and have loved it for over 40 years.

[@mangrove]

I had that storybook with the 45 RPM vinyl, and read that at least a thousand times.

[@peterfaulds8597]

This movie is without a doubt the very best single science fiction movie ever made , and the theme music is MAGNIFICENT , WOW what an experience ..

[@Kikilang60]

If you want to watch a good forgot science fiction, check out "Silent Running."

[@rockero1313]

first time I saw it (in a theater when it came out), when they killed Perkin's character I was... "wait, this is a Disney movie". always been a huge fan of this movie. like you said, my favorite thing is V.I.N.C.E.N.T. (short for Vital Information Necessary CENTralized) (yes, I looked it up) and the visual effects, also that score is hauntingly amazing. I think this movie deserves more love.

[@DJ-jn3on]

I still remember going to watch it at the pictures when I was 12 in 1979.I really enjoyed it, and it's still one of my favourite films, although the ending could have been a bit better perhaps..

[@ShakepearesDaughter]

I recently rewatched this movie on Disney+. I was remembering my impressions from its first release in the theater decades ago. I had found it visually seductive and moody, and in any case, I have always been a sucker for robot things. My feelings on reviewing the movie were much the same as in 1979. I couldn't then and still can't quite figure what went wrong with the movie. There's something missing, and yet it's quite beautiful to watch. Surprisingly so. Maybe it's just too beautiful, and not enough story. The entire time I'm watching, each time, I'm thinking "what's the purpose here?" The dialogue...the underlying story...the casting...it misses, except for Schell and the robot voice work (I love both Slim Pickens and Roddy McDowell---I'll always take as much of either as I can get). The other actors are just not memorable...Perkins, such a potentially interesting talent, is somehow not much of a presence here. Ernest Borgnine is just ballast. Mimieux is insignificant. Joseph Bottoms and Robert Forster? Agreeably handsome guys, one quite youthful and pretty, one rugged, but as used here, could be anybody, in any movie. No impact. I guess they shot their paycheck budget on Schell... Thanks for visiting this movie. It's well worth watching and considering. There is absolutely something here, but you have to let it wash over you. It has a real weight to it, but all supplied by the idea of Schell's character and his weird Maximillian interactions. He and the hovering red robot frankly haunt the scenes they are not in, but even their spooky imprint can't quite rescue the plot. It needed more thought and some real personality pulse from the supporting characters...more substance, different writers, something. Maybe some sexuality. (It has none.) Some real horror... the kind that bites you and isn't visually poetic. No truly interesting tensions are present here. The timidity of Disney venturing out on the ice... Schell's character and his Man Friday red robot are the only two figures you can care about. And one's dangerously crazy and the other is a Satan-like machine! Needed different handling for sure.

[@psykorobot6807]

What went wrong was it was a bad movie. The acting was bad. The characters themselves weren't interesting and had no real depth. The film was very uneven in its pacing. The editing was on a level of amateurish as you could get. The story was a mix mash of a take on Captain Nemo gone extra bat ass crazy with his crew of zombies in space with an evil robot hunting everybody but in the end not really good at its killer robot job. It just didn't work. The only saving grace was that the effects were fairly good (silly if you look at this as adult but good for 1979 from a child's perspective). The robots were not worth the effort to like. I guess the evil robot Maxmillion had some substance and when you saw him coming in a scene (as a child) its ominous presence brought forth dread/fear (that is one thing it had going for it). But the other two robots Vincent and Bob were just Disney trying too hard to replicate the Star Wars robots (R2D2 and C3POO) and failing. The dialog of Vincent and his overall purpose missed the mark every time. About the only reason I can see they made Roddy McDowal the voice of Vincent was because he had an English accent and similar voice temperament to Daniels (C3PO). John Barry's score was OK so at least a score that wasn't horrible like the movie is and you can put it in the pro column but not much else is in that pro column. Even with all that negative it was a Disney film and Disney can make a crap movie (reviews RT 42%, MC 52) and people will see it. However, this movie was also released at Christmas 1979 when it had to deal with an audience going to see Star Trek the Movie during that same Christmas break. And even though Star Trek the Movie was not the greatest it was still much better (reviewed) than the Black Hole and it sucked up a good percentage of that sci-fi audience at the ticket booth. It also didn't help that this was Disney's very first PG movie. So many looking for that standard family fair G rated movie from Disney probably avoided it for the rating it had.

[@CT-uv8os]

@@psykorobot6807 if you don't like it just say so LOL!

[@michaelthompson8442]

I watched this movie in the theater when it came out. I loved it! I also built my own Maximilian.

[@skyscreamstudios]

I'm fascinated by this movie. It's so serious and so cheesy and so wrong about ... science that I'm always left scratching my head in bewilderment after. It's not often a movie does that. I love it. :D

[@jamiebraswell5520]

I love it because I think the effects and designs hold up well. The cast gives a good performance overall, and the music is awesome. The story isn't bad either, regardless of the scientific hilarity that ensues. It is one of those rare occasions where I am willing to ignore the mistakes and run with it.

[@skyscreamstudios]

@Christine Taggart "They not only got none of the physics right about falling into a black hole, had they gotten it right it would have been a vastly more interesting movie." - Neal deGrasse Tyson, in 2014, on the movie The Black Hole. ;)

[@JamesBondStarWarsFan1983-by6qp]

Personally, I really love The Black Hole so much. The Black Hole along with Moonraker with Roger Moore, 1941 with John Belushi, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture are the most underrated films of 1979, I can't believe that The Black Hole, Moonraker, 1941, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture are all going to be 45 years old in 2024, and I always enjoyed The Black Hole and Moonraker on repeated viewings. The John Barry music scores for The Black Hole and Moonraker were both absolutely brilliant, The Black Hole had great villains like Dr. Hans Reinhardt and Maximilian the Robot, and Moonraker had superb performances from Roger Moore and Michael Lonsdale. I also really like Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was a very good Star Trek film, and 1941 with John Belushi was a pretty good Spielberg film. Overall, I will always have a soft spot for The Black Hole, Moonraker, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and 1941 with John Belushi, they are all very good cult classic films from 1979, and The Black Hole as well as Moonraker, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and 1941 are all way more better films than Indiana Jones: The Dial of Destiny.

[@negativghostrdr]

I really liked the intro, I liked the design of Maximillian, It had some nice moments.

[@mikemoore7297]

I love love this movie. Saw it in the theater when it came out. Got the VHS when it came out. Got the DVD when it came out 2 twice and I got the recently released toys from diamond select which are amazingly detailed.

[@PaywallsMirrored]

Saw this a the Showboat theatre in Edgewater, NJ when it came out.

[@bensantiago4557]

Definitely not a ripoff of Star Wars or anything it's its own movie for sure and still one of a kind in a way.Its strange, creepy and sometimes funny and great special effects for its time and an entertaining watch

[@Paethgoat]

5:26 "Their R-rated stuff now comes out under 20th Century." How quickly things change. During the editing process, Disney killed the 20th Century brand.

[@alexfletcher5192]

Battlestar I certainly saw at the theatre - but my dad took me to see Star Wars on first release in the UK. It was like a new language had been invented.

[@brianstiles1701]

I still remember seeing it in the theater, I was almost as obsessed with The Black Hole as I was Star Wars.

[@shooshatowers8059]

During the early eighties there were still some Black Hole diorama windows at Disneyland, beautifully detailed.

[@StuMas]

The first movie I watched at the cinema. Probably watched it a thousand times since - I was obsessed with it and knew the film backwards.

[@thomasgreen1816]

Saw this in the theater. Still hoping for a remake.

[@jamiebraswell5520]

Why? In this day and age, they would ruin it by loading it up with agenda driven content and eye-numbing CGI, complete with a boring Hans Zimmer score. No thanks.