THE BLACK HOLE

"... In..... Through..... and beyond !... "

One Thursday night in 1979, my father and I were looking through the films section in our local newspaper. The next day were opening both Disney's THE BLACK HOLE, and Paramount's STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. My father told me that he'd like to go see a movie, but not a Star Trek.... So I called up my buddy David to tell him I was going to see THE BLACK HOLE on premiere night! And so, he began to hate my guts...

What was there to like in this DISNEY production? Well, it was a space adventure, filled with starships and robots, a mad scientist, and an unknown behemoth monster, in the shape of a space phenomenon called a black hole: a rift in space/time so powerful, it sucks entire star systems inside! Not even light can escape it.

The crew of the U.S.S. Palomino encounter a black hole in a neighbouring system, and discover to their astoundment that another ship, the U.S.S. Cygnus, appears to be orbiting around it. While investigating closer, they damage their ship, and board on the huge Cygnus, only to discover a ghost ship...

That is, until they reach the bridge, where a crew of humanoid robots, fronted by a large floating red monster of a robot called Maximilian. We learn Maxil\milian answers but to one person, Dr. Hanz Reinhart, sole survivor of a devasting meteor shower upon the Cygnus.

But while Reinhart gives members of the Palomino crew the grand tour, some crewmembers discover, upon closer examination, that Reinhart has not been telling them the whole story...

Set in a Star Wars Episode IV type of Sci-Fi environment, it is blatantly apparent that Disney were trying to cash in on the newly rejuvenated success of action spave operas. THE BLACK features a heroic captain, a cocky co-pilot, a female protaginist who shares a certain bond with the vilain (Maximilian Schell as Reinhart), and quirky robots, sentinel gard droids, laser guns, and many other elements commonly found in Sci-Fi on the peroid.

The difference comes from the story itself: Instead of being an inter-galactic story of epic proportions, THE BLACK HOLE is basically an isolated incident, with very minimal contact outside of the main ship, the U.S.S. Cygnus. With a total of only six human characters, it is difficult to stretch the boundaries of light-speed travel.

What really appealed to me, aside from the beautiful sets and Sci-Fi designs, was the isolation element: On one hand, a crew of 5 humans and one robot are stranded in a huge space ship, where one lone man lives within hundreds of robots and androids. Second comes the slow-moving pace (not being a fan of ultra fast super speed non-stop action flicks). It sets the tone to the growing suspicion from members of the Palomino towards Dr. Reinhart, and themselves. It is well know I'm a fan of isolated paranoia character play. The robots in the cosmic romp are principally:

V.I.N.CENT: The Palomino's crew resident robot
MAXIMILIAN: Dr. Reinhart's monstrous red devil
OLD B.O.B. : A previous model, relic of the past within the U.S.S. Sygnus

They offer some comic releif, and some moments of pure tension. You actually get attached to the critters! For example, during old Bob's death, as Vincent must leave his new found friend, you can't help but feel sorry for the flying can. Another example is the scary evil Maximilian, whos mere presence commands authoraty and fear. His final screen time is amongst those images etched in my mond forever...

THE BLACK HOLE was released in 1979 to cash in on the STAR WARS craze. However, unlike STAR WARS, THE BLACK HOLE wasn’t well received by either critics or the film going public. Still, THE BLACK HOLE has loyal following that recognize that the film delivers campy sci-fi fun. Sure, THE BLACK HOLE is grounded in the kind of really bad "pop science" that is certain to leave real rocket scientists rolling on the floor in laughter. But then again, considering that THE BLACK HOLE is Disney film (the first to receive a PG rating), I would have to imagine that the film's intended target audience couldn't have been associated with the works of either Carl Sagan or Stephen Hawking. The plot of THE BLACK HOLE concerns the crew of the USS Palomino, a space exploration ship whose mission is to find signs of intelligent life in space. Instead, of extraterrestrial life, they locate the USS Cygnus, a spaceship thought lost for the past twenty years. Adding to the mystery is the fact that the Cygnus sits perched upon the event horizon of a black hole. When our band of explorers the board the Cygnus they discover a crew of robots and the lone human survivor, Dr. Hans Reinhardt (Maximilian Schell). Dr. Reinhardt believes that he has some divine insight into the true nature of black holes and is planning to launch his ship right into the deadliest force in the universe. THE BLACK HOLE has a metaphysical climax with some effective imagery. However, considering that THE BLACK HOLE has already thrown science out the window, the climax is somewhat tame (I guess it's a Disney thing). Check out EVENT HORIZON, if you want to see a similarly themed film that isn’t afraid to go the distance. THE BLACK HOLE also stars Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine, plus the recognizable voices of Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens.

PLEASE NOTE:
Finding pictures from or for the film THE BLACK HOLE, 1979, is extremelly difficult. I found more pics of TOYS made from the film... if that helps!

BLACK HOLE TOYS:

all the 4 1/2" action figures originally released