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Boy, this one hurt pretty bad. It wasn't exactly like a kick in the nuts, because it was not sudden, brutal and then slowly faded, but much more like doing squats over a cactus. The pain was persistant, it went on increasing as the movie progressed, and I ended with the conclusion I should be doing something less harmful with my time.

Anyway, chances are you've heard of this film. It was one of the first non animated Disney film, a science fiction movie about a spaceship crew that find a missing ship orbiting near a black hole. In it, they find a stereotypical mad doctor and a crew of half robot, half human, all astronaut hybrids.

Why the hostility? Because it is one of the most dull and excruciating films I've ever sat through. Honest. It takes forever to get started (it's a good half an hour until the main characters are on board the second ship), and acting it's as wooden as it gets, except maybe for Ernst Borgnine. And there's the silly robots, who receive as much screen time as the humans, and whose (which?) cutesy appearence seems way out of place here.

The settings look expensive for the time, albeit dated (they should have gone with the 2001 ASO look, really) and the FX range from alright (the silly robots) to damn good (the omnipresent black hole, the ending), but still the actors recite their lines as under the influence of narcotics, the script is packed with silly robot action and the director films the whole thing with such an inept eye for excitement and adventure that I kept wondering if he put his eye to the wrong end of the camera. Hell, even the score by John Barry sucks. If I hear again that awful main theme, I'm going postal, and then nuclear.

Good stuff? Close to nothing, really, unless you're a FX geek. Maybe the ending, which is so ambitious and silly at the same time that almost injects a welcome note of insanity to the final minutes of the movie. But that's it.

This movie is one of my guilty pleasures.  I love the costumes, sets, effects, score, and setting...hell, even the premise is pretty good.

Yes the robots are lame.  Yes the acting is wooden (since when has Robert Forrester ever been anything but wooden?).  But I like this movie warts and all.

I think Borgnine, Perkins and Schell give decent performances.

I sort of liked the movie also, but I must admit I've only watched the whole movie once, for me the best parts of the movie are the opening credits and theme music. After that the movie starts to slow down and while I wouldn't say it's boring exactly it does seem long, that being said it's worth watching at least once.


Apologies to Neville, I don't want to hurt you, just wanted to share the theme music so folks could hear what we're talking about.

One of the robots V.I.N.C.E.N.T. was actually voiced by Roddy McDowall, perhaps more famous for his Ape role in the Planet of the Apes series. Anyways as I've stated elsewhere I love this movie and while it is indeed a guilty pleasure and ties into my fondish childhood memories (which is why I tend to be very forgiving of its faults), it seems to me to be a B-movie simply being held back by too high Disney expectations (cutesy robots, 2001-esque hard SF-like approach).

Love it or hate it(a little of both for me), this is one of those movies that can seriuosly damage your sense of taste. It is a movie that I suspect has driven more than one or two of us down the road of the B-movie. Even though it isnt strictly a 'B-movie', the fact that it ends up being a bit cheesy despite its appearance and Disney status do provide a handy crossover from the mainstream to lower budget and B-movies.
Cheesy old classic that I'll show to the kids when I want to start to drag them down into the spiralling vortex of kitsch that I laughing call my 'movie collection'.

I absolutely love this movie  :teddyr:  It is not like doing squats over a cactus, how rude   :bouncegiggle:

I really don't disagree with the major criticisms, the robots are silly, the acting is rather wooden, the ending is a big WTF, etc. I love the theme music however.  The whole movie just draws me in and takes me on a neat adventure.  It keeps me entertained from beginning to end.  The general atmosphere is extremely well done.  The characters fit well with the atmosphere, the mysteries of the Cygnus are discovered at a good rate, special effects are really creative, heck, it's just awesome  :wink:

I think I saw it in the theater as a kid, and I'm sure that totally colors my perceptions of it. 

The Black Hole is one of the first movies I ever reviewed.  I actually posted it in the forum a few years ago but unfortunately the server I had it on went down a long time ago (although I do have a backup file somewhere).  I'm sure it needs a good revision but it was pretty fun to review.

Some real WTF moments: stiff 70s robot movements, robots getting emotional and blowing a gasket, the one dude's man crush, and the robots' spinning show-off moves. 

I like this movie more than I should.  But when I see it I'm 8 years old again with a bologna sandwich and dortios, (snuck into the movie) and purchesed popcorn with extra butter.   Its a silly film , but I'm suckered in every time.
-Ed

This film was decent.  Not great.  But not bad either.

I always thought the double barreled handheld blasters they used in it looked cool.
I remember as a kid, if I found an object that looked similar to that blaster, I'd pretend to use it as one and make laser noises.

What happened at the end?
Did Reinhardt go to hell trapped in Maximillian's body?
Did the crew of the Palamino go to heaven?

Quote from: Ash on August 23, 2008, 03:28:15 AM
What happened at the end?
Did Reinhardt go to hell trapped in Maximillian's body?
Did the crew of the Palamino go to heaven?

That's sure what it looked like to me. I guess even the little robot went to heaven  :teddyr:  I wonder if my new TV remote control will go to heaven?

Yes, I also interpreted it that way. I don't know if TV emotes are paradise-worthy, but I hope my old Amstrad computer makes it. You know, he was good and not even once tried to load pirated games.

Quote from: Jack on August 23, 2008, 06:46:06 AM
I wonder if my new TV remote control will go to heaven?

Silicon Heaven. That's where all the little calculators go.  :teddyr:

I like The Black Hole. It is very much a good old-fashioned b-movie at heart, with a bit more money behind it. Most of all, I love the style - the Cygnus, Maximillian, the black hole itself. And the opening credits are really cool. The theme tends to stick in my head though, but it's catchy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n9aca_qcxE&NR=1

One of the movies greatest achievements was that is was the first Disney movie to be rated PG.

Quote from: JaseSF on August 19, 2008, 11:07:16 PM
One of the robots V.I.N.C.E.N.T. was actually voiced by Roddy McDowall, perhaps more famous for his Ape role in the Planet of the Apes series.

Yes, and the other (Old BOB) was voiced by Slim Pickens.

The acting was really bad especially considering the makeup of the cast.

Quote from: JaseSF on August 19, 2008, 11:07:16 PM
One of the robots V.I.N.C.E.N.T. was actually voiced by Roddy McDowall, perhaps more famous for his Ape role in the Planet of the Apes series.

or, if you ask me, more notable for his role as peter vincent, a parody of peter cushing, and to a lesser extent, christopher lee, in the fright night films.

everyone seems to have forgotten one of the worst lines of dialogue of all time  :buggedout: "They were searching for habitable life."  :lookingup: WTF?! even at the time the movie was released critics were pointing out that line  :cheers:

As a four year old my parents put up Black Hole Themed wall paper in my bedroom...I wouldn't actually see the movie till years later (still a kid). I recall it, and would like to revisit it, as the misguided accidental gem it was.

Really, I envy those who were young adults in late 70s/early 80s scifi era, the last step of effects being new rather than improved. Decades from now, kids who have never seen anything but hyper-real (not quite the same as realistic, btw) CGI will find something fascinating in the idea of actually building an elaborate prop or backdrop.

Being born in 1977, I'm a children of the 80s. As good as CGI is becoming these days, I still can feel my hearbeat quickening when I see an elaborate model or a maté painting. Nothing can beat old school FX, except maybe in the case of stop-motion animation. I'm glad that's gone.

(Ducks to avoid objects thrown by Harryhausen fans)

I just gotta say.  Go watch Wallace and Gromit one more time Mr. Anti-Clay!
Don't make me go all Ymir on you!
:twirl:
-Ed

I'm not against stop-motion on claymation films, only when it's mixed with real action. C'on, many times you can count the "cuts" in the animation in real time.

I also enjoyed some of the Harryhausen fantasy films, but when you use stop-motion in a more realistic environment it looks like crap. Take the ED-209 in the first "Robocop" movie, for example. It couldn't look more awful if they did it on purpose. Which they didn't, I'm sure.

Can you imagine how awful "Starship troopers" woul have looked with stop motion creatures? Ugh.

Quote from: Neville on August 26, 2008, 04:59:39 PM
look more awful if they did it on purpose. Which they didn't, I'm sure.

Can you imagine how awful "Starship troopers" woul have looked with stop motion creatures? Ugh.

Frankly I hated that movie so much, ANYTHING would be an improvement!
But you made your point
-Ed

This might be one of those 'you had to have been there' movies. I really like it, but then I remember when it first came out. I had a Maximilian action figure that did battle with some Star Wars figures.