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Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux ... see more see more... , Ernest Borgnine , Tom McLoughlin , Roddy McDowall , Slim Pickens

An ambitious sci-fier from the Disney folks, The Black Hole takes place in the future. A quintet of space travelers stumble across a "black hole." Not wishing to be sucked into the void, the crew prep... read more read more...ares to flee, but stops long enough to investigate a mysterious space vessel near the entrance of the hole. Manning this craft is mad scientist Dr. Hans Reinhardt (Maximillian Schell), who intends to explore the black hole in hopes of finding the universe's energy source. The cast includes Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Yvette Mimieux, and others. The Black Hole marked one of the Disney company's first PG-rated films. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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45% liked it

9,114 ratings

Critics

42% liked it

26 critics

PG, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Gary Nelson

Release Date: January 1, 1979

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DVD Release Date: April 20, 1999

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Stats: 608 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (608)

  • ajv2688
    January 6, 2011
    ajv2688
    I saw this movie when I was a kid and I found it profoundly boring. It's another of the Star Wars wannabees, this one's from Disney too. I didn't care for it, but I may give it another try someday.
  • ythelastman89
    December 16, 2010
    ythelastman89
    Sure, it isn't all that amazing if you pit it up against Star Wars (which everyone seemed to do), but this is more of a pure sci-fi movie anyway. It doesn't get much more hardcore than a movie about black holes and their purpose. Of course Robert Forster steals the show as the to... read moreo cool for school captain and you have to love Maxamillion the robot with spinning swords of doom. Visually, this is pretty interesting. It's not too flashy, but really has the realistic backdrops when they count. This movie's only real flaw is being too short and not covering more post black hole. With that said, it is really fun and a largely unseen yet important sci-fi movie.
  • FilmFanatik
    December 17, 2009
    FilmFanatik
    I know it's definitely not one of Disney's top live action efforts, but I adore it. I think it's an enjoyable movie, warts and all.
  • TheMachinist
    April 17, 2009
    TheMachinist
    "Fascinating...
    - From a distance."

    This movie was nominated for cinematography and visual effects at the 1980 Academy Awards. 30 years later, everything about this film feels dated.

    If there's something I hate, it's bad acting. And "The Black Hole" is full of it. And to think ... read morethat the movie has screen legends of some sort, namely Anthony Perkins and Ernest Borgnine. Awful performances by pretty much everybody.

    The action is lame, no excitement whatsoever. The awful score just makes the 'action' worse.

    If this proves anything, it's that robots should just shut up! Can't think of a more annoying, hovering piece of scrap metal. Where's R2D2 when you need him the most?

    Can't say that "The Black Hole" was a disappointment because I didn't have any expectations for it. It's not totally bad, may have some sort of nostalgia in it but for me "The Black Hole" is a movie that will only remain in my memories as a Flixster review.
  • bottcorecords1
    April 15, 2009
    bottcorecords1
    Borgnine. 70s mustache. In space. Disney. Star Wars created a "space" fad in the late 70s, and the Disney corporation was determined to cash in on it one way or the other. They did indeed see the dollar signs. What they unleashed on the public was a movie perfectly in tune ... read morewith the space fad, but not the seventies one, the fifties one. It's a throwback, not only to pre-2001, but to pre-star trek days. A spaceship crew and their robot are floating through space, their mission: to find "habitable life". They come across a black hole, and a derelict space station sitting on the edge of it. It turns out the space station is using some sort of "anti-gravity" invented by it's mad scientist to keep from being sucked into the black hole. The mad scientist has invented an army of robots and holds the crew captive with the intent to force them to come along with him into the black hole. What follows is another hour and a half of crude special effects and silly robot feuding. It's not a bad adventure, but there isn't alot going on here. Although I did learn one thing about robots: if you ever happen to find yourself in a robot breakroom, and they're having laser shooting contests, don't challenge the black robot cause he's a dick and will cheat. Also, Ernest Borgnine in space with a mustache will steal your rocket ship everytime.
  • mjgildea
    November 1, 2007
    mjgildea
    I fell asleep in the theater when I was a kid and watching this recently reminded me why. The Black Hole is a somewhat decent story that spend too much time stealing pages from George Lucas' playbook than developing a story. It started off okay enough, but got sweaty about halfwa... read morey through. The action doesn't serve much purpose, the effects are pretty weak and well... it's just generally forgettable. The 2001 ripoff sequence at the end is reasonably disgraceful and Maximilian was a bad version of Darth Vader. But Vincent kicked ass.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 1, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    After "The Cat from Outer Space", this was Disney's next venture into the universe with "The Black Hole". It has laser battles, large ships which fly overhead, dashing heros, cutesey robots and fearsome enemy robots. But all similarities to Star Wars end there! This is a scientif... read moreic film with a full education on Black Holes, as much as we know about them. A spaceship crew encounters a long-lost space station hovering at the mouth of a black hole; home to a mad scientist and his servants. The scientist intends to fly into the Black Hole. The crew tries to stop him, but soon become prisoners to his insane plan. The characters and dialogue are funny; they take themselves sooo seriously, it becomes funny. The robots are cute. It's an all-star cast with wonders like Yvette Mimieux, Timothy Bottoms, Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, Maximillian Schell and Roddy McDowell (as the voice of "Vincent" the robot). I betcha Disney thought they'd hit Star Warsian Blockbuster status with this curiosity. It's a bit slow, overly serious and dull. The ending is scary and weird, with them going through the Black Hole, finding themselves in either Heaven or Hell, depending on how bad they've been throughout the movie; it was like a sci-fi version of the "Fantasia" The Night on Bald Mountain/Ava Maria segments. Sure, I bought all the Black Hole toys! I enjoyed it more than Battlestar Galactica. It couldn't top the fun of Star Wars however. It was released in theatres the same time as "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", which had a similar journey through into an unknown tunnel... There was a great dramatic and rousing soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith; even down to the whirling sounds of the Black Hole on the grid-trip opening title credits. I like to watch this every few years.
  • garyX
    May 23, 2007
    garyX
    Disney's attempt to jump on the Star Wars rip-off band wagon, this poorly executed sci fi has dreadfully cartoonish production design, a made for TV script and just feels cheap and shoddy all round. The "action" sequences in which a bunch of static robots shoot it out with a floa... read moreting Pez dispenser are particularly feeble.
  • zillionaire
    February 14, 2006
    zillionaire
    The most underrated sci fi movie of all time..great story,brilliant characters..very dark for a Disney movie.
  • robotbling
    April 16, 2010
    robotbling
    The Black Hole was suggested by a friend of mine as one of those rare classics that most people haven't heard about or seen, and so we decided to give it a go. At the time of its release, The Black Hole was Disney's most expensive film ever, billed at nearly $30 million dollars. ... read moreDespite the poor critical reception it managed to make a profit and was even nominated by the Academy Awards for its special effects, which required motion control cameras built by Disney after a deal with Industrial Light and Magic fell through. Like Star Wars, it is fondly remembered by robot fans for V.I.N.CENT (Vital Information Necessary Centralized) and its other robot characters.

    The crew of an exploration space ship discover another Earth ship floating in perpetual equilibrium with a nearby black hole. They decide to investigate because the crew's telepathic scientist's father was supposed to be on board the other ship, which didn't return to Earth despite orders 20 years prior. They discover that the ship is run by the mysterious Dr. Hans Reinhardt and a crew of mostly silly robots, including Maximilian, a red security guard robot that seems to have a mind of its own. The Doctor tells them that the human crew mutinied when he refused to return to Earth in order to study the black hole.

    Of course, all is not right aboard the USS Cygnus -- some of the robots are quietly observed holding what appears to be a funeral. Half of the robots aboard the ship are true robots that enjoy a round of shootin' at the arcade gallery and look like a mix between Darth Vader and Daft Punk. Others, however, are actually the zombified human crew members that underwent "treatment" by the Vampire-like Doctor. The Doctor's horrifying secret is revealed just as he is preparing to enter the black hole, and around this time everything starts to go to hell. In quite violent (though bloodless) fashion, Maximilian suddenly kills one of the human characters with his retractable spinning blades -- a scene made all the more shocking due to the film's tone leading up to it.

    Eventually everything gets sucked into the black hole, followed by a sequence ripped off from 2001: A Space Odyssey infused with unmistakably Christian imagery. The special effects aren't terrible given the film's age but, given that you can clearly see wires holding up floating characters, the USS Cygnus looks like it was built out of toothpicks, and matte paintings stick out like a sore thumb, they mostly add to the film's inherent camp value. At first appearing to be a run of the mill kid's space adventure designed to ride Star Wars' coattails, The Black Hole breaks all the rules of the typical Disney family film. Apparently this led Disney to create other labels for its more adult-oriented films that wouldn't gel with the traditional Disney image. At an hour and forty minutes it's a bit long, but worth checking out with friends if the mood is right.

    A remake by some of those involved with the TRON reboot was announced in November 2009 (the film's 30th Anniversary).

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Critic Reviews

Richard Schickel
March 9, 2009
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

It is good to see the Disney craftsmen doing what they do best on such a grand and risky scale. If one has time for only one space opera this season, this is the one to choose. Full Review

Janet Maslin
May 9, 2005
Janet Maslin, New York Times

It cost half as much as Star Trek and looks better -- not as lavish, perhaps, but more original. The special effects are fancy, and the design even more so. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Takes us all the way to the rim of space only to bog us down in a talky melodrama whipped up out of mad scientists and haunted houses. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
April 7, 2012
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Despite Oscar nominations for cinematography and visual effects, the Black Hole, an attempt to cash in on the sucess of Star Wars, leaves much to be desired. Full Review

March 9, 2009
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The problem...is that the protagonist, Schell, is nuts, and we find it difficult to root for him. The other characters are never fully developed, and so the picture becomes a triumph of style over sub... Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
November 22, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Is let down by the weak script. Full Review

Sean Axmaker
October 13, 2007
Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online

The science of this fiction is as hokey as the drama, but the imaginative art design and excellent special effects are magnificent. Full Review

Rob Gonsalves
July 23, 2007
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

An elegant, if stubbornly unexciting, popcorn-muncher that flips into a chin-scratcher, with a crew of mostly bland heroes. Full Review

David Cornelius
February 14, 2007
David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com

Ranks among the very best films to come from the post-Star Wars sci-fi boom. Full Review

David Nusair
August 19, 2006
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...ultimately revealed to be an underrated and surprisingly dark Disney effort. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts

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    • Lt. Charles Pizer: Vincent, were you programmed to bug me?
    • V.I.N.CENT: No, sir, to educate you.
    • Lt. Charles Pizer: We'd be better off without you and Maximilian trying to knock heads.
    • V.I.N.CENT: I can handle that thing.
    • Lt. Charles Pizer: Well, far be it from you to admit there isn't anything you can't handle.
    • V.I.N.CENT: There are three basic types, Mr. Pizer: the Wills, the Won'ts, and the Can'ts. The Wills accomplish everything, the Won'ts oppose everything, and the Can'ts won't try anything.
    • Capt. Dan Holland: Well, do us all a favor, V.I.N.CENT, and try to be a Can't, especially where that monster is concerned. We need you, not another corkscrew.
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The Black Hole Trivia

  • In what movie dose a man have "No manner of luck at all" when he cannot escape imprisnment after a hole is blown through the wall?  Answer »
  • What was Disney's first PG-rated movie?  Answer »
  • What actress put on The Jacket, then fell into The Hole where she was Bending it like Beckham when she faced much Pride and Prejudice then set sail on the black pearl with Pirates of the Caribbean???  Answer »
  • What Disney movie carried a different title in the U.S.S.R. because the literal translation meant something obscene in Russian?  Answer »
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