Review of The Black Hole (1979) by Lafe F — 30 Jun 2007

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 scientific 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.