I saw this new in the theater when I was a little kid, and revisited it last night with my wife.
She still isn't speaking to me, and has taken control of the Netflix queue for the foreseeable future. Her last words to me were to the effect that I have lost any right to criticize her cinematic selections, for eternity.
I think that's a reasonable response on her part, actually.
I suggest a new, improved tagline: "There is a force in the universe that sucks harder than anything else known to man... It is The Black Hole!!! (the movie, that is!)"
(spoilers follow)
Okay, first the good: In its time, it was found to be visually impressive. It definitely hasn't held up like 2001, Star Wars, or even the first Star Trek movie, though. I do remember being pretty overwhelmed as a tyke watching this, back in the day. The end is still vertigo-inducing, looking suspiciously like a ride at Disneyland. Did they plan to build a spin off (very literally, in this case) ride based on the anticipated success of this film? "I know! Let's have their seats all spin around inside the spaceship when they enter the hole!" Why the hell the seats in a spaceship would be designed to spin madly is never addressed...
Sorry, more good: Maximilian is a badass looking robot. I am suddenly seized with a desire for a good model of him, because he is the very archetype of droid evil. His immobility just adds to the menace.
The opening and closing credits score (not the lame "overture") is pretty creepy cool, too.
On to the bad: The rest of the film. Script, acting, direction, plot, dialogue... By any reasonable measure of a movie's worth, this is a total failure. There are so many ridiculous, embarrassing moments, that this is a great choice for those compulsive smartasses who enjoy mocking a movie nonstop, MST 3000 style.
Nothing in this movie makes any sense. The "science" of this fiction is beyond wrong, the design of the spaceships is absurd, (gigantic formal dining room with huge crystal chandelier wtf?) the characters have no motivation, and the ending... Ouch.
Most of the dialogue is risible, and all of it is delivered woodenly at best. "The gravity is at maximum!" Uhh, what?
The ugly: There are two disturbing eviscerations in this film, which somehow takes it from a silly space opera for children into more serious territory. They should have kept it light and g-rated, or made a film worthy of adults.
My disbelief failed to suspend in the face of such a ham-fisted production. Why would anybody design an enormous empty gallery through the middle of a spaceship? Oh, right, so a giant flaming meteor could roll through it later in the film, gotcha. Why is the meteor flaming and red hot? Because it's in proximity to a black hole, silly! And everybody knows that the most powerful force in the universe is... Gravity! Uh, no, actually; gravity is the weakest force known. Those of you at home can play "Spot the Glaring Errors"!
Worst of all is the ending. Oh, the awfulness! On the "other side" of a black hole (which is portrayed here as a whirlpool in a tub in a gravity well, oddly enough) is... A Judeo-Christian morality play! Surprise, surprise. But nominative determinism wins the day, with Maximilian Schell ending up in Maximilian's shell, in hell. Choose your child's name carefully, folks!
If you're a film effects historian, you should probably see this film, as it was a landmark and the last big Disney studio-system effects extravaganza. The results obtained may explain why they changed the system, actually...
If you want to prove your worth and brilliance by ridiculing a silly, terminally confused movie, you have found your victim. Beer, popcorn, irony!
If you are looking for a trip down nostalgia lane like I was, jump on board! Maybe without the wife, though.
But if you are looking for a film that is satisfying as a film, burn your main engines at full power to escape the lethal suck of... The Black Hole!
She still isn't speaking to me, and has taken control of the Netflix queue for the foreseeable future. Her last words to me were to the effect that I have lost any right to criticize her cinematic selections, for eternity.
I think that's a reasonable response on her part, actually.
I suggest a new, improved tagline: "There is a force in the universe that sucks harder than anything else known to man... It is The Black Hole!!! (the movie, that is!)"
(spoilers follow)
Okay, first the good: In its time, it was found to be visually impressive. It definitely hasn't held up like 2001, Star Wars, or even the first Star Trek movie, though. I do remember being pretty overwhelmed as a tyke watching this, back in the day. The end is still vertigo-inducing, looking suspiciously like a ride at Disneyland. Did they plan to build a spin off (very literally, in this case) ride based on the anticipated success of this film? "I know! Let's have their seats all spin around inside the spaceship when they enter the hole!" Why the hell the seats in a spaceship would be designed to spin madly is never addressed...
Sorry, more good: Maximilian is a badass looking robot. I am suddenly seized with a desire for a good model of him, because he is the very archetype of droid evil. His immobility just adds to the menace.
The opening and closing credits score (not the lame "overture") is pretty creepy cool, too.
On to the bad: The rest of the film. Script, acting, direction, plot, dialogue... By any reasonable measure of a movie's worth, this is a total failure. There are so many ridiculous, embarrassing moments, that this is a great choice for those compulsive smartasses who enjoy mocking a movie nonstop, MST 3000 style.
Nothing in this movie makes any sense. The "science" of this fiction is beyond wrong, the design of the spaceships is absurd, (gigantic formal dining room with huge crystal chandelier wtf?) the characters have no motivation, and the ending... Ouch.
Most of the dialogue is risible, and all of it is delivered woodenly at best. "The gravity is at maximum!" Uhh, what?
The ugly: There are two disturbing eviscerations in this film, which somehow takes it from a silly space opera for children into more serious territory. They should have kept it light and g-rated, or made a film worthy of adults.
My disbelief failed to suspend in the face of such a ham-fisted production. Why would anybody design an enormous empty gallery through the middle of a spaceship? Oh, right, so a giant flaming meteor could roll through it later in the film, gotcha. Why is the meteor flaming and red hot? Because it's in proximity to a black hole, silly! And everybody knows that the most powerful force in the universe is... Gravity! Uh, no, actually; gravity is the weakest force known. Those of you at home can play "Spot the Glaring Errors"!
Worst of all is the ending. Oh, the awfulness! On the "other side" of a black hole (which is portrayed here as a whirlpool in a tub in a gravity well, oddly enough) is... A Judeo-Christian morality play! Surprise, surprise. But nominative determinism wins the day, with Maximilian Schell ending up in Maximilian's shell, in hell. Choose your child's name carefully, folks!
If you're a film effects historian, you should probably see this film, as it was a landmark and the last big Disney studio-system effects extravaganza. The results obtained may explain why they changed the system, actually...
If you want to prove your worth and brilliance by ridiculing a silly, terminally confused movie, you have found your victim. Beer, popcorn, irony!
If you are looking for a trip down nostalgia lane like I was, jump on board! Maybe without the wife, though.
But if you are looking for a film that is satisfying as a film, burn your main engines at full power to escape the lethal suck of... The Black Hole!