The Black Hole

Plot

Nearing the end of a long mission exploring deep space, the spacecraft USS Palomino is returning to Earth. The crew consists of Captain Dan Holland, First Officer Lieutenant Charlie Pizer, journalist Harry Booth, ESP-sensitive scientist Dr. Kate McCrae, the expeditions civilian leader Dr. Alex Durant and the robot V.I.N.CENT ("Vital Information Necessary CENTralized").

The Palomino crew discover a black hole in space with a spaceship nearby, somehow defying the holes massive gravitational pull. The ship is identified as the long-lost USS Cygnus, the ship McCraes father served aboard when it went missing. Deciding to investigate, the Palomino encounters a mysterious null gravity field surrounding the Cygnus. The Palomino becomes damaged when it drifts away from the Cygnus and into the black holes intense gravity field, but the ship manages to move back to the Cygnus and finds itself able to dock to what initially appears to be an abandoned vessel.

The Palomino crew cautiously boards the Cygnus and soon encounter the ships commander, Dr. Hans Reinhardt, a brilliant scientist. Aided by a crew of faceless, black-robed android drones and his sinister-looking robot Maximilian, Reinhardt explains that he has lived all alone on the Cygnus for years. After the ship encountered a meteor field and was disabled, he ordered the human crew to return to Earth, but Kates father chose to remain aboard and has since died. Reinhardt then reveals that he has spent the past 20 years studying the black hole and intends to fly the Cygnus through it. Only Durant believes it is possible and asks to accompany Reinhardt on the trip.

The rest of the Palomino crew grow suspicious of the faceless drones human-like behaviour: Booth sees a robot limping and Holland witnesses a robot funeral and discovers the Cygnus crews personal items in the ships living quarters. Old B.O.B. (BiO-sanitation Battalion), a battered early model robot similar to V.I.N.CENT, explains that the faceless drones are in fact the human crew, who mutinied when Reinhardt refused to return to Earth and had been lobotomized and "reprogrammed" by Reinhardt to serve him. McCraes father had led the mutiny and was killed. Using telepathy, V.I.N.CENT tells Kate the truth about what happened. When Kate tells Durant, he removes the reflective faceplate from a "drone" to reveal the zombie-like face of a crew member. Appalled, Durant tries to flee the bridge with Kate, but Maximilian kills him. Reinhardt takes Kate prisoner, ordering his sentry robots to take her to the ships hospital bay to be lobotomized.

Just as the process begins, Holland rescues Kate, along with V.I.N.CENT and B.O.B. Meanwhile, fearing the situation is escalating dangerously, Booth attempts to escape alone in the Palomino. Reinhardt orders the craft shot down, but the weapons fire sends the ship crashing into the Cygnus, destroying its port-side anti-gravity forcefield generator. A meteor storm then destroys the starboard generator. Without its null-gravity bubble, the Cygnus starts to break apart under the black holes huge gravitational forces.

Reinhardt and the Palomino survivors separately plan their escape aboard a small probe ship used to study the black hole. Reinhardt orders Maximilian to go and prepare the probe ship, but then a large viewscreen falls on Reinhardt, pinning him down. His lobotomized crew stand motionless as he struggles helplessly. Maximilian confronts the others and fatally damages B.O.B. moments before he himself is damaged by V.I.N.CENT and drifts lifelessly out of the broken ship into the black hole. Holland, Pizer, McCrae and V.I.N.CENT reach the probe ship and launch, only to discover the controls locked onto a flightpath that takes them into the black hole.

In a surreal sequence inside the black hole which resembles Heaven and Hell, an aged Reinhardt becomes merged with Maximilian in a burning, hellish landscape populated by dark robed spectres resembling the Cygnus drones. Next, a floating, angelic figure with long flowing hair passes through a cathedral-like arched crystal tunnel. The probe ship carrying Holland, Pizer, McCrae and V.I.N.CENT then emerges from a white hole and is last seen flying through space towards a planet near a bright star.

Cast

Production

Although Star Wars had revolutionized the use of computerized motion control miniature effects, The Black Hole was shot using a blend of traditional camera techniques and newly developed computer-controlled camera technology. Disney had wanted to rent equipment from Industrial Light and Magic, but, when the price was too high and the timing of getting the equipment didnt match Disneys production schedule, they had their engineering department build their own equipment, resulting in the development of Disneys A.C.E.S. (Automated Camera Effects System), as well as the Mattescan system, which for the first time allowed the camera to move over a matte painting, and a computer-controlled modeling stand. At the time of its release, the movies opening credits sequence featured the longest computer-graphics shot that had ever appeared in a film.

In addition, The Black Hole was also the first Disney film not to have an all-ages rating, because of mild swearing (being the first Disney film to include profanity of any type) and scenes of human death never seen in a Disney production before (e.g., a character is eviscerated, albeit bloodlessly). This was The Walt Disney Companys first PG-rated production, and Buena Vista Distributions second overall release with that rating (the first was the sports drama Take Down, an outside production Disney distributed in early 1979). The version of the film televised on The Disney Channel has been edited for language, with all uses of the words "damn" and "hell" removed. Along with frequent subtexts, there were also metaphysical and religious themes expressed through the film. This film led the company towards experimenting with more adult-oriented and mainstream films, which would eventually lead to Disneys creation of its Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, and its later purchase of Miramax Films arms to handle films considered too mature to be released through the Walt Disney Pictures label.

Reception

At $20 million (plus another $6 million for the advertising budget), it was at the time the most expensive picture ever produced by the company. The movie earned nearly $36 million at the North American box office, making it the 21st highest-grossing film of 1979.

It received mixed reviews from critics. Famed critic Roger Ebert gave the film 2 stars out of 4 upon its release, saying it "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." The film has a 43% score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 28 reviews, though The New York Times, Time Magazine and Variety all praised the film. The visual effects were generally acclaimed by the press. The film received two Academy Award nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Cinematography.

Author John Kenneth Muir wrote an extensive review of the film that delved into some of the nuances and metaphysical ideas which marked The Black Hole as more adult-oriented fare than Disney had previously been involved with.

In 2014, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson deemed the film to be the least scientifically accurate movie of all time. Critiquing the film, he noted, "They not only got none of the physics right about falling into a black hole, had they gotten it right it would have been a vastly more interesting movie."

Adaptations and merchandising

In Alan Dean Fosters novelization of the film, as the probe ship crosses the event horizon, all matter ceases to exist. Kates ESP links the minds of the Palominos crew and allows them to survive (in a fashion) while the atoms of their bodies diffuse and are scattered throughout the Universe.

One comic book adaptation of the film (Whitman comics, published in 1980) bypasses the whole issue of what happens inside the black hole by having the crew enter the black hole on one page and emerge apparently unharmed on the next page into a parallel universe where they encounter alternate versions of Reinhardt, Old B.O.B., Maximilian and even Frank McCrae, Kate McCraes father. Four issues were published. The first two issues adapted the film and the second two issues continued the story introducing a race of people called Virlights, whom they end up aiding against a rising tyrant. The rare fourth issue concludes with the promise of a fifth issue which was planned but never published. Other comic adaptations released in Europe have the crew emerging into another galaxy, thus confirming Reinhardts theories. While wondering if they will ever return to Earth, they decide to explore this new universe.

In the official Disney Read-Along recording and illustrated story book, the crew in the probe ship emerge safely on the other side of the black hole, while the Cygnus is "crushed like an eggshell." The story ends with Captain Holland saying "Weve been trained to find new worlds. Lets go find one for ourselves!"

The childrens book line, Little Golden Books, released a book entitled The Black Hole: A Spaceship Adventure for Robots. The story involves V.I.N.Cent and Old B.O.B. exploring the Cygnus, visiting its gardens, encountering the "humanoid robots", and escaping detection by Maximillian.

The Mego Corporation produced a line of 12" and 4" action figures from the movie, released in the fall of 1979.

Jack Kirby drew an adaptation of the film (scripted by Carl Fallberg) for the comic strip Walt Disneys Treasury of Classic Tales.

Eight-inch magnetic figures were made of V.I.N.Cent, S.T.A.R. and Maximillian; 12-inch figures were made of Holland, Durant, Reinhardt, Booth, McCrae and Pizer.

Space Probe: Math

In 1983, Disney put out a computer learning-game spinoff - "Space Probe: Math". This was a cassette containing two educational games designed for use with the Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer.

The concept of the first game was that the Palomino had landed on an infected planet, Delta 5 Omega. All the crew were falling under "mind diffusion", basically a viral form of fatigue. The player (aged 7–14) had to solve multiplication or division problems to save the crew. In the second game, the player had to save a primitive worlds crops, using (rectangular) area and perimeter problems.

The Black Hole theatrical release history

The Black Hole opened at a Royal World Premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on December 18, 1979. It premiered in the United States on December 21, 1979.

US release dates

Video release history

Soundtrack

Highlights of the score, as conducted and composed by John Barry, were released on an LP by Disneyland Records in 1979. A remastered edition of the LP version was made available on iTunes.

1. "Overture" (2:27)
2. "Main Title" (1:46)
3. "The Door Opens" (3:38)
4. "Zero Gravity" (5:53)
5. "Six Robots" (1:59)

1. "Durant is Dead" (2:31)
2. "Start the Countdown" (3:51)
3. "Laser" (2:15)
4. "Into the Hole" (5:00)
5. "End Title" (2:34)

Silva Screen Records released compilation albums remastering some of John Barrys works, which includes some of the music ("The Overture") from The Black Hole.

On August 23, 2011, Intrada Records released the complete score on CD. Track listing:

1. Overture (2:28)
2. Main Title (1:49)
3. That’s It (1:43)*
4. Closer Look (2:02)**
5. Zero Gravity (5:48)
6. Cygnus Floating (2:06)*
7. The Door Opens (4:09)**
8. Pretty Busy (:48)*
9. Six Robots (1:57)
10. Can You Speak? (1:19)*
11. Poor Creatures (1:41)*
12. Ready to Embark (:44)*
13. Start the Countdown (3:47)
14. Durant Is Dead (2:31)
15. Laser (1:01)*
16. Kate’s O.K. (2:49)
17. Hot and Heavy (2:43)*
18. Meteorites (1:31)*
19. Raging Inferno (:54)*
20. Hotter and Heavier (1:59)*
21. Bob and V.I.N.C.E.N.T.[sic] (:54)*
22. Into the Hole (4:56)**
23. End Title (2:34)

1. In, Through... and Beyond! (2:46)

* Previously unreleased
** Includes additional material not used in the film

Remake

In November 2009, it was reported that Disney has plans to remake the movie. Director Joseph Kosinski (who directed Disneys 2010 film Tron: Legacy) and producer Sean Bailey are attached to the production, and Jon Spaihts, who wrote the original script for the Alien prequel Prometheus, was confirmed as writer for the project on April 5, 2013.