The Black Hole Blu Ray Exclusive

While I am one of the rare people who LOVE The Black Hole and have the 5-star rating because it is one of my favorite childhood movies, I do NOT give Amazon's service 5-stars here. Just 1. I could not get the movie to stream at all. I own both versions of the DVD and tried buying it on Amazon to watch it in HD (just wanted to watch it feeling nostalgic about my childhood at the birth of my daughter, which happened the same day I decided to get it), but the stream failed. My internet admittedly sucks and I should have just waited. It was HD in short bursts, mostly DVD quality in others, which is related to my internet (Im sure most can stream it in full HD). They let me download it, but in quality inferior to a standard DVD. That's not why I bought it... I wanted it in HD! Unfortunately, there is no way to be refunded. I looked all over the Amazon website and found nothing. Perhaps I have to call, I don't know. Wound up getting Showtime JUST to DVR it in HD. At least until Disney gets off their butts and puts it out on Blu-ray. Hopefully not as long as it took them to release the entire score on CD. Sad. As for the movie itself, I know it gets much scorn -- including from overrated, self-important "scientists" and "critics" -- but since when did ANY movie get all the science right (most of the time, movies can be laughable for science holes, BUT, we still love them anyways) and how many live up to Star Wars? It's one of the greatest of all time, so not a hell of a lot can. This poor movie gets lambasted because of the timing more than anything. It's a sci-fi movie that came out right after Star Wars! Well, screw the critics, I LOVED this movie as a kid and still enjoy it as an adult. Maximillian Schell's performance as the mad genius scientist/tyrant is brilliant. The good robots, VinC.E.N.T. and Old B.O.B. are fun. The bad robots, and Maximilian and the Sentries, are spooky enough for a kid to get the chills. The rest of the cast also did a fine job in their roles. The plot may have been highly derived from a certain literary classic, sure, but who cares?! Like that's never happened? John Barry's score is dark, moody and foreboding at times, pure fun in others. The ending was vague and open-ended, but like that also never happened before. And, please, people, it wasn't Disney trying to cash in on Star Wars (which I also love), it was written and started production before Star Wars (although, admittedly, the robots and laser fights were likely kiddied-up to appeal to the Star Wars craze of the day). The effects, although now dated, still were cool back in the day. The ships and sets were gorgeous... again, simply lost in the conversation and overshadowed by Star Wars and Star Trek, which have more fanfare and interest. Plus, if anybody thinks that NOBODY likes the movie, just try to collect the entire set of action figures made for this movie. Despite only having 11 produced, you will have plenty of rabid cult fans bidding you up higher than most action figures will ever go, including right up there with the rarest of the rarest Star Wars figures! Take that, comparison-mongers! ;) (And, in closing, more entertainment here than in Tyson DeGeek's entire program. And some would say... more science! Lulz. Ooohhh... @n@l science trolls will probably get butthurt. Sorry, no offense intended, go back to your scientist-worship and let me enjoy m childhood guilty please movie!).

The first time i saw this movie was when it came out. I was 9 years old and me and my familly saw it on december 22,1979. It was part of a double disney movie day at the local theater in Corpus Chrisiti, TX. The theater was two blocks from the bay. It started off with The cat from outer space. Well seeing that one before i was being a 9 year old. Well the main feature, the black hole started at 715 pm. And for the next 98 minutes i don't think my back touched the seat or my elbows left my knee's, or my hands left my face. From the ever popular opening music score to the heaven and Hell ending i was completely taken away by the movie. From giant spaceships to flying robot's. This was at the time the largest, most costly movie Walt disney had ever made. And i still think it is the only movie with Walt Disney on it that still carries a PG rating. And for me this was what i called an open movie. Unlike "Star Wars" that had everyone running around corners the whole movie, unless they were in a desert. The Cygnus had long open hallways and huge rooms and sets. The Part were they come out of the elevator on the bridge, and the camera pulls back as the crew of the Palomino walks out. Truly an impressive set. Ok Looking at it threw a 39 year old's eyes. The visual impact was still there, it still had me going about how they could do something like this in 1979 but not in 2010.This whole movie had around i think 3 minutes of computer generated graphics, as a warm up for Tron that came out next year i have read. everything was model and live action. The cast was there, Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, and the robots voiced by Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens, and for what ever reason there names appeared no were on the credits. One thing is for sure, you can not mistake Slim Pickens voice! The big hang up sadly was the plot. It was a as cheesy as cheesy can be. This i was suprised in. Guess i did not remember it like that the first time around or when it was shown on HBO years later. Another thing i am still impressed with in this movie is the fact that it was what is now called the old studio way of doing a movie. Nothing, not one single set, or anything about this movie was done out side of the walt disney studio. There are rumors flying around that they wanted Lucas's new Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) to do the special effect's. But ILM was booged down with the second star wars movie the empire strikes back. And the other rumor states that Lucas wanted to much money. I think these are just that, Rumor's. The film is directed by Gary Nelson. Who had done a lot of the Disney live action movies we all know and love. He also played the part of the unhooded robot. Producer Peter Ellenshaw had his way when it came to Walt Disney movies. He had been with them for a long time and had a proven track record. In a book on him that is long out of print, it was released in mid 1980, there was a long chapter about the black hole. He said more than once that the studio had what he needed to make the movie in house. He said the only thing they never planned right was the budget, it went far beyond anyone's wildest dream's to recreate everything that they once had to make the movie, and the people they had to pull out of retirment that knew what was needed to be done, Peter Ellenshaw was one who got pulled out of retirement for the film. The Budget for this one movie was 26 Million dollars. 6 million of that was for advertising the movie. So 20 million on a movie was a big jump in 1978 when it was being made. Star wars had a 3 million dollar budget. ANd i think the Black Hole earned over 50 million in it's release. Probaly a lot more since being on TV, VHS and DVD. Wish Disney would do a blu ray version and fix some flaws of the original, Lucas did it was his re release of the star wars movies on DVD. And that went over with fans pretty good. I Still give it 5 stars for the "WOW" factor. And i give the "Overture" opening music composed by John Berry 5 stars as well.

This is a classic Disney from the good old days. It has a great plot and a creepy villain. The sets and special effects are great and it's has PG from when that meant something. Movie trivia. This is the last "department" movie made at Disney. In the good old days studios like Disney had prop departments, Makeup, Sound, Special Effects, Model making, Art departments, etc., all staffed by studio employees. Everything was done "In House". Of course that was becoming too expensive and so more and more studios started those expensive and just hire it out on a picture by picture basis. The Black Hole (1979) was last totally in house movie made where everything was done by Disney employees. The end of an era in film making. Any way, this great Sci Fi movie from the Heyday of Disney pictures. Don't miss it. 5 stars, Recommended.

Capt. Don Holland (Robert Forester), Lt. Charles Pizer (Joseph Bottoms), Harry Booth (Ernest Borgnine), Dr. Alex Durant (Anthony Perkins), Dr. Kate McCree (Yvette Mimieux) and their droid VINCENT (Roddy McDowall) are the crewmembers of the spacecraft Palomino. While exploring deep space, they come upon an apparently abandoned spacecraft hovering near a large black hole. However, the spacecraft is far from abandoned. It turns out to be the USS Cygnus, commanded by Dr. Hans Reinhardt (Maximillian Schell). Originally sent into space to search for intelligent life on other planets, Reinhart disobeyed the order to return to earth after his mission was deemed a failure. He has spent the past twenty years formulating a way to journey through the black hole. Dr. McCree's father was a member of the crew, but when the Palomino docks with the Cygnus, there is no evidence of the crewmembers anywhere; only Reinhardt and several of the robots he created. Reinhardt tells the others of his plan to enter the black hole. Alex is immediately intrigued by the possibility and decides to stay aboard. Capt. Holland senses something is up with Reinhardt and sets out to prove his suspicions are true. Even little VINCENT has stumbled upon some important information. He discovered another droid that looks like himself: BOB. BOB informs VINCENT that the crew didn't die but in fact have become humanoid servants of Reinhardt. Just as Reinhardt is about to take the Cygnus into the black hole, a large meteor shower strikes the ship and causes severe damage. Harry Booth tried to escape from the ship by himself aboard the Palomino, but Reinhardt's evil robot Maximillian shot the ship down. Maximillian also turned his evil ways on Alex. Only Capt. Holland, Charlie, Kate, and VINCENT are left. Their only hope of escaping to safety is to reach Reinhardt's probe ship. Will they make it before it's too late? This is a very good movie. The special effects are good, considering the movie was made in 1979. The swirling black hole is especially well-done. The meteor shower was exciting to watch, especially the large meteor that strikes the Cygnus and rolls down the middle of the ship. The acting is good, and the story is well-conceived. Science fiction fans will be sure to enjoy this fine movie from Disney. I

I was fascinated by "the Black Hole" when I first saw it as a six year old. In spite of its PG rating, it actually paved the way for much darker space horror like Event Horizon and Sunshine. On the plus side, you get Ernest Borgnine, Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, and Anthony Perkins - all in one film! You also get a terrifying robot named Maximilian... which makes me think they struggled to come up with a cool name until someone said "lets just name it after Maximilian Schell!" Maximilian the robot just floats around menacingly, occasionally murdering people on its own initiative. I am not sure why anyone would build such a robot, but hey, whatever. Maximilian is still cool. The special effects are a little dated, but personally I prefer 1970s special effects over computer-generated CGI effects from present day. And as someone who has worked in a control room, I think the control room of the Cygnus is awesome. There was also John Barry's beautiful score which became permanently lodged in my brain as a child, and an ending scene with Maximilian the robot and Maximilian the actor was quite imaginative and definitely not formulaic. The negatives: V.I.N.CENT and B.O.B.: Cheap knock-offs of R2D2 and 3CPO. Incredibly, Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens provided the robots' voices. These guys were both obviously pretty fantastic in other films - but GOOD LORD they were obnoxious as robots! I mean, just imagine Slim's trademark redneck vernacular coming out of a robot. Again, why would someone create such a robot to begin with? With their large painted anthropomorphic eyes and goofy voices, it is clear they were thrown in to appeal to younger audiences. The presence of these over-grown children's toys in practically every scene constantly reminds one that this is still a disney film. I wish Maximilian had murdered them both, early in the movie - but no such luck!

Received what was pictured

After the success of Star Wars and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, many studios were clamoring for movies that dealt with this re-energized genre of space operas. With many live action classic romps under its belt including 20,000 Under The Sea, who better than Disney to bring a great tale to a family audience. Enter 'The Black Hole', Disney's 1979 entrance to Sci-Fi. I remember watching this as a boy when it hit the theatre and was excited to get the DVD, mostly for nostalgia reasons, and re-living what I consider a great 'story'. But after watching this DVD I had mixed emotions. On the pro side, I was thrilled to take part in viewing this once again, and was reminded why The Black Hole stuck with me all these years, even after other more popular and big-budgeted action space action thrillers came and went (ex: Krull, Battle Beyond the Stars)...it was the story. Sure there was some flat dialogue, and some plot struggles, but overall it was a pure space fantasy movie. A small group of explorers and their sidekick robot, Vincent (Disney's hybrid version of R2-D2 and C-3PO), are on an exploratory mission of uncharted space when they discover a black hole. Upon investigation they discover the USS Cygnus, a very large space carrier thought to have been lost many years ago along with its crew. Our explorers soon discover that the Cygnus is still inhabited after all these years, by a lone surviving scientist and his very imposing robot, Maximillian (painted devil red). Other robots and faceless androids are on board, and soon our explorers uncover a more sinister plot. Our lone scientist has gone slightly mad, will not let our explorers leave the ship, the crew never abandoned ship as first explained, and now our scientist wants to take the Cygnus through the black hole to the other side, perhaps to become a god himself. Throughout the story, we are given clues to what is really happening, and the surprise revelations towards the climax are reminiscent of what Rod Serling may have wrote. All in all a good family adventure, without too much violence (it is implied however,...this is Disney), no swearing, nice large sets and a good diversity of characters. The cons: Even after the success of Star Wars and Star Trek, it seems Disney rushed this movie to completion with little money spent on special effects. Though the movie was made in '79, it looks as if it was made way before Star Wars or Trek just on the camp value alone. At times it reminded me of the 60's TV series Lost in Space, or the original Disney 20,000 Leagues. Also, it is quite apparent that the lasers are pure animation as are their affects, some of the sets though large look cheap, lighting and fog machines are used in situations that are kinda atrocious, and probably my biggest complaint: you can SEE all the wires holding the robots in just about every scene. That in itself is unforgivable given the fact other movies at that time and movie making techniques were advanced enough to hide them. I do not believe the transfer was re-mastered. Throughout the movie there is noticeable frame flecks and graininess at times. The sound does not appear to be enhanced either so I'd say the over all quality is no better than the original VHS release. There are also virtually no extras: 1 theatrical trailer and a very boring picture gallery. All this gallery contains is scanned production shots and numerous variations of release posters. Nothing too much to really wow the viewer. Considering this is sorta a cult classic film some interviews or production notes are a no-brainer, but sadly not included. Hate to sound too negative here, but it is a must for your collection if you enjoy good science fiction stories and can safely share this with you family.

This is so bad it made it difficult to watch NetFlix afterwards because I had to watch the acting and couldn't just enjoy the story. It's ironic that the black hole is where space and time no longer matter because that's what happens in this movie: the time it takes to get places is either way too long or way too short, and being in outer space is irrelevant: people can breathe and survive just fine even though the spaceship is being torn apart and they are floating away. And of course none of the enemies can shoot and none of the good guys can be shot. But, it *is* an experience. I'm glad I bought it and I'm glad I watched it, just so I could say I did, because it's too horrible to never see. I wish I were nine so I could have truly enjoyed it. But really: do the people have to talk slower just because there is no gravity? And how can a robot survive being hi with a barrage of laser gun fire but be killed by an electric drill? And how can a robot be frozen too badly to move but the humans weather it just fine? And how do laser beams ricochet? It requires a massive wholesale suspension of disbelief. And belief. But it nevertheless is worth a watch. It cannot be forgotten.

ブラックホールと言う映画はディズニーの映画とは思えないほどLOSTな映画だと思います、この映画は私は手元に無いと心の穴埋めが出来ない作品に入ります。 この映画作品は日本の市場から姿を消して、なかなかお目にかかる事が困難でやっとアマゾンで見つける事が出来ました、この映画の原盤も4Kリマスターされているので大満足な仕上がりい成っていますがDVDの外箱が障子紙のように壊れやすい箱なので取り扱いには注意が必要な商品で驚きました。(^_^;)

I finally bought the DVD to replace my aging VHS tape and got to watch it in WIDESCREEN for the first time ever. (I first saw it on a BETA tape back when I was a child in the very early 80s and on VHS tapes since). Though critics pan characters and dialogue, I love every line. I love that the characters are NOT young actors. And I love the raw effects throughout the film. Even more so having watched the "Through the Black Hole" documentary attached to the film. This is a fantastic marker to the way films were done before computers could remove wires, a homage to the use of matte paintings, a display of taking risks. And as much as the ending is reminiscent of 2001, I like that it hints at a strange burning hell below and an angelic doorway above to the mysteries and light beyond. To me, it's both fascinating and inspiring. VINCENT and BOB remain two beloved robots. Though similar to R2-D2 from Star Wars they were different enough that I never felt they were a knock-off. VINCENT was more a cross between R2-D2 and KITT from Knight Rider. I loved his character and his lines in the film still bring a smile to my face. It is a great film and a great resource for anyone interested in film making.

one of the best movies made

This review contains serious spoilers.... I saw the 'Black Hole' twice in it's first week of release in 1979. I loved almost everything about it - the darkness, the Cygnus, the look, the music. I didn't like Vincent or Old Bob, but it is Disney, after all. All these years later this film is massively overdue a general Blu Ray release. Disney Club USA have just released it for members only (catch them on ebay while they last), but there seems no indication of a general Blu Ray release yet. This film is begging for one, with some quality restoration involved. As for the film itself, I think part of the problem is that it was made by Disney, and seen as an attempt to cash in on the post-Star Wars space opera bandwagon. It's often overlooked that the storyline was first mooted by Disney around 1974, under the name 'Space Probe One' (which Cygnus is referred to when the crew of the Palomino first discover it). Because of the Disney banner it is assumed it is a family film, and much of Disney's own marketing indicates this - look at all the children-oriented books that accompanied it. But take a step back from the brink, stop looking at the Disney banner, and what do you see? You see the most destructive force in the universe unleashed without restraint. No, not the Black Hole, but man. And one specific man in this case - Dr Hans Reinhardt. A brilliant scientist who persuaded someone to build a spaceship that is incredible - a gothic mansion in space. It's hard to imagine how much this would have cost if it had actually been built. Beyond billions surely? Reinhardt's mission was deemed a failure and he was recalled. Only he refused to return. His crew wanted to go home and so they mutinied. Reinhardt defeated them and lobotimised them all, retaining them as slaves - dressed in medieval gowns and with masks to cover their faces. He created a fleet of robots, led by the sinister Maximillian (who clearly never read any Isaac Asimov). They stay in their own gravitational bubble, preparing to travel through the enormous Black Hole nearby. Reinhardt will stop at nothing to execute his plans and has no concerns for any human factors that may get in the way. Amoral scientist or psychopath? Or both? Does it still sound like Disney? Or a family film? I don't think so. There is so much more to this film, and if you can get past most of the wooden acting (not Maximillian Schell) and the cute good guy robots, it is enormously fun and rewarding. It is also one of the most beautifully executed space films ever made. It is stunning to look at and a masterpiece of design. To compare it to Star Wars or anything similar is ludicrous. It's in space, but that's where the similarities end. This is more like 'The Old Dark House'. Reinhardt is not so very different from a man like Dr Joseph Mengele - both 'men of science' who are able to operate outside the parameters of inhibited, respectable society with no constraints on their work. And, uncomfortably, they both produce results that, ultimately, enhance human knowledge. Very dark. And there is much more. Watch it again without your Disney blinkers on and really sink into it. And remember, 'Forbidden Planet' is considered a sci-fi classic. But the acting is equally wooden and it also has a cute robot (albeit slightly different). A classic film, highly enjoyable and long overdue a general release on Blu Ray.

Tutto perfetto