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Film: The Black Hole

In, through... and beyond.

The Black Hole is a 1979 science fiction movie directed by Gary Nelson for Walt Disney Productions. It stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, and Ernest Borgnine. The voices of the main robot characters in the film are provided by Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens (both uncredited). The music for the movie was composed by John Barry. Alan Dean Foster novelized the screenplay.

An Earth exploratory ship, the USS Palomino, discovers a black hole with a lost ship, the USS Cygnus, somehow defying its gravity and hovering just outside its event horizon. Setting off to solve the mystery of the Cygnus are: the Palomino's Captain, Dan Holland (Robert Forster); his First Officer, Lieutenant Charlie Pizer (Joseph Bottoms); journalist Harry Booth (Ernest Borgnine); ESP-sensitive scientist Dr. Kate McCrae (Yvette Mimieux); Dr. Alex Durant (Anthony Perkins), the expedition's civilian leader; and the robot V.I.N.CENT ("Vital Information Necessary CENTralized"). The Palomino attempts a dangerous fly-by of the ship, which is dark and apparently derelict. As they come within close range of it, the buffeting they experience due to the black hole's gravity suddenly ceases. They bring more instruments to bear on the ship, but do not realize the gravity-free zone is artificial and limited; slipping outside it, they are almost drawn into the hole.

As the crew repairs the Palomino, they discover that the Cygnus is not only functional but inhabited by a crew of faceless robots and their human commander, Dr. Hans Reinhardt, who intends to take the Cygnus into the black hole to see what awaits him on the other side. However, they discover something more sinister behind Reinhardt's preparations, and they must race against time to escape before their own ship becomes mere collateral damage in the quest of an apparent madman.

The movie contains very clear homages in style and plot to 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it's possible they originally intended to create a similar "proverbial good science fiction film". The success of Star Wars meant that assorted cute robots were crammed in, making the tone direly schizophrenic. (The shooting gallery scene is a particularly obvious addition.)

Many consider this film to be Disney's biggest flop (which lead to countless jokes about the company's money being tossed into the eponymous hole), and that it represents everything that was wrong with Ron Miller's leadership of the company. In actual fact it made $35m on a budget of $20m, so it did earn a slight profit for the company; nonetheless, not very many people regard the film as one of Disney's finer moments. Indeed, along with one other movie that was released the same year, it was the first ever Disney movie to be given a PG rating; something that ultimately would lead to the creation of Disney's separate non-Disney branded label, Touchstone Pictures in 1984 (with the PG-rated Splash as its first release).

The film is currently in development for a remake by TRON: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski. This film even gets a Shout Out in Legacy as a poster in Sam's room.

This Movie Contains Examples Of:

Accidental Pun: When the Palomino first enters the black hole's gravity field, Charlie says that the ship is "bucking like a bronco."
Adaptation Expansion: The novelization adds in a lot of detail, such as defining Dr. McCrae's "ESP" as a wireless cybernetic interface, and a wonderfully grim conversation regarding rehydrated Christmas dinner, complete with rehydrated giblets.
- It also explains why just letting the decompressed cargo hold's contents escape the ship wasn't an option. It was apparently full of pharmaceuticals.
Artificial Gravity: One of Reinhardt's breakthroughs.
The Blank: The navigator androids.
Burial In Space: Done by the "robot" crewmen, which tips off the suspicions of the Palomino's crew that all is not as it appears aboard the Cygnus.
Comic Book Adaptation: There was a Newspaper Comic, drawn by Jack Kirby, and an ongoing by Whitman Comics, an imprint of Gold Key Comics, which had an Immediate Sequel for the last two issues.
Conspicuous CG: The opening credits, a wireframe representation of a black hole's gravity well.
Cool Starship: The Cygnus runs on pure awesome.
Creator Cameo: Director Gary Nelson as the humanoid unmasked by Durant.
Cyber Cyclops: Maximillian.
Deadpan Snarker: V.I.N.CENT.
Devil in Plain Sight: Dr. Reinhardt. If the crew of humanoids lead by a floating red killbot with blender blades wasn't an indication, the man himself gives you another big hint by wearing bright red outfits for many of his scenes...
Dirty Coward: Harry Booth.
The Dragon: Maximillian.
Dressing as the Enemy
Dying Like Animals: Harry Booth turns out to be "Chicken"; Alex Durant is a "Bat", completely smitten with Reinhardt.
Explosive Decompression
Expy: V.I.N.CENT is a slightly less effeminate, considerably more competent C-3P0 (with an R2-D2 style body).
Family Unfriendly Death: When Maximillian drills a hole in Durant's chest. Yes, there was a book in the way so you couldn't see it, and yes, there was no visible blood; but he still drilled a hole in his chest. The sound effect for the drill made it all the worse...
Fate Worse Than Death: Dr. Reinhardt ends up in a hellish burning landscape, while being trapped in Maximillian's body. Long before that, of course, he zombified his entire crew into wretches too mindless to even notice their ship collapsing around them - another Fate Worse Than Death.
Five-Man Band: Captain Holland (The Hero), Charlie Pizer (The Lancer), Dr. Durant (The Smart Guy), Harry Booth (The Big Guy), Dr. McCrae (The Chick).
Follow the Leader: The basic script was written in the mid 70s, with it being inspired by the disaster films that were made at the time, but lingered in pre-production, possibly on the verge of Disney scrapping it. Then, Star Wars came out...
For Science!: Dr. Reinhardt's ostensible motivation.
Frickin' Laser Beams: Glowy but otherwise realistic.
From My Own Personal Garden: During Reinhart's No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine moment, he tries to pass off the garden as "tiny" but it was, in fact, huge in order to feed the entire zombified crew.
Fun with Acronyms: V.I.N.Cent. (Vital Information Necessary CENTralized)
- Not to mention B.O.B (BiO-sanitation Battalion) and Captain S.T.A.R (Special Troops Arms Regiment).
Gainax Ending
Good Hair, Evil Hair: Dr. Reinhardt has the mad scientist's disheveled long beard.
The Great Politics Messup: When the Palomino crew tries to identify the Cygnus during the opening scenes, V.I.N.CENT runs through a catalog of space ships to match with the Cygnus and he mentions a Soviet ship among the list of possible candidates (the film is set in the 22nd century mind you).
Guns Akimbo: Everyone, both sentry robots and humans, wields two of the double-barreled laser pistols (one barrel above the handle, one below) issued on the Cygnus.
- V.I.N.Cent and B.O.B. are also equipped with laser emitters in both of their front "arms." (Their grasping manipulators extend to the sides, from their "shoulders.") V.I.N.Cent's are disabled (i.e., shot out) by the automated security system soon after boarding Cygnus, but they're repaired in time to humiliate S.T.A.R. in a shooting contest and aid the humans during the final battle.
Homage: Apart from the obvious similarities to 2001 and Star Wars, there are definite hints of Forbidden Planet.
Herr Doktor: First name Hans, last name Reinhardt, speaks with a slight German accent, played by an Austrian actor... und he ist ein Doktor!
Human Resources: Reinhardt doesn't like mutineers.
If I Wanted You Dead: Dr. Durant uses this line of reasoning. It holds true... for a while.
Immune To Frickin Laser Beams: Maximillian.
Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: The sentry robots.
Incredibly Lame Pun: "Maximilian Schell inside Maximillian's shell" in the "Hell" scene.
Industrialized Evil: The machine used to convert the crew to cyborgs.
Intrepid Reporter: Harry Booth. Well, at first...
Karmic Death: Reinhardt is pinned down by debris as the ship heads towards the black hole. Maximillian is too far away to assist him, so he begs the zombified crewmembers to help him. Thanks to his own programming which turned them into mindless zombies in the first place, they completely ignore him and continue to follow their routines as he dies painfully and slowly.
- Maximillian gets one of his own; his signature weapons are those horrible drills, and he gets a neat little hole drilled in his own torso by V.I.N.C.E.N.T., in much the same way that he had eviscerated Dr. Durant.
Killer Robot: Many consider Maximillian the uber-example of this trope. A single glaring red eye, a barely-humanoid frame to put it into the Uncanny Valley, and those damn drill-claws...
Large Ham: Reinhardt most of the time, Booth some of the time, and a couple of one-shots:
- Kate: There are people in there! I KNOW IT! I FEEL IT!!
- Old BOB: Your friends are in graaaaaaave danger. This is a DEATH SHIP!
Mad Scientist: Reinhardt.
Magical Security Cam
Meaningful Name: The Cygnus, named for a constellation which probably has a black hole.
Mecha-Mooks: The sentry robots.
No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine
Dan Holland: It's only dinner.
V.I.N.CENT: "... said the spider to the fly."
Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness: It starts out as a hard sci-fi exploration flick, in that the Palomino maneuvers like a real spacecraft with the main thruster and attitude jets, and everyone in the spacecraft is weightless except when they are under acceleration, etc. Then Dr. McCrae is asked to use her ESP to talk to their Robot Buddy. Then they board the Cygnus, which has Artificial Gravity developed by Reinhardt from his research on the black hole. There's a gradual process of moving from 4 to 1 on the scale, with a debatable return to 4 near the end, where the characters moving outside the Cygnus are doing so with panic because they're essentially swimming around inside atmosphere flowing from a breach in the ship's hull. Then they travel through the black hole itself into the afterlife(?).
Our Wormholes Are Different: The movie treats the eponymous black hole as a wormhole, even going so far as to have the characters travel through it and come out "unharmed" on the other side, if the "other side" is the afterlife. Whether it is makes things tricky.
Oh Crap: Charlie's reaction when he figured out the probe ship they're using to escape the Cygnus is actually programmed to go inside the black hole.
Outrun the Fireball: The scene where the heroes try to make it across a tunnel before a huge meteor plowing through the ship reaches them.
Psychic Powers: Dr. McCrae has a telepathic link with V.I.N.CENT, thanks to a cybernetic impant in her brain.
Rage Helm: Maximillian has a bright red eye with a furrowing brow sculpted/painted above it, making it look like he's permanently scowling.
Recycled IN SPACE!: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. Both it and The Black Hole involve a ship captained by a Mad Scientist rebelling against conventional authority, who reluctantly takes the heroes on board because doing so is their only chance of survival, and who intends to dive his ship into a maelstrom. Only one of the protagonists is sympathetic to the captain's scientific achievements. There are No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine scenes in both stories.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: Maximillian, Reinhardt's outfits, and the lobotomy machines in the Cygnus's medical bay.
Redemption Equals Death: Alex Durant figures it all out... too late.
Reinventing The Telephone: Dr. McCrae's abilities are clarified in the novelization.
Robot Buddy: V.I.N.CENT and Old BOB. Maximillian, not so much.
Robotic Psychopath: Maximillian. When Maximillian slaughters Alex Durant, Reinhardt berates it for killing a "good man". Clearly, he does not control the robot fully, and it has a malevolent will of its own - when the ship is later disintegrating, Maximillian leaves Reinhardt to die, despite the fact that his predicament was clearly visible to it.
Rule of Symbolism: The Black Hole is likened to a gateway to Hell. Or Heaven. Have doubts? Watch that climax again... if you dare.
- This movie has religious symbolism out the wazoo: in addition to the foreshadowing comparisons of the Black Hole with Hell ("straight out of Dante's Inferno"; "I expect to see a guy in a red suit with a pitchfork"), Durant says it may lead "into the mind of God". Reinhardt likens V.I.N.CENT and Maximilian to David and Goliath and quotes from Genesis. The Cygnus looks like a Gothic cathedral, the control panels on the bridge look like stained glass windows, and the humanoids are dressed like monks. Lampshaded when Reinhardt offhandedly remarks that it's another of his "theatrical gestures".
  - In fact, one planned ending involved a reveal that shows Dr. McCrae as one of the angels depicted among the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel.
- Durant tries to shield himself from Maximillian...with a book. His admiration of knowledge is useless against the murderous truth.
Scenery Porn: The Cygnus's interior resembles a high tech-cathedral of steel and glass with mammoth, lengthy corridors and ominous lighting.
Sound Only Death: Durant's murder.
Southern Fried Genius: Old BOB (he got his accent from having been programmed in Houston.)
Space Madness: Dr. Reinhardt.
Swirly Energy Thingy: The funnel-shaped accretion disc around the black hole.
Technobabble: Comes with the territory...
This Is a Drill: V.I.N.CENT has a drill. He asks Maximillian to say hi to his drill near the end of the movie.
- Maximillian's own spinning claw-saw would also qualify.
Too Dumb to Live: Had Captain Holland listened to his instincts and not flown near the Cygnus (which they knew was too close to The Black Hole), the Palomino would remain undamaged and would have returned home safe and sound.
Trailers Always Spoil: One trailer for the movie showed Durant's death.
Unrealistic Black Hole: Goes without saying.
Unwilling Roboticisation: The sad fate of the crew after they tried to take back the ship from Reinhardt.
Villain Ball: Dr. Reinhardt's decision to have the crew of the Palomino killed after his secret was discovered, rather than let them flee anyway, resulted in the destruction of the Palomino and, indirectly, Maximilian's destruction.
The Voiceless: Maximilian never actually speaks; he presumably is able to communicate somehow, but not on-screen, which of course makes him all the more unsettling.
- He does, however, let out an electronic sounding shriek when V.I.N.CENT drills him at the end.