WTF Happened to The Black Hole?
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- Опубликовано: 10 окт 2023
- In 1977, a little movie called Star Wars came out and changed everyone’s idea of what a blockbuster could be. Overnight, science-fiction went from being a genre consigned to B-movies to A-level epics, and within a year, every studio in Hollywood was planning their own sci-fi epic. That included Walt Disney Pictures, who had infamously passed on developing Star Wars. Now, they were going to catch up with their own sci-fi epic, 1979’s The Black Hole. Sporting a hefty $20 million budget (it cost twice what Star Wars did), The Black Hole was supposed to usher Disney into a new era of movie-making, where adult audiences would be targeted just as much as kids. The movie was not the flop history remembers, but it underperformed. Yet, it was an essential part of sci-fi movie history as it used computerized camera technology to create visual effects, many of which were mind-blowing for 1979.
In this episode of WTF Happened to this Movie, we dig into how Disney made a big-budget Star Wars-style movie on their own, without using any of the effects artists from George Lucas’s ILM. We dig into the interesting cast, which included the late Robert Forster, Maximillian Shell and the voice of Planet of the Apes star Roddy McDowell as an R2-D2-style robot named V.I.N.CENT, and more. We also explain how this dark, PG-rated movie paved the way for Disney’s Touchtone Pictures, with them, at the time, wholly devoted to G-rated family fare, something that would change dramatically in the eighties. Plus, we examine the score by John Barry and the rumors that the film even get a modern remake.
Do you have fond memories of The Black Hole? Let us know in the comments!
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If there was ever a case for a remake, The Black Hole would be it. But not with current Disney.
Bruckhiemer or zak snider
@@jessebacon9535agreed 😊
Being Disney, would they even call it The " Black " Hole ?? That might trigger someone !!!!😆😆😆
@@lanedossett6870 Oh for fucks sake. Nobody's getting triggered like that. That's just some weirdo fantasy of yours.
@@lanedossett6870 Only people who think Disney is some sort of "woke" warrior and only cares about "checking boxes" would be triggered by that sort of thing - because Disney is a business and only cares about making money. Like every other studio.
"A wolf remains a wolf, Even if it has not eaten your sheep."
When the ship came out of the black hole, it had transformed into the _Event Horizon_ . It is canon.
The two films are entirely dissimilar.
@@ZiddersRooFurry um...dont burst the bubble
I LOVE “The Black Hole”. It was my favorite record book when I was a child. The music was the perfect amount of creepy.
Me too!!
Totally agree, it's up there with The Dark Crystal for creepiness
I had that same record and always thought the Charlie Pizer rescue shootout scene sounded way better on that record than it did in the actual movie.
I had that same record book
John Barry has done some awesome music.
saw this in the theater's as a kid, loved it then, still one of my all time favorites now. i always get a kick when i hear a movie regarded as a 'cult favorite' where i was already a fan from when it 1st came out 😂
Agreed. I went to see this on release in the UK and enjoyed it a lot. I have the DVD. The sound track is brilliant as well.
I can’t believe the score was just a quick footnote, I loved the music
I haven't heard it since the 70s and I still remember it. It's iconic.
I loved the score too. Did you get the CD release? It sounds awesome!
The Black Hole was not PG-13.
It didn’t exist in 1979 because Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom didn’t exist yet (1984) which shocked parents so much they got PG-13 implemented.
This movie is closer to 2001 S Space Oddysey and Event Horizon than Star Wars or anything of the sort. And then they were surprised families didn't go see it? That said, I'd love see Disney taking such risks again today. But instead they do almost exclusively embarrsing knock-offs of their own movies.
I was struck immediately by the intro when I went to see this as a kid. I still think the intro with music is pretty haunting.
This movie scared the shit out of me as a kid. Mom & Dad dropped me off at the theatre, since its Disney. And up to a certain point, it was a good kids, movie, then the final act kicked in, and I ran out of the theatre crying. The mirror masks that fell off, Maximillion drilling a hole through that guys chest.
I was 5 at the time, and while I wasn't scared shitless, Maximillian did give me the creeps for sure and I'll admit I did have a nightmare or two from the movie. But nothing that bad all things considering for what they showed in 1979 lol
Thank you! I was scarred for life.
Loved this movie as a kid. Would love to see GOOD remake
Obviously no one would want a "bad" remake lol
This is truly one of the best movies of that era.
Black Hole was a great, gritty scifi flik.
I was six when I first saw this movie,,,,, for the next two years I just knew,,,,,, KNEW Max was going to come busting out of my closet!
that was my experience with Jaws. I was sure Jaws was gonna show up on the back edge of my bed... even though I lived 500 miles from the ocean >.
@@mikeb.1705 Yeah,,,, he might decide to swim up the sewer,,,,,,, we weren't sure.🤣
@@jacobwebb2623exactly! And you never know whether or not that black hole might dump Max out into a closet!
Unfortunately this film was swept under the umbrella of what people call 'Dark Disney', encompassing the likes of 'Watcher in the Woods' and 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'.
That ending is something interesting.
Me, now 54: I immediately remembered the name of the robots; the toys I had as a kid. Good movie!
I will always enjoy The Black Hole for the special effects and different storyline. Fun Fact for anyone who doesn't know, director Tom McLoughlin, who did Jason Lives played the robot S.T.A.R. in The Black Hole
Would like to see a remake.
Your review of The Black Hole was executed well, good job.
I still remember, as a kid, I had Black Hole bed sheets with the robots on them.
Absolutely one of my favorite movies ever. I was 5 when this hit theaters, and I still love this movie to this day. I would love to see a remake, as long as the robots aren't CG.
Love this movie one of my favorite soundtracks for any film....
This couod make a great remake if done right
For those interested in more info, Cecil (Good Bad Flicks) has a really in depth video on The Black Hole.
In 1980, I was 5 years old and a few months after moving into my stepfather's new house my mother took me to the video store that had just opened. I remember my mother telling me to pick a movie but I didn't get it - why would I pick a movie when we don't even have a video player? She said something like "don't we?". I picked my video and got home to find a shiny new VHS player under the TV.
The very first movie I ever saw on video was The Black Hole. It was also the second, third, and fourth. I was already a Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rogers, fan and my STAR droid action figure joined the Empire as a bounty hunter. My favourite characters were Maximilian and Vincent, and I distinctly remember acting as Maximilian and spinning my hand like his claw on multiple occasions, similar to the way I pretended to be R2-D2, C3-PO, Darth Vader, Yoda, and Twiggy.
I refuse to re-watch this film. My childhood memories shall forever remain unsullied.
It's such a fantastic film. The special effects are unique
I always liked the overall idea of the movie, and the opening special effects when the Cygnus fired up were incredible. I feel like Disney blew it though by thinking they had to have the hokey robots and gimmicks like every other space hardware movie had. The vibe of the story itself felt like a forerunner to Sunshine, only with an insane captain determined to enter the black hole instead of an insane captain stopping the mission to restart our dying sun. If they had focused more on that, they would certainly have lost a lot of the younger audience but made up for it with a more mature audience who could appreciate the pacing and more in-depth story.
This movie and Logan's Run hold a special place in my heart. I was obsessed with them as a child.
No way! JoBlo just did a Black Hole video and I was searching for new videos about this very movie? Serendipity! I love this movie. I have a little shelf full of toys from this flick, and no one knows it! Space horror at its 70s finest!
Synchronicity!
I had a Maximillian figure for years and years no idea where he went.
Went to see it when it came out. Always liked it. The soundtrack is really good as well.
Loved the movie, except the end. I had the novelization. Cygnus is my all-time favorite movie spacecraft.
Give me the in Passengers... a very unique Star Ship..
This is the third video on this movie and easily the best. Thumbs up
Went to the movies to see it. Great flick, hunted down a copy and added it to my collection, I watch it once and a while just for the memories.
It's one of my favorite space movies, more similar to Forbidden Planet (1956) than Star Wars (1977).
Everybody was trying to get some of that sweet sweet Star Wars money. I liked Vinson the robot as well as Maximilian he was a pretty formidable villain.
**V. I. N. CENT.
@@devinpaul9026 okay thanks
@@grapeshot You're welcome! You'd be amazed how many grown adults with lives and jobs actually need my help with the most basic of shit!
If I thought humanity was ultimately worth a damn, it might actually disturb me a little.
@@grapeshot You're welcome! You'd be amazed how many grown adults with lives and jobs actually need my help with the most basic of shit!
If I thought humanity was ultimately worth a damn, it might actually disturb me a little.
@devinpaul9026 don't worry, the sun will not supernova and explode because of this.
I saw it in the theater Christmas of ‘79. I enjoyed it. Of course, I was 9 at the time.
Great score by John Barry 🕺
I have the DVD version where disney avoided putting the disney logo on the DVD cover.
Yeah, I remember those toys, had Max, Vince, and Bob. Not as cool as TRON toys, but better made.
Saw it as a boy, love it as an adult. The magic comes from the nostalgia. Any remake would be disappointing. Don’t forget that, in a way this was a remake of another disney movie, Forbidden Planet, 1956.
One of my favorite films since I've seen it at the cinemas.
Thanks for reminding me to watch this film again. I saw this film when released, I always really liked it a lot. Literal all-star cast, great effects. Too bad there are no huge screens in the theaters any more, like when I first saw this film, it was awesome to see.....
I saw it in the theater when it was released. I was 12. I liked it. I haven't seen it since. I should watch it again.
The music was fantastic. It was dark and crazy. I love this film.
I love this movie. It was the first sci-fi movie I'd ever saw as a kid. My Dad brought em home one day on VHS or BetaMax tape around in 1981 or 82. I was 5 or 6 years old at this time and I watched it together with my parents and from the spot I was totally fascinated by it. Still love to watch it from time to time on DVD. I also have a small Old B.O.B figure from Disney Kubrick Medicom here in my shelf and a vintage comic book. In my opinion, this movie is highly underrated. John Barrys soundtrack is also a masterpiece.
Sadly, of the two Cygnus models built both ended up destroyed. The first was blown up while filming the final climactic descent into the black hole. The second was stored in crates and then left outside a warehouse for years until it was run over by a forklift. These models were beautiful as each was acid-aged until they had green patinas similar to the Statue of Liberty's. You can see this effect during the Palamino's close-up approach when they're inspecting the darkened ship's exterior.
Maximilian still stands to this day in my top three villains of all time in film with Darth Vader being the top Maximilian being the second and Megatron is number 3
Yeah the special effects are really cool. You have to be in just the right mood for this one though. StarWars works because its a movie which feels way bigger than it is. BlackHole has a different feel and style to it but I like it!!
Awesome film 👌
I went to see this & Star Trek The Motion Picture. Both Looked great on a huge screen.
Still one of my favorites!
I watched it at the theatre, loved it, even had some of the figures and the Cygnus model.
I watch this movie every so many years.
A remake would be interesting. But im unsure if modern science would allow it
I can't believe it's on RUclips. I'm fixing to watch it on the TV.
I will never forget the intro on the Big Screen. The cartesian grid lines falling into that singularity was impressive. The rest of the movie was plodding and boring. Story and characters are important.
This movie definitely has a "split personality". Solemn discussions about God and the Universe, alternate with laser gun battles and cutesy robots.
Almost forgot
Please please please never stop ♥️
One of my favourte movies ever ... love this movie ... the music, the feel, the lighting , the suspense, the horror and the bizarre ending
I was 9 when this came out. Still love this movie as much...even more than back then.
Love it. Still watch it often. I have the soundtrack on vinyl and it's on regular rotation. I love the look of the VFX. Nothing else looks quite like it. The Black Hole and TRON were big influences on me as a kid. They were so unique. Great period for Sci Fi. 1977-1984. Hard to top. Star Wars to The Terminator
I first saw that in the 4th grade at an assembly (movie protector and all!) It stuck with me!!!
I just re-watched it today for the 1st time in adulthood... very different movie than I remembered! Way darker!!!
And that ENDING 🥶
I loved it as a kid, maybe it doesn't hold up as well but I am still fond of it.
I saw this when I was five years old and had screaming nightmares. Thirty years later, I got it on DVD and laughed my ass off, at the cheesy late '50s special effects - you could literally see fishing lines, making the robots "float" in the air. It was still a pretty good flick. I watched it, went to bed and yep, woke up from a nightmare, again. That damned meteor, smashing it's way through the ship...
The robot had its name before Schell was cast, but it had only one L, which was changed to two (LL) after he signed on.
had a really nice production design and toyline
Dude... This movie is such glorious schlock.
1979 was a big year for sci fi. MGM had just capitalized for six new films...they were screaming for sci-fi. They offered Max Klein four times what Lester Siegel offered for the Black Hole script. But a couple of weeks before, Lester was sitting in Trader Vic's, enjoying a mai tai, when his pal Warren Beatty comes in. He wishes him well, and they have a little chat. Seems he was attached to star in 'Zulu Empire,' which was gonna anchor that MGM slate, but Warren confided that the picture's gone over budget because the Zulu extras want to unionize. They may be cannibals, but they want health and dental! Which meant that the movie was kaput, so the MGM deal wasn''t gonna happen, and the Black Hole script wasn't worth the buffalo sh*t on a nickel.
1979 was a BANNER year for sci-fi fans, omg did the goodies start to spill out.
@@angelainamarie9656 Right? My favorite was Argo. It was a space movie in the Middle East...a real science fantasy adventure. It was in turnaround--real dogsh*t--until Lester Siegel bought the rights for $10,000 and went into production in just a month. Up like a carny ride! This is all thanks to Kevin Harkins from Studio Six Films.
was way scary when a kid and still remember parts of it... love it now and reminds of flash gordon vibes.
I loved The Black Hole. I saw this movie in the early 80's as a kid. I'm so happy that its finally getting the recognition it deserves.
There were several aspects of this video which revealed that it was edited by a Latino, notably the use of "MM" instead of just the single "M" for million, a comma when the narration clearly says "four point five million dollars," and the use of the PG-13 rating graphic when a) that rating hadn't been invented yet in 1979 and b) Pirates of the Caribbean was famously Disney's first PG-13 movie.
Also, is there a line missing at the 8:59/9 minute mark?
Otherwise, great video. I've always loved The Black Hole and have always reiterated the fact that it was conceived BEFORE Star Wars, thus isn't just the Disney knockoff some seem to claim it was.
The cool thing about this movie is it is a throwback to the old school way Disney made movies. All in house with the Disney mandate of quality and innovation but a stab at a more mature themes and audience to keep up with the times. 1 foot in the past and 1 foot attempting to be more contemporary.
I remember my friend had the action figures of Vincent, Bob & Maximilian & he used to bring them into school, fun times.
Looove this movie!! I discovered it between Star Trek and Star Wars, born in 88' so it was a VHS Classic for me!! I grew up with Trek but didn't really get into Star Wars till the prequel trilogy started 😱
Casting suggestions for a remake:
Chris Pratt as Captain Dan Holland
Karen Gillan as Doctor Kate McCrae
Christoph Waltz as Doctor Hans Reinhardt.
Anyone else can fill the gaps?
I would have Vincent and B.O.B. as humanoid robots and give this BLACK HOLE remake an even darker and twisted spin of the story giving it a 12A certificate, with Karen/Kate undergoing her cybernetic surgical conversion into one of Reinhardt’s cyborg zombies like in the 1979 original but even more terrifying and slightly graphic.
This would be a sign of Disney not afraid to venture into the dark and serious side of nature in their entertainment.
I would also like to see the opening title sequence of the original film recreated as well as the great John Barry’a haunting score.
1. Long Musical Introduction
2. A hot blonde and a nerd go on a trip to meet a professor.
3. The trip is interrupted by mechanical difficulty.
4. They seek help in a dark, seemingly abandoned structure that is experiencing communications difficulty.
5. A light suddenly appears, revealing a mysterious figure in a window.
6. The structure is inhabited by very strange people, led by a megalomaniac scientist.
7. Scientist has created his own companion, who possesses all the qualities the scientist wishes he had, such as imposing size and physical strength.
8. Someone hopes to find a missing relative.
9. Scientist seduces the nerd into joining him.
10. There's an awkward dinner party.
11. It is revealed that the scientist murdered the missing relative.
12. The chase scene. The hot blonde is captured.
13. The scientist's damaged old servant betrays him.
14. The Scientist and his companion become one in death.
15. Everyone spins really fast until the structure leaves our reality entirely.
The Black Hole is just a remake of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Lets do the Black Hole again....
The Black Hole was 100% allegory for a story they couldn't just come out and tell. The fact that it was told at all, in this medium, at that time, on big screens all across the country, got their point across entirely even if they lost money on the film. It wasn't a failure in what they were trying to do, even if it was a commercial disaster for the studios.
Star Wars was not sci-fi.
It was a fantasy, action, adventure, war movie - that happened to be set in space and laden with fantasy/hitech weaponry.
The Seventies before had seen much actual Science Fiction, with movies like Punishment Park, THX 1138, A Clockwork Orange, Silent Running, Idaho Transfer, World on a Wire, Soylent Green, Westworld, Zardoz, Logan's Run, Stalker, Solaris.
If anything Star Wars mostly put an end, or rather a pause, to the era of sci-fi.
After it, space operas (such as Battlestar Galactica or Flash Gordon), horror and action flicks, and rom-coms became a trend.
The Day After could still be called Sci-fi without overstretching what is considered sci-fi, but by then it was an exception rather than the norm to have a futuristic movie grounded in actual science. Blade Runner and Brainstorm veered more towardswas cyberpunk, and similar stuff such as Robocop, Alien / Aliens and Akira leaned more into the horror and action genres.
Sci-fi slowly did make a comeback again in the nineties with good movies such as Gattaca, Thirteenth Floor, Strange Days, eXistenZ, Ghost in the Shell coming out.
Even then, much of it was still being watered down with fantasy stuff such as Dark City, Terminator 2, The Matrix, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, or downright space opera stuff such as The Fifth Element or Lost in Space or Independence Day or Mars Attacks.
The 'Black Hole' is something so scary, absurd and completely out of it's wold it should be a cult classic (I think it is?)
Like it or not, if you saw this film at the right age, you never forgot it. And the double-barrel laser pistol remains my favorite sci-fi weapon.
Epic sci fi movie.one of my favourite.
I remember watching this movie as a kid - and the ending scene of the movie scared the crap out of me. that aside, I loved this movie and thought, as a kid at least, it was pretty good. It was definitely dark and not the norm for Disney at the time.
I saw this in theaters and had some of the toys.
I loved this movie when it came out in my country. We had censorship at the time so every movie took one year to reach theaters here. So we had the merchandise even before the actual feature was released. I had a fold up maganize of the Palomino, Maximillian (that i did not know was a bad guy) and VICENT
I was captivated by this movie it was so dark and amazing
Wish could find it on a streaming service
Great movie!
After recently rewatching this on RUclips--rather than a remake--i think a better idea would be to have a Netflix limited series that takes place 20 years earlier--chronicling the launch--mission--and mutiny on the Cygnus possibly leading up to the events where the Palomino discovers it .....could work.
Vincent and Bob killed this movie. They were just too cutie and hokey.
Disagree. They were a counterpoint to how scary Max was. He was an incredible villain for what he was.
Vincent is my name sharp shooting is my game.
Thats amusing they made all those action figures, etc for a movie that is so unlike Star Wars. Its an odd movie but worth a watch if like sci-fi
I still have the albums from that movie to this day.
The soundtrack and the story album.
I find it interesting that they scrapped the nasatech designs. All things considered, I think that would have worked better.
ST the movie, and Space 1999 show some good use of nasa tech, even to this day.
I fell in love with the laser pistols. 🤪
seen this film after Star Wars and thinking not bad
I must have been a weird child cause I ate this movie up and left no crumbs...also love ST the motion picture....
Actually, V. I. N. CENT's a badass. The little cartoon ball look and snarky nerdisms just serve to make it THAT MUCH MORE badass when he's just scared of precicely fuck all and can surgically dissect a fly at fifty feet. Don't see any of the hero droids doin' THAT in Star Wars.
I love this movie. Totally deserves more love
This was a great picture except for the ending, which doesn't follow the style that came before. If it had been an art house film that ending works, but it's not.
Slim Pickens and Roddy's voice acting made those two characters immortal for me. That and the John Berry score.
Love The Black Hole from (1979) along with the original TV series (Battlestar Galactica) & the original (Star Wars) trilogy. This film though felt a little darker in tone as it went along & the ending is weird and creepy in a good way. Also the score is great & haunting in a way created by John Barry who did most of the James Bond films. Lastly the film has some good characters Capt. Reinhardt to name a few & his big evil red robot MAXIMILIAN but to me it's little robot VINCENT who's the real standout not only is he intelligent witty & smart but stands up for himself against the robots STAR & MAXIMILIAN. Also he looks cool in design.
This is definitely on the list of 70s/80s movies that traumatized kids.
I had the blankets, and sheets set