I first saw The Black Hole when I was a young kid and I just didn't get it. Sure, the special effects looked pretty neat to my young eyes. And occasional bits of the film got me excited - like the scene where the heroes are trying to get across a bridge while a huge fireball rolls towards them. But I couldn't make sense of the long, philosophical chit-chat that passes between Maximilian Schell's mad scientist and his unwanted guests aboard the spacecraft Cygnus. Furthermore, the final sequence in which the heroes travel through the titular black hole left me totally bewildered. Having recently re-watched the film as an adult, I found it rather more comprehensible and in some aspects quite interesting, but the thing I just couldn't come to terms with was the fact that a film made with children in mind could allow itself to get bogged down in so much complex talk, and could end with such a metaphysical final sequence.
The space shuttle Palomino is travelling through space when its crew unintentionally stumble across along-lost spaceship called the Cygnus. Stranger still is the fact that the Cygnus seems to be "parked" on the edge of a huge black hole, yet is somehow resisting its tremendous gravitational pull. The Palomino's crew - Captain Dan Holland (Robert Forster), Lt. Charlie Pizer (Joseph Bottoms), Dr. Kate McRae (Yvette Mimieux), Dr. Alex Durant (Anthony Perkins) and Harry Booth (Ernest Borgnine), plus their droid Vincent (voiced by Roddy McDowall) - board the Cygnus to investigate. Dr. McRae in particular is keen to get to the bottom of its mystery, as her father was one of the Cygnus's crew when it was last heard from 20 years previously. Once aboard, they find that the whole spaceship is under the command of Dr. Hans Reinhardt (Maximilian Schell), an eccentric genius who claims that most of his crew left the Cygnus to respond to an order to return to earth. He says that he is the only surviving member of those who chose to remain. Dr. Reinhardt's plan seems to be to take the Cygnus into the black hole and to become the first man ever to learn what lies beyond....
There are some dependable names in the cast, and they give enjoyable if undemanding performances on the whole. The special effects are generally quite impressive. John Barry provides a really memorable score which sounds similar to some of his work for the James Bond films. Where The Black Hole comes undone is in its very time-consuming and complicated talky scenes - in particular, a heck of a lot of time seems to be taken with Schell imparting his philosophies to his unexpected guests. Also, the final sequence reveals that black holes are gateways to heaven and hell. While this is an intriguing idea, it is very "deep" and metaphysical for kids to get to grips with.... and the sequence is rather clumsily put together anyway, so that it seems more muddled than clever. Adults will enjoy the film more than their kids, but whatever your age you're likely to find that the film just doesn't quite fulfil its potential.
The space shuttle Palomino is travelling through space when its crew unintentionally stumble across along-lost spaceship called the Cygnus. Stranger still is the fact that the Cygnus seems to be "parked" on the edge of a huge black hole, yet is somehow resisting its tremendous gravitational pull. The Palomino's crew - Captain Dan Holland (Robert Forster), Lt. Charlie Pizer (Joseph Bottoms), Dr. Kate McRae (Yvette Mimieux), Dr. Alex Durant (Anthony Perkins) and Harry Booth (Ernest Borgnine), plus their droid Vincent (voiced by Roddy McDowall) - board the Cygnus to investigate. Dr. McRae in particular is keen to get to the bottom of its mystery, as her father was one of the Cygnus's crew when it was last heard from 20 years previously. Once aboard, they find that the whole spaceship is under the command of Dr. Hans Reinhardt (Maximilian Schell), an eccentric genius who claims that most of his crew left the Cygnus to respond to an order to return to earth. He says that he is the only surviving member of those who chose to remain. Dr. Reinhardt's plan seems to be to take the Cygnus into the black hole and to become the first man ever to learn what lies beyond....
There are some dependable names in the cast, and they give enjoyable if undemanding performances on the whole. The special effects are generally quite impressive. John Barry provides a really memorable score which sounds similar to some of his work for the James Bond films. Where The Black Hole comes undone is in its very time-consuming and complicated talky scenes - in particular, a heck of a lot of time seems to be taken with Schell imparting his philosophies to his unexpected guests. Also, the final sequence reveals that black holes are gateways to heaven and hell. While this is an intriguing idea, it is very "deep" and metaphysical for kids to get to grips with.... and the sequence is rather clumsily put together anyway, so that it seems more muddled than clever. Adults will enjoy the film more than their kids, but whatever your age you're likely to find that the film just doesn't quite fulfil its potential.