Rating: 
Summary: Great special FX, terrible characters
Review: I'm surprised that Disney still claims this enough to release it on DVD ! The Black Hole is the forgotten Disney film, as it should be: it's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea in Space ! Really nice special effects and even a potentially good storyline in it, but that all goes away as soon as someone speaks. The viewer they were aiming for must have been toddlers but they won't like it either. Cheezy wanna-be cute and evil robots, characters, plot, you name it. I'm sure they thought they might sell the robots as toys or something but even that must have failed (don't look for these characters in any Disney stores !). The movie gets better again when everyone shuts up and the destruction begins. Then, one of the strangest film endings ever for Disney or anyone else. Don't get your hopes up: it ends without really telling you what the ending means (ok, it's a stretch but I think the good guys die and go to heaven... now you really have no reason to buy this !). Makes "Tron" look like an epic. Ok, I gave it two stars because someone worked very hard on the good-but-wasted special effects and they deserve a little credit. But the screenwriters for The Black Hole should be lined up and shot, then burned.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh Come On...
Review: Disney needs to start releasing their *animated* features on DVD, not this piece of ... work. This is one of the worst films I've ever seen. Ever. Hands-down One of the Worst Films Ever Made. Special effects are bad and cheesy, writing is similarly cheesy.
Rating: 
Summary: I'VE WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS!
Review: I'VE WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS. AND NOW IT'S TIME FOR ME TO GO OUT AND TAKE THE RESPECT AND PROMISE WHICH I'VE EARNED, WHICH ONE MAN REFUSES TO GIVE TO ME. THEY NEED TO RELEASE THE WONDERFUL SOUNDRACK ON CD ALSO.
Rating: 
Summary: A forgotten, gothic sci fi epic from the 1970s
Review: OK let's get the bad things about the Black Hole out of the way first of all. Some of the dialogue is unbelievably naff. It has an overtly judgemental morality which runs throughout the film from start to finish. Very occasionally the SFX slip, and you see wires holding up robots etc. Some of the scenes are cloying, particularly involving the antics of the overly cute, heroic robots... Also the makers would have done better to remember what effect the vacuum of Space would have on people NOT wearing spacesuits... Put all that aside though and you are left with a minor sci fi masterpiece. Atmospherically the film is an outright winner - it is just so gothic, from its' sets, robots, and cowled and hooded undead crew. It also boasts one of the very best musical scores by John Barry. Visually it is stunning, Space has seldom looked this good. The blue/black background of space with its' dense clusters of stars looks as good as it did on the day that it was released. Unlike Star Wars and its' visibly dated mattes, this film has more than withstood the test of time.
The film's visual pinnacle though is the giant space ship Cygnus.
A cross between Brighton Pier and The Eiffel Tower, this gothic behemoth is like no other. The scene where its' lights are switched on suddenly and unexpectedly, is one of awe and beauty.
The exploration of the ship, culminating in the arrival in the control tower is stunning. Ditto the firing up of the ship's Frankenstein Lab like reactors and huge engines for its' final journey to the Black Hole. Even in its' death throes, this huge vessel retains a sad dignity.
Acting honours go to Maximilian Schell as an intergalactic Captain Nemo. Ernest Borgnine, Anthony Perkins, Yvette Mimeux, and Robert Forster all provide very able support though.
The blood red robot Maximilian (I wonder how that name was arrived at...) is an inspired creation, and has a temperament to match its' colour scheme... The dvd is great, picture and sound are both superb. Playing the film in 5.1 Dolby Digital on your home cinema is something else, especially when your memory of the film in the cinema is in mono. All sound channels are free of distortion and nicely separated. Both Surround channels in particular are superb.
Get this dvd if you can (it is due to be re released anyway) and add one of sci fi's most underrated films to your collection.
Rating: 
Summary: A worthy stab at greatness but not a "classic" by any means!
Review: Trying to duplicate the success of the studio's landmark "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", Disney embarked on a journey to the stars in search of an enigmatic black hole. Great state-of-the-art special effects are the main attraction while good actors are burdened with some rather stilted dialogue and a, forgive the pun, "hole-ridden" plot. It's a shame that Schell, Borgnine, and Perkins have to suffer through such jargon, but they, along with the other cast members, manage to survive. And Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens provide voices to what may be two of the worst excuses for robots ever put to film. John Barry's score has its moments of granduer, especially the opening theme, but the battle scenes music is almost laughable as a try at the John Williams's "Star Wars" arena. Barry has done much better. The ending is highly unsatisfactory, confusingly blending the scientific and the religious. Like others have said, this strange attempt at trekking into "2001" territory fails. Still, the film is for fans of the genre, of which I AM one, and I can recommend it solely on that note.
Rating:
Summary: V.I.N.CENT and a Starry Night
Review: I like the premise of this film, some of the vast gothic settings, the mad scientist plot device, and the idea that black holes are passageways to heaven and hell is quite amusing. But I rate this film low for several reasons. (1) I cannot forgive the fact that in virtually every scene where a human is floating about in zero gravity, or where a robot is cruising through the air, the black piano wires supporting him/her/it are totally visible. This film was made in 1979. More than ten years earlier (1968), 2001: A Space Odyssey had multiple scenes of weightlessness that were visually flawless and totally convincing. (2) Although some of the special effects are creatively rendered, many are extremely dated, even for that era. (3) The acting is not just wooden, it's petrified. (4) The dialogue is laughable. (5)The science is absurd. (6) The blood-red Maximilian robot always seems nothing more than a dangling shell with a red light inside. (7) V.I.N.CENT and B.O.B. are way too cutesy. Overall, the negatives far outweigh the positives.
Rating:
Summary: amusing dark star
Review: a classic sci-fi flick that offers subtle, yet powerful techniques that enthrall the viewer. From the menacing nature of the ship and its inhabitants to the beauty of one of the co-stars and her psychic relationship to her robotic peer, there is much to love here. Several notable actors, including Tony Perkins, appear in this highly entertaining film.
This marks what I consider to be one of the first times that Disney became adventurous and willing to take on darker and more chilling themes than before. The movie is challenging and mysterious and explores some of the more fascinating themes of human to robot interaction that speaks of what is to come.
Rating:
Summary: Why I love The Black Hole
Review: The DVD is much cleaner and clearer than my VHS copy. I think Disney could have put together a better DVD package. I was hoping for a few more documentaries, even a commentary track. But given that it's not that popular of a movie, or even a critically acclaimed one, I doubted that would happen. The documentary provided on the disc gave me a respect for the processes and technological breakthroughs (of the time)for the Black Hole.
As for the film itself...There are some films out there that no matter how "stiff" or "bad" the acting, how "horrible" the plot, how "cheesy" the dialog, how un-scientific certain elements of the film may be (even though the film is labeled Science Fiction...emphasis on Fiction) you will genuinely enjoy and grow to have a real fondness for, despite it's perceived flaws.
The Black Hole in my opinion is one of these films. The Black Hole carried me with its concept. I liked every character(okay, B.O.B got on my nerves sometime)in the movie. I like Dr. Durant's search for scientific truth and his growing admiration for the superior genius of Dr Reinhardt, I also liked the psychic connection between Kate and V.I.N.CENT. (though unexplained in the film how a human can have a psychic link with a robot...yet it's an interesting concept.)
Anyway if you're looking for an enjoyable movie that may (it probably will) leave you with questions and commentary on acting, plot, dialog, and questionable science...Then this Disney classic is tailor made for you.
Note: John Barry's fantacular score for The Black Hole greatly enhances your listening and viewing pleasure. I also enjoyed the spiritual/biblical connotations within the film.
enommaz
Rating:
Summary: Not Closed Captioned nor Subtitled in English
Review: All reviews I've read are on-spot here of this old Disney flick -- I enjoyed it as a kid and was happy to get it on DVD. Agreed, it's lacking in a lot of respects -- but for some, even more so: there is no English subtitle option (only French) and the disc is not Closed Captioned. Bypass this if you (or someone you watch movies with) is hearing impaired.
Rating:
Summary: Disney Does Star Wars
Review: How's this for a blasphemous statement: I enjoy the post-Star Wars ripoffs much more than Star Wars. This could be coz I always favor the low budget underdogs to the big budget FX extravaganzas. Or maybe it's just coz I have a loathing for George Lucas, the Gene Simmons of sci-fi. Maybe I like robots played by human actors in plastic costumes or those cool looking trash can robots that dominated 70s sci-fi. Either way you cut it, I like the Black Hole. But make no mistake about it, The Black Hole is anything but low budget-it's actually groundbreaking in terms of visual effects. The thing is, The Black Hole plays out like a cheesy 50s sci-fi flick regardless of the budget. Plus, this film gives us Robert Forster, Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine and Roddy McDowell. McDowell provides the voice of a cute trash can robot(no corporation would EVER make a robot this silly looking) who's actually quite a little [...] kicker. Perkins is still slightly in Norman Bates mode as a traitor scientist. Borgnine is a whiny schmuck. Forster does his usual wooden, badazz performance as the hero. He has a tendency to compliment any crew member who takes out an evil robot with comments like, "Good shot" and "Way to go, Bob". Here's my quick rundown: Forster and crew discover a spaceship missing for 20 years. It's resting comfortably on the edge of the biggest black hole in the universe. Once aboard, they meet Maximillian Schell who's a wacky scientist hell bent on taking his shape into the black hole, through and beyond! He's slaughtered his crew and made them all robots(a process that consists of wrapping the head in tinfoil and electrocuting the person), and is guarded at all times by a creepy looking robot named Maximillian. Perkins wants to join Schell, but Forster ain't having it, so the battle begins. Forster'll be damned before he's used as a guinea pig(though he becomes one anyway). Lots of laser shootouts with the evil robots(complete with trademark laser shooting sound) and running around. Not quite on the epic level of something like Star Wars or 2001. I think alot of people hate this coz they compare it to Star Wars and expect alot from Disney. I think the movie's pretty darn fun to watch myself. Sci-fi movies from this time period are just a blast. I'd suggest that instead of watching this with Star Wars type expectations, it's more realistic to watch it with Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers type expectations. It may have a larger budget than those two films, but the feel is the same. Dig it.
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