The Black Hole
Encyclopedia
The Black Hole is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson
for Walt Disney Productions
. The film stars Maximilian Schell
, Robert Forster
, Joseph Bottoms
, Yvette Mimieux
, Anthony Perkins
, and Ernest Borgnine
, while the voices of the main robot characters are provided by Roddy McDowall
and Slim Pickens
(both unbilled). The music for the movie was composed by John Barry
. Alan Dean Foster
novelized the screenplay.
-sensitive scientist Dr. Kate McCrae; the expedition's civilian leader, Dr. Alex Durant; and the robot
V.I.N.CENT ("Vital Information Necessary CENTralized").
On its journey, the crew is alerted to the existence of a nearby black hole
and find a derelict ship somehow defying the gravitational pull of the black hole. The ship is identified as the long-lost USS Cygnus...a ship McCrae's father, Ensign Frank McCrae, served aboard when it was reported missing. Deciding to investigate, the Palomino encounters a mysterious null gravity field surrounding the Cygnus, but their ship is damaged when it drifts away from the Cygnus into the intense gravity field of the black hole. The Palomino manages to make it to the Cygnus, which suddenly comes to life and allows the Palomino to dock.
The Palomino crew encounters the Cygnus's Commander, Doctor Hans Reinhardt, a prominent scientist, and his robot crew, including the hulking Maximilian and a number of humanoid, faceless robots. When asked about Kate's father, Reinhardt explains that the ship had encountered a field of meteoroids and was disabled. He ordered the crew to return to Earth, yet his First Officer - Ensign McCrae - chose to remain aboard with Reinhardt, but he has since died. Reinhardt reveals that he is working on a project to fly the Cygnus into the black hole and explore beyond. Most of the crew react with incredulity and skepticism upon this announcement; only Durant believes it is possible and asks if he can accompany Reinhardt on the planned trip.
The other Palomino crew grow suspicious of the faceless drones' human-like behavior - Booth sees a robot limping, and Holland witnesses what appears to be a funeral...that is, after discovering the Cygnus crew's personal items - even their uniforms - in the ship's living quarters. Old B.O.B. (BiO-sanitation Battalion), a battered robot similar to V.I.N.CENT, explains that the faceless drones are in fact the crew, who mutinied when Reinhardt refused to return to Earth, and have since been lobotomized and "reprogrammed" to serve him. He also explains that McCrae's father led the mutiny and was killed. V.I.N.CENT tells Kate (via telepathy) the truth about what happened. When Kate tells Durant, he removes the reflective face plate of a robot, revealing the face of a crew member. Durant tries to flee the bridge with Kate, but Maximilian kills him. Reinhardt takes Kate prisoner, ordering for her to be taken to the hospital to be lobotomized.
Just after the process begins, Holland finds and rescues her in time. Meanwhile, Booth, fearing the situation is escalating into dangerous territory, panics and attempts to escape alone in the Palomino. Being only a reporter, Booth is unskilled at the controls and the Palomino is shortly out of control. Reinhardt attempts to shoot down the Palomino, but the ship crashes into the Cygnus and destroys the port-side anti-gravity force field generator. The Cygnus is further crippled by a meteor storm and the ensuing structural failure, which eventually destroys the starboard side anti-gravity force field generator. Without the null-gravity bubble, the black hole's gravity begins to tear the Cygnus apart.
Reinhardt and the Palomino survivors separately plan to make their escape aboard a small probe ship used to study the black hole. Reinhardt orders Maximilian to prepare the probe ship, but before he can escape, he is pinned by a falling giant monitor screen...and is unable to get help from his lobotomized crew. Maximilian confronts Holland and the others and shoots Old B.O.B., damaging him beyond repair, but is himself damaged beyond repair by V.I.N.CENT and drifts out of the ship. Holland, Pizer, McCrae, and V.I.N.CENT escape the Cygnus in the probe ship, but they discover the controls unresponsive, as it has been programmed to fulfill Reinhardt's objective: a flight through the black hole. The probe makes a long arc and then plunges down into the black hole, crossing the event horizon.
In a long, dialogue-free final sequence, the travelers reach the bottom of the black hole and appear, through Kate's ESP vision, to enter Hell
and then Heaven
. Reinhardt and Maximilian embrace in space, and then appear merged as one on a high rock overlooking a barren, burning Hell-like landscape populated by robed figures resembling the drones of the Cygnus. The next shot is of a floating figure with flowing long hair similar to Kate, seen from behind passing through a cathedral-like crystal tunnel. The probe then arrives outside of the black hole in front of a star and planet. The last shot shows the probe flying toward it.
had popularized the use of computerized motion control
miniature effects, The Black Hole was shot using a blend of traditional camera techniques and newly developed computer controlled camera technology. Disney had wanted to rent equipment from Industrial Light and Magic
but when the price was too high and the timing of getting the equipment didn't match Disney's production schedule, they had their engineering department build their own equipment, resulting in the development of Disney's A.C.E.S. (Automated Camera Effects System), as well as the Mattescan system, which for the first time allowed the camera to move over a matte painting, and a computer-controlled modeling stand. At the time of its release, the movie's opening credits sequence featured the longest computer graphics shot that had ever appeared in a film. The film also had the world's first digitally recorded soundtrack.
The Black Hole was also notable for being the first Disney film not to have a universal rating, due to mild language (being the first Disney film to include profanity of any type) and scenes of human death never seen in a Disney production before (e.g., a character is eviscerated
, albeit bloodlessly). This was Disney's first PG
-rated production, and its second overall release with that rating (the first was the sports drama Take Down, an outside production Disney distributed in early 1979). The version of the film televised on The Disney Channel
has been edited for language, with all uses of the words "damn" and "hell
" removed. Along with frequent subtexts, there were also metaphysical and religious themes expressed through the film. This film led the company towards experimenting with more adult-oriented films, which would eventually lead to the creation of its Touchstone Pictures
and Hollywood Pictures
arms to handle films considered too mature in nature to carry the Walt Disney label
.
, Time Magazine and Variety
all praised the film. The special effects were generally acclaimed by the press. The film received two Academy Award nominations: One for Best Visual Effects and one for Best Cinematography.
's novelization of the film, as the probe ship crosses the event horizon, all matter ceases to exist. Kate's ESP links the minds of the Palomino's crew and allows them to survive (in a fashion) while the atoms of their bodies diffuse and are scattered throughout the Universe. (In one version of the book, the events depicted in the film start on Christmas Eve).
One comic book adaptation of the film (Whitman comics, published in 1980) bypasses the whole issue of what happens inside the black hole by having the crew enter the black hole on one page and emerge apparently unharmed on the next page into a parallel universe where they encounter alternate versions of Reinhardt, Old B.O.B. and Maximilian. Four issues were published. The first two issues adapted the film and the second two issues continued the story introducing a race of people called Virlights. The rare fourth issue concludes with the promise of a fifth issue which was planned but never published. Other comic adaptations released in Europe
have the crew emerging into another galaxy, thus confirming Reinhardt's theories. While wondering if they will ever return to Earth, they decide to explore this new universe.
In the official Disney Read-Along recording and illustrated story book, the crew in the probe ship emerge safely on the other side of the black hole, while the Cygnus is "crushed like an eggshell". The story ends with Captain Holland saying "We've been trained to find new worlds. Let's go find one for ourselves!" In this version, the characters of Booth and Durant are actually absent from the story, likely censored to avoid the explanation of the characters' deaths.
Jack Kirby
adapted the film for the comic strip Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales
.
, were released on an LP by Disneyland Records
in 1979. It was the first-ever digitally recorded score for a film. Until August 2011, the soundtrack had never been released on CD, though a remastered edition of the LP version is available from iTunes
.
Track Listing:
Silva Screen Records have released compilation albums remastering some of John Barry's works, which includes some of the music from The Black Hole. Only one track is available and it apparently is "The Overture".
Along with Star Trek: The Motion Picture
, this was one of the last few mainstream Hollywood productions to have an overture
- although most broadcast-syndication prints of the film would later omit it. The overture is included during some broadcasts on Turner Classic Movies
and was also included on the DVD release.
On August 23, 2011, Intrada Records
(as part of its licensing agreement with Walt Disney Records
) released the complete score, marking the first time the soundtrack has been issued on CD.
Track Listing:
01. Overture (2:28)
02. Main Title (1:49)
03. That’s It (1:43)*
04. Closer Look (2:02)**
05. Zero Gravity (5:48)
06. Cygnus Floating (2:06)*
07. The Door Opens (4:09)**
08. Pretty Busy (:48)*
09. Six Robots (1:57)
10. Can You Speak? (1:19)*
11. Poor Creatures (1:41)*
12. Ready to Embark (:44)*
13. Start the Countdown (3:47)
14. Durant Is Dead (2:31)
15. Laser (1:01)*
16. Kate’s O.K. (2:49)
17. Hot and Heavy (2:43)*
18. Meteorites (1:31)*
19. Raging Inferno (:54)*
20. Hotter and Heavier (1:59)*
21. Bob and V.I.N.C.E.N.T. (:54)*
22. Into the Hole (4:56)**
23. End Title (2:34)
BONUS TRACK;
24. In, Through... And Beyond! (2:46)
* Previously unreleased
** Includes additional material not used in the film
and producer Sean Bailey are attached to the production.
The Disney film Tron: Legacy (which had the same director and producer as this proposed remake) contains some references to this movie, possibly hinting at the remake. These include a poster for The Black Hole that can be seen in the bedroom of Sam Flynn in 1989 and an action figure of Old B.O.B. that can be seen next to the Tron action figures on his shelf.
Gary Nelson (director)
Gary Nelson is an American television and film director. He has directed many well-know television series, including Gunsmoke, The Patty Duke Show, Gilligan's Island and Happy Days among dozens of others...
for Walt Disney Productions
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
. The film stars Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961...
, Robert Forster
Robert Forster
Robert Forster is an American actor, best known for his roles as John Cassellis in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, and as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, the latter of which gained him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.- Early life :Forster was born Robert Wallace...
, Joseph Bottoms
Joseph Bottoms
Joseph Bottoms is an American actor who won the 1975 Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actor for his role in The Dove...
, Yvette Mimieux
Yvette Mimieux
Yvette Carmen Mimieux is a retired American movie and television actress.-Early life and career:Yvette Mimieux was born in Los Angeles, California, to a French father and Mexican mother, Carmen Montemayor...
, Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins was an American actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Friendly Persuasion and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , and its three sequels.-Early life:...
, and Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
, while the voices of the main robot characters are provided by Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
and Slim Pickens
Slim Pickens
Louis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
(both unbilled). The music for the movie was composed by John Barry
John Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
. Alan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...
novelized the screenplay.
Plot
In the year 2130, an exploratory spaceship, the USS Palomino, is returning from a deep space exploration mission. The crew consists of: the Palomino's Captain, Dan Holland; his First Officer, Lieutenant Charlie Pizer; journalist Harry Booth; ESPExtra-sensory perception
Extrasensory perception involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by Frederic Myers, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and...
-sensitive scientist Dr. Kate McCrae; the expedition's civilian leader, Dr. Alex Durant; and the robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
V.I.N.CENT ("Vital Information Necessary CENTralized").
On its journey, the crew is alerted to the existence of a nearby black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
and find a derelict ship somehow defying the gravitational pull of the black hole. The ship is identified as the long-lost USS Cygnus...a ship McCrae's father, Ensign Frank McCrae, served aboard when it was reported missing. Deciding to investigate, the Palomino encounters a mysterious null gravity field surrounding the Cygnus, but their ship is damaged when it drifts away from the Cygnus into the intense gravity field of the black hole. The Palomino manages to make it to the Cygnus, which suddenly comes to life and allows the Palomino to dock.
The Palomino crew encounters the Cygnus's Commander, Doctor Hans Reinhardt, a prominent scientist, and his robot crew, including the hulking Maximilian and a number of humanoid, faceless robots. When asked about Kate's father, Reinhardt explains that the ship had encountered a field of meteoroids and was disabled. He ordered the crew to return to Earth, yet his First Officer - Ensign McCrae - chose to remain aboard with Reinhardt, but he has since died. Reinhardt reveals that he is working on a project to fly the Cygnus into the black hole and explore beyond. Most of the crew react with incredulity and skepticism upon this announcement; only Durant believes it is possible and asks if he can accompany Reinhardt on the planned trip.
The other Palomino crew grow suspicious of the faceless drones' human-like behavior - Booth sees a robot limping, and Holland witnesses what appears to be a funeral...that is, after discovering the Cygnus crew's personal items - even their uniforms - in the ship's living quarters. Old B.O.B. (BiO-sanitation Battalion), a battered robot similar to V.I.N.CENT, explains that the faceless drones are in fact the crew, who mutinied when Reinhardt refused to return to Earth, and have since been lobotomized and "reprogrammed" to serve him. He also explains that McCrae's father led the mutiny and was killed. V.I.N.CENT tells Kate (via telepathy) the truth about what happened. When Kate tells Durant, he removes the reflective face plate of a robot, revealing the face of a crew member. Durant tries to flee the bridge with Kate, but Maximilian kills him. Reinhardt takes Kate prisoner, ordering for her to be taken to the hospital to be lobotomized.
Just after the process begins, Holland finds and rescues her in time. Meanwhile, Booth, fearing the situation is escalating into dangerous territory, panics and attempts to escape alone in the Palomino. Being only a reporter, Booth is unskilled at the controls and the Palomino is shortly out of control. Reinhardt attempts to shoot down the Palomino, but the ship crashes into the Cygnus and destroys the port-side anti-gravity force field generator. The Cygnus is further crippled by a meteor storm and the ensuing structural failure, which eventually destroys the starboard side anti-gravity force field generator. Without the null-gravity bubble, the black hole's gravity begins to tear the Cygnus apart.
Reinhardt and the Palomino survivors separately plan to make their escape aboard a small probe ship used to study the black hole. Reinhardt orders Maximilian to prepare the probe ship, but before he can escape, he is pinned by a falling giant monitor screen...and is unable to get help from his lobotomized crew. Maximilian confronts Holland and the others and shoots Old B.O.B., damaging him beyond repair, but is himself damaged beyond repair by V.I.N.CENT and drifts out of the ship. Holland, Pizer, McCrae, and V.I.N.CENT escape the Cygnus in the probe ship, but they discover the controls unresponsive, as it has been programmed to fulfill Reinhardt's objective: a flight through the black hole. The probe makes a long arc and then plunges down into the black hole, crossing the event horizon.
In a long, dialogue-free final sequence, the travelers reach the bottom of the black hole and appear, through Kate's ESP vision, to enter Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
and then Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. Reinhardt and Maximilian embrace in space, and then appear merged as one on a high rock overlooking a barren, burning Hell-like landscape populated by robed figures resembling the drones of the Cygnus. The next shot is of a floating figure with flowing long hair similar to Kate, seen from behind passing through a cathedral-like crystal tunnel. The probe then arrives outside of the black hole in front of a star and planet. The last shot shows the probe flying toward it.
Cast
- Maximilian SchellMaximilian SchellMaximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961...
as Dr. Hans Reinhardt - Anthony PerkinsAnthony PerkinsAnthony Perkins was an American actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Friendly Persuasion and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , and its three sequels.-Early life:...
as Dr. Alex Durant - Robert ForsterRobert ForsterRobert Forster is an American actor, best known for his roles as John Cassellis in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, and as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, the latter of which gained him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.- Early life :Forster was born Robert Wallace...
as Captain Dan Holland - Joseph BottomsJoseph BottomsJoseph Bottoms is an American actor who won the 1975 Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actor for his role in The Dove...
as Lieutenant Charlie Pizer - Yvette MimieuxYvette MimieuxYvette Carmen Mimieux is a retired American movie and television actress.-Early life and career:Yvette Mimieux was born in Los Angeles, California, to a French father and Mexican mother, Carmen Montemayor...
as Dr. Kate McCrae - Ernest BorgnineErnest BorgnineErnest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
as Harry Booth - Tom McLoughlinTom McLoughlinTom McLoughlin is an American screenwriter, film/television director and former mime whose credits include numerous television movies, such as Murder in Greenwich, the feature film Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and the 2009 Lifetime Movie Network film The Wronged Man.In 1977 McLoughlin was...
as Captain S.T.A.R. ("Special Troops/Arms Regiment"). - Roddy McDowallRoddy McDowallRoderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
as Voice of V.I.N.CENT (uncredited) - Slim PickensSlim PickensLouis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
as Voice of Old B.O.B. (uncredited)
Production
Although Star WarsStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
had popularized the use of computerized motion control
Motion control photography
Motion control photography is a technique used in still and motion photography that enables precise control of, and optionally also allows repetition of, camera movements. It can be used to facilitate special effects photography. The process can involve filming several elements using the same...
miniature effects, The Black Hole was shot using a blend of traditional camera techniques and newly developed computer controlled camera technology. Disney had wanted to rent equipment from Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light & Magic is an Academy Award-winning motion picture visual effects company that was founded in May 1975 by George Lucas and is owned by Lucasfilm. Lucas created the company when he discovered that the special effects department at 20th Century Fox was shut down after he was given...
but when the price was too high and the timing of getting the equipment didn't match Disney's production schedule, they had their engineering department build their own equipment, resulting in the development of Disney's A.C.E.S. (Automated Camera Effects System), as well as the Mattescan system, which for the first time allowed the camera to move over a matte painting, and a computer-controlled modeling stand. At the time of its release, the movie's opening credits sequence featured the longest computer graphics shot that had ever appeared in a film. The film also had the world's first digitally recorded soundtrack.
The Black Hole was also notable for being the first Disney film not to have a universal rating, due to mild language (being the first Disney film to include profanity of any type) and scenes of human death never seen in a Disney production before (e.g., a character is eviscerated
Disembowelment
Disembowelment is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract , usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment may result from an accident, but has also been used as a method of torture and execution...
, albeit bloodlessly). This was Disney's first PG
MPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
-rated production, and its second overall release with that rating (the first was the sports drama Take Down, an outside production Disney distributed in early 1979). The version of the film televised on The Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
has been edited for language, with all uses of the words "damn" and "hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
" removed. Along with frequent subtexts, there were also metaphysical and religious themes expressed through the film. This film led the company towards experimenting with more adult-oriented films, which would eventually lead to the creation of its Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...
and Hollywood Pictures
Hollywood Pictures
Hollywood Pictures is one of The Walt Disney Company's several alternate movie divisions. Like Disney's Touchstone Pictures brand, it produces films for a more mature adult audience than Walt Disney Pictures.-History:...
arms to handle films considered too mature in nature to carry the Walt Disney label
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
.
Reception
At $20 million (plus another $6 million for its advertising budget) it was at the time the most expensive picture ever produced by the company. The movie earned $36 million at the North American box office, making it the 13th highest grossing film of its year. It received mixed reviews from critics, though The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Time Magazine and Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
all praised the film. The special effects were generally acclaimed by the press. The film received two Academy Award nominations: One for Best Visual Effects and one for Best Cinematography.
Adaptations
In Alan Dean FosterAlan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...
's novelization of the film, as the probe ship crosses the event horizon, all matter ceases to exist. Kate's ESP links the minds of the Palomino's crew and allows them to survive (in a fashion) while the atoms of their bodies diffuse and are scattered throughout the Universe. (In one version of the book, the events depicted in the film start on Christmas Eve).
One comic book adaptation of the film (Whitman comics, published in 1980) bypasses the whole issue of what happens inside the black hole by having the crew enter the black hole on one page and emerge apparently unharmed on the next page into a parallel universe where they encounter alternate versions of Reinhardt, Old B.O.B. and Maximilian. Four issues were published. The first two issues adapted the film and the second two issues continued the story introducing a race of people called Virlights. The rare fourth issue concludes with the promise of a fifth issue which was planned but never published. Other comic adaptations released in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
have the crew emerging into another galaxy, thus confirming Reinhardt's theories. While wondering if they will ever return to Earth, they decide to explore this new universe.
In the official Disney Read-Along recording and illustrated story book, the crew in the probe ship emerge safely on the other side of the black hole, while the Cygnus is "crushed like an eggshell". The story ends with Captain Holland saying "We've been trained to find new worlds. Let's go find one for ourselves!" In this version, the characters of Booth and Durant are actually absent from the story, likely censored to avoid the explanation of the characters' deaths.
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
adapted the film for the comic strip Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales
Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales
Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales is an American Sunday comic strip, which ran in newspapers from 13 July 1952 until 15 February 1987. Each story adapted a different Disney film, such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, or Davy Crockett. Most stories ran for 13 weeks...
.
US release dates
- December 21, 1979 (original release)
- March 6, 1982
- August 16, 1985
- December 25, 1990 (11th Anniversary edition re-release)
Video release history
- 1980 (VHS & laserdisc)
- May 10, 1981 (VHS (UK only))
- August 3, 1984 (VHS & laserdisc)
- April 20, 1985 (VHS & laserdisc)
- August 22, 1985 (laserdisc (Japanese version))
- 1986 (VHS and laserdisc)
- 1987 (videodisc (Chinese version))
- 1989 (VHS and laserdisc)
- 1990 (VHS and laserdisc (re-release))
- June 18, 1997 (laserdisc)
- May 27, 1999 (VHS & DVD)
- May 7, 2000 (DVD (Japanese version))
- May 17, 2000 (videodisc (Chinese/Japanese version))
- June 8, 2002 (DVD - Anchor Bay)
- August 3, 2004 (DVD - Disney)
Soundtrack
Highlights of the score, as conducted and composed by John BarryJohn Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
, were released on an LP by Disneyland Records
Disneyland Records
Disneyland Records is the original name of the Walt Disney Company's record company.After long associations with primarily RCA Victor Records, with a few select titles on Capitol, Disneyland Records was established by the Disney studio in 1956 with its first release entitled A Child's Garden of...
in 1979. It was the first-ever digitally recorded score for a film. Until August 2011, the soundtrack had never been released on CD, though a remastered edition of the LP version is available from iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
Track Listing:
- Side A:
- "Overture" (2:27)
- "Main Title" (1:46)
- "The Door Opens" (3:38)
- "Zero Gravity" (5:53)
- "Six Robots" (1:59)
- Side B:
- "Durant is Dead" (2:31)
- "Start the Countdown" (3:51)
- "Laser" (2:15)
- "Into the Hole" (5:00)
- "End Title" (2:34)
Silva Screen Records have released compilation albums remastering some of John Barry's works, which includes some of the music from The Black Hole. Only one track is available and it apparently is "The Overture".
Along with Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
, this was one of the last few mainstream Hollywood productions to have an overture
Overture
Overture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...
- although most broadcast-syndication prints of the film would later omit it. The overture is included during some broadcasts on Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
and was also included on the DVD release.
On August 23, 2011, Intrada Records
Intrada Records
Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California...
(as part of its licensing agreement with Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...
) released the complete score, marking the first time the soundtrack has been issued on CD.
Track Listing:
01. Overture (2:28)
02. Main Title (1:49)
03. That’s It (1:43)*
04. Closer Look (2:02)**
05. Zero Gravity (5:48)
06. Cygnus Floating (2:06)*
07. The Door Opens (4:09)**
08. Pretty Busy (:48)*
09. Six Robots (1:57)
10. Can You Speak? (1:19)*
11. Poor Creatures (1:41)*
12. Ready to Embark (:44)*
13. Start the Countdown (3:47)
14. Durant Is Dead (2:31)
15. Laser (1:01)*
16. Kate’s O.K. (2:49)
17. Hot and Heavy (2:43)*
18. Meteorites (1:31)*
19. Raging Inferno (:54)*
20. Hotter and Heavier (1:59)*
21. Bob and V.I.N.C.E.N.T. (:54)*
22. Into the Hole (4:56)**
23. End Title (2:34)
BONUS TRACK;
24. In, Through... And Beyond! (2:46)
Remake
In November 2009, it was reported that Disney has plans to remake the movie. Director Joseph KosinskiJoseph Kosinski
Joseph Kosinski is an American television commercial and feature film director best known for his computer graphics and computer generated imagery work. He made his big-screen directorial debut with the Disney Digital 3-D science fiction film Tron: Legacy, the sequel to the 1982 film Tron...
and producer Sean Bailey are attached to the production.
The Disney film Tron: Legacy (which had the same director and producer as this proposed remake) contains some references to this movie, possibly hinting at the remake. These include a poster for The Black Hole that can be seen in the bedroom of Sam Flynn in 1989 and an action figure of Old B.O.B. that can be seen next to the Tron action figures on his shelf.