For those who don't pay for Disney plus, or have it on DVD. the cult Disney film, The Black Hole is being shown on free-to-air Talking Pictures TV, here in the UK.
TPTV have announced it will be broadcast at 4.05 pm on 1st April and Saturday 13th April at 1.05 pm.
Hey, there's my screensaver!
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed, Arto.;D
DeleteI remember seeing this on TV but it would've been in the early '90s when we got back Stateside. I wasn't crazy about it because it was a much darker side to Disney that I didn't grow up with!
ReplyDeleteIt was intended to have a darker look that the usual Disney fare , Ed . I imagine a few parents taking their kiddies to see the cute robots might have been a bit dismayed to see Durant gurgle his last as Maximilian finished him off!
DeleteYa know, to this day I'll take Mary Poppins or The Sword in The Stone over Tron or The Black Hole any day. I'm old school Disney what can I say?
DeleteNothing wrong with that, Ed :)
DeleteI've always had a love/hate relationship with TBH. Inside that shambling mess, there is a decent story trying to get out. That one moment where Reinhardt whispers "Save me from Maximillian..." hints at a much more interesting story.
ReplyDeletePeter Elleshaw's Production design has a weird Techno-Gothic vibe that almost works, but the garish colour pallet is fighting it every inch of the way.
And now that we know what a black hole actually looks like, a blue whirlpool in space no longer convinces.
There has been talk about a "Battlestar Galactica Reboot" but going grimdark for it's own sake is not enough. You have to care about characters to make peril effective. Captain Holland and his crew were always 100% cardboard. The real story was always WHY Reinhardt descended into madness. A Sci Fi Macbeth would work just as well as a Sci Fi Tempest..
There's a new Youtube video
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMhc1CE-1fs
That claims the "Save me from Maximillian" was an ad lib.
It's a weird story and I agree with you.
And according to the vid, it sounds like the Director just ad libbed the weird ending. The script read "They go through the black hole."
All the Dante's inferno stuff was just made up. He just kept filming and hoping that something would make sense.
Dan Monroe, the man who presents the video does a pretty fair review. He obviously likes the film, but keeps the review balanced and, while he's generally positive about the movie, it's not hard to find some negative aspects.
DeletePersonally, I don't have a problem with the ad-libs of Durant holding up Reinhardt's journal in a vain attempt to protect himself, or the 'save me from Maximilian' line, which was apparently suggested by Maximilian Schell, himself.
The ending , which hadn't been written when filming began, will , as I've said before, be always open to interpretation
Thanks for your comment, Lewis.
ReplyDeleteAs I'm sure you're aware, like a lot of films, The Black Hole had a chequered history. The script went through endless re-writes, starting out as a 'towering inferno in space' movie, with hardly a mention of the Black Hole. However, Disney ended up attempting a move towards a more adult market. A bold move that, unfortunately led to audience confusion expecting a family friendly film, and possibly a factor that contributed to it only making a profit of $15 million dollars over it's $20 million dollar budget at the time.
Personally, I loved Peter Ellenshaw's production designs, and it's creepy gothic feel, although I can understand how some might struggle with the cathedral-like look of the Cygnus.
I don't have a problem with the depiction of the Black Hole, in the same way I don't care that Kubrick didn't get the the look of Earth in space right in 2001. It's a cleverly done, and remarkably simple practical effect.
People have endlessly debated about the quality of the script, the characters and the ending being subjective and abstract, and it's all certainly welcomed.
Personally, I've always liked the Artistic Look of the movie, and ignored the story.
DeleteKinda like Lost in Space. Enjoy it for what it is, and ignore what it isn't.
That's fair, Scott.
DeleteI forgot how gorgeous your MPC Cygnus model turned out - wow! SFZ
ReplyDeleteThanks Zigg. It has pride of place on my sideboard. : )
DeleteGreat modelling and shots Scoop.
ReplyDeleteDreadful movie !
Cheers Mish. You having a special effects background have you an opinion on the (for the time) ground-breaking special effects, in the film?
DeleteI watched BH last year with my grandson Scoop, and alas I fell asleep three quarters in, only to to be woken up by Junior crying and shouting Turn it Off Grandad, Turn it Off! at the moment Dr. Reinhardt is floating through space, a desiccated corpse in a suit! I should have stayed awake!
ReplyDeleteIt was Disney's first PG film, so not really something for the very young, Woodsy.
DeleteNot sure the Special Effects were all that 'ground breaking' for the time Scoop.
ReplyDeleteMatte paintings, miniatures, blue screen work, compositing, superimpositon, animation, motion control. All fairly well established at the time.
Alien and Star Trek : The Motion Picture were contemporaries, and their effects were arguably far better (Alien winning the Oskar that year).
That's fair, Mish.
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