How bout a Blu for The Black Hole (1979) (1 Viewer)

[mattCR]

I always root for a reboot of this. The ending was a mess, but the evil doctor in this was a damn terrifying character, and the revelation of what happened to the crew and the funeral scene were some damn creepy scifi

 

[MatthewA]

They've been trying to get a remake off the ground for a couple years now. I don't know whether they've set a date yet.

 

[Jason_V]

There was a lengthy printed interview with the director that came with the deluxe boxed VHS tin Anchor Bay released in the late 90's. If I can find my copy, I'll see if he said anything specific. I do recall an alternate ending was mentioned.




This set is missing the lobby cards.

I'm going to have to watch that when I get home tonight. Just to see what's included in the box.

 

[Kyrsten Brad]

I'm going to have to watch that when I get home tonight. Just to see what's included in the box.

I'm tempted to order the DVD just to have something until they do release a Blu.

 

[Charles Smith]

Was there any difference between the DVD that Anchor Bay issued, and the Disney one available now?

 

[Worth]

The old one was non-anamorphic, the Disney is 16:9 and a different transfer.

 

[SilverWook]

It was also a flipper with a pan and scan side. Anchor Bay had to recall and repress their disc, as the initial release was inexplicably missing one audio channel in the 5.1 mix.

I like the Anchor Bay cover better, as it used one of the poster designs. Dinsey's is another photoshop quickie that inexplicably puts the Cygnus in orbit around Earth!

 

[DavidJ]

Hey, Disney, I'd buy this on Blu-ray the moment it's released.

I always root for a reboot of this. The ending was a mess, but the evil doctor in this was a damn terrifying character, and the revelation of what happened to the crew and the funeral scene were some damn creepy scifi

I'd be interested in a reboot too. I think you could make a really good movie out of the material.

 

[FoxyMulder]

I'd be interested in a reboot too. I think you could make a really good movie out of the material.

The same is true of many films, you could make interesting films out of the material from movies like Total Recall, RoboCop, Conan The Barbarian etc etc etc, unfortunately they end up not making interesting films, most of the time, and they would probably take the dark bits out of any Black Hole remake, turn it into a generic sci-fi action film with a bland bad guy but excellent special effects, the music score would also likely be poorer and generic, nahhhh forget about a reboot, just give us the original on blu ray.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

When talking about remakes, this is one where it could be justified, so long as Disney doesn't go cute. The original had serious pacing problems, though I didn't have a serious problem with the WTF ending, given what had gone on before. A remake could give greater depth to themes glossed over in the original and improve the characterizations.

 

[Persianimmortal]

Reboots/remakes/rehashes are usually done just to cash in on an established brand name. That's the entire attraction for producers - a guaranteed audience from existing fans of the original. As Nancy Allen recently said about the Robocop remake: "I don't think you remake iconic films....there's such a lack of imagination anymore in Hollywood."

I'm far more interested in original new stories from Hollywood than them taking movies I like and bastardizing them to make a quick dollar. As Foxy says, just give us the original The Black Hole on Blu. It's not a perfect film, but it does a good enough job with the material, and I certainly don't want it "re-imagined" with a modern storyline or modern, soulless, CGI effects.

 

[Malcolm Bmoor]

It's strangely typical of this forum that most people like most films and don't acknowledge those that earned the reputation of being total stinkers in their day. I saw THE BLACK HOLE under ideal conditions in 70mm at The Odeon Leicester Square and, being a long time ago, can only remember it as being, dramatically speaking, a dull non-event.

Of course the technical aspect was well handled by top professionals but doesn't plot & dialogue have any relevance? This is, of course, merely my opinion and I appear to be outnumbered by those who admire the picture.

Maybe you'll trust my reccomendation that there are many many more deserving films that you haven't seen and moderate research will reveal them.

 

[FoxyMulder]

It's strangely typical of this forum that most people like most films and don't acknowledge those that earned the reputation of being total stinkers in their day. I saw THE BLACK HOLE under ideal conditions in 70mm at The Odeon Leicester Square and, being a long time ago, can only remember it as being, dramatically speaking, a dull non-event.

Of course the technical aspect was well handled by top professionals but doesn't plot & dialogue have any relevance? This is, of course, merely my opinion and I appear to be outnumbered by those who admire the picture.

Maybe you'll trust my reccomendation that there are many many more deserving films that you haven't seen and moderate research will reveal them.

I have seen a lot of films over the years, many bad films, in the case of this one it isn't perfect but it's not bad, it has atmosphere and a great music score and in my book that goes a long way to making it worthwhile, opinions on what are good and bad can be debated all day long, no one would force you to purchase this movie if it came out on blu ray, as for plot and dialogue, compared to some of the films made today it has more than enough of both. I enjoyed The Black Hole but then i never listen to reviews.

The more deserving films you speak of, well i would argue for releasing them all on blu ray, including The Black Hole, i have never subscribed to the theory that it has to be one or the other, give us them all and keep everyone happy.

 

[TravisR]

As Nancy Allen recently said about the Robocop remake: "I don't think you remake iconic films....there's such a lack of imagination anymore in Hollywood."

I think Nancy needs to blame the audience even more than Hollywood. Movies based on existing properties (whether it's a sequel, prequel, reboot or adaptation of a comic book, toy line or tween book series) are the movies that make the most money. Hollywood is just giving the people what they want. Unfortunately, what they want is familiarity.

 

[Douglas R]

It's strangely typical of this forum that most people like most films and don't acknowledge those that earned the reputation of being total stinkers in their day. I saw THE BLACK HOLE under ideal conditions in 70mm at The Odeon Leicester Square and, being a long time ago, can only remember it as being, dramatically speaking, a dull non-event.

Of course the technical aspect was well handled by top professionals but doesn't plot & dialogue have any relevance? This is, of course, merely my opinion and I appear to be outnumbered by those who admire the picture.

I agree. The nature of internet forums is such that, no matter how awful the film and how widely criticised, there will always be plenty of people ready to say it’s their favourite film; cheerleading of every film becomes routine – as if there is no such thing as a bad film.

I also saw THE BLACK HOLE when it first opened in 70mm and still remember the palpable disappointment felt by the audience. While it’s not the worst film ever made it doesn’t have much going for it. One of the problems when it first opened was the anticipation based on advance publicity compared to the final result. Supposedly intended to be Disney’ first serious adult science fiction film, chock full of science-fact and theories about what happens inside a black hole – it proved to be nothing of the kind and the ending was a total cop-out.

The script is terrible as is the lifeless performances of the actors; they all seem to be in a semi-somnambulist state and the sound of their voices is unnatural – presumably due to the fact that all the dialogue was dubbed post production. I usually like John Barry’s music but his mono thematic dirge for this film must be one of his worst ever. I give the film credit for its visual design though.

 

[Worth]

I'm guessing that most fans of the film saw this when they were quite young. I was 11 when it came out and loved it. Seeing it as an adult, I realise it's a pretty bad film by any objective measure, but I still have a certain nostalgic fondness for it.

 

[Jason_V]

It's strangely typical of this forum that most people like most films and don't acknowledge those that earned the reputation of being total stinkers in their day. I saw THE BLACK HOLE under ideal conditions in 70mm at The Odeon Leicester Square and, being a long time ago, can only remember it as being, dramatically speaking, a dull non-event.

Of course the technical aspect was well handled by top professionals but doesn't plot & dialogue have any relevance? This is, of course, merely my opinion and I appear to be outnumbered by those who admire the picture.

Maybe you'll trust my reccomendation that there are many many more deserving films that you haven't seen and moderate research will reveal them.

I don't think anyone here has said The Black Hole is an Oscar-worthy movie...or that it doesn't have problems all its own. I think we've commented on the score, the effects and maybe one or two performances. Do we have to only like or champion movies that are perfect in all facets of production...or are we okay with liking "lesser" films?

I couldn't care less if a film was a disaster upon it's original release. Box office never has, and never will, speak to quality.

Frankly, I enjoy Flash Gordon for the same exact reasons. It's not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. I love the score by Queen, the bright colors of the production design and the absolutely goofiness that pervades the movie. Am I really happy it's on BD and sitting on my shelf? You'd better believe it.

Sometimes you need to take a step back from the art films and award winners and the like and just have fun with a dumb movie.

 

[Persianimmortal]

I think Nancy needs to blame the audience even more than Hollywood. Movies based on existing properties (whether it's a sequel, prequel, reboot or adaptation of a comic book, toy line or tween book series) are the movies that make the most money. Hollywood is just giving the people what they want. Unfortunately, what they want is familiarity.

It's tempting to think that way, but it's not really true. Some very successful films have been based on original stories written exclusively for the screen. Films like Star Wars, Rocky and Alien. Remake spells cheap, no matter how you cut it. The fact that Robocop got a remake is, in and of itself, a sign of just how ridiculous things have become, given the original movie still nails what it sets out to do. What next - a remake of Citizen Kane so that we can see it in color with updated special effects?

Sometimes you need to take a step back from the art films and award winners and the like and just have fun with a dumb movie.

Exactly. It was never asserted by anyone in this thread that The Black Hole is somehow a superb movie. But it would be nice to have it on blu. If Plan 9 from Outer Space can get a Blu-ray release, then why not this film?

 

[TravisR]

It's tempting to think that way, but it's not really true.

It's not that it's tempting to think that way, it's what's happening. Looking at the highest grossing movies from each year of the last decade and you can see that it's dominated by existing properties.

2013- 8 of the top 10 grossers are existing properties
2012- 8 of 10
2011- 10 of 10
2010- 7 of 10
2009- 7 of 10
2008- 7 of 10
2007- 10 of 10
2006- 7 of 10
2005- 7 of 10
2004- 6 of 10

If I 'cheated' and factored in Pixar and Disney movies (since they're well-established franchises in their own way) into those stats, the numbers would probably be 80%, 90% and even 100% each year.

There's certainly exceptions (Gravity, Ted and Inception were all originals that were big hits) but when you see that at least 70% of the highest grossing movies each year are existing movies/books/etc., I don't see any way to think of it other than that people are most interested what they know. Maybe it's the high cost of a movie ticket that makes them less inclined to take a chance on something new but whatever the reason, people most want to see existing properties.

 

[MatthewA]

Sometimes you need to take a step back from the art films and award winners and the like and just have fun with a dumb movie.

Watching The Three Stooges didn't keep my Dad out of medical school.