The Black Hole
Year: 1979
Genre: Adventure, Science Fiction, Action
Studio: Walt Disney Productions
Director: Gary Nelson
Cast: Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine
Crew: Ron Miller (Producer), G. Gregg McLaughlin (Editor), Frank V. Phillips (Director of Photography), Gary Nelson (Director), Gerry Day (Screenplay), John Barry (Original Music Composer)
Runtime: 98 minutes
Release: Dec 18, 1979
IMDb: 5.84/10 by 502 users
Popularity: 2
Country: United States of America
Language: English
Budget: 20,000,000
Revenue: 35,841,901

A little like the "Godi" in "Island at the Top of the World" I vividly recall the first time that I set eyes on "Maximilian" the menacing robot in this far darker Disney film from 1979. The "Palomino" discovers the long lost "Cygnus" on the precipice of a black hole and they board her. Once there, they discover that the captain - an excellently eerie Maximilian Schell ("Reinhardt") and our aforementioned robot are determined to take their ship through the spatial anomaly. Soon, though, our visitors discover there is something far more sinister going on and it becomes a test of wits as they and their own - rather more friendly - robots try to escape in one piece. It is not a film seen too often nowadays which is a shame; it shows that back then, Disney could on occasion do more "adult" films with good SFX, a decent, intelligent, script and a cast - including Anthony Perkins, Joseph Bottoms, Ernest Borgnine with something to get their teeth into and Roddy McDowell has good fun as the wise-cracking, laser-toting hover-bot "V. I. N. cent"