With Tron Legacy still a year away from release it seems premature to be talking about what that team are planning next. And yet, here we are, with producer and director Sean Bailey and Joseph Kosinski set to plunder the Disney back catalogue once again, with a rejig of the nutso The Black Hole.
A lasting psychological scar for anyone who saw it as a child when it was relatively new, The Black Hole was Disney's first film not to carry a U rating, which meant that characters could say "damn" and "hell", and that Anthony Perkins could have his insides minced by the whirling death blades of a giant crimson robot. The plot involves some space explorers (including Ernest Borgnine) stumbling upon Maximilian Schell, living alone at the edge of the titular void, on a ship with an army of faceless automatons. He claims his crew deserted him before his attempts to enter The Black Hole, but it turns out he's a big fat liar, and the automatons are the remains of his crew.
A huge tentpole sci-fi investment for Disney in 1979, it remains utterly bizarre in its total bleakness: its only real concession to Star Wars cash-innery being the crowbarred-in cute floating robots, voiced by Roddy McDowell and Slim Pickens. It ends, 2001-like, with everyone entering The Black Hole and suffering a massive existential transmogrification. In a DISNEY film. They used to show it at CHRISTMAS.
Details of the new version are under wraps at the moment, other than the promise that Maximilian (the red robot, not Schell) will be back, and it will be a lot more scientifically "grounded". So no flying wraiths in Heironymous Bosch landscapes then. Travis Beacham, who had a hand in Clash of the Titans, is writing the script.
The Black Hole is a kind of version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, so it's interesting to note that Bailey was also the producer of the crashed McG version of the Jules Verne classic. Were both films originally planned alongside each other, or has Bailey just regrouped and changed his focus?
God, there's a movie I haven't seen or thought about in many years. I too saw it at the cinema as a kid, I bought the trading cards and I have a soft spot for it. Whatever bleakness the original had will be jettisoned in the remake, the cast will be 19 year-old idiots and it will be dodgy CGI all over the shop. Might be better to leave this one alone. ... Read More
I was brought to see this as well as Star Wars.
I'm looking forward to this, it's got to be better than any of the 3 prequels of Star Wars, need some healing. ... Read More
Yes, I hate remakes but this was one I always thought
might be an exception. The soundtrack was great.
The Anthony Perkins bit freaked me out as a kid and
the end is trippy/haunting ... Read More
Yes, I hate remakes but this was one I always thought
might be an exception. The soundtrack was great.
The Anthony Perkins bit freaked me out as a kid and
the end is trippy/haunting ... Read More
I got hold of this a couple of months ago and was pleasantly surprised as to how it held up. This was my 9th birthday party trip when I, of course, loved the robots. Anthony Perkins getting his insides rearranged was scary, as were faceless crew but it was the ending that stayed with me. The two maximilians joined together stuck in what could only be described as hell, with a long, long receding shot of some very impressive model work. I know they won't, but they really should keep that! ... Read More
.... write it as a serious adult film, not aim it at kids. The Black Hole has such potential, and as brilliant as the original is, its undone by the sudden, jarring reminders that its a kids film. This is one seriously scary concept, and justice must be done! ... Read More
Twas only a matter of time. I loved this as a kid and had the little figures of vincent, etc, do battle with various star wars figures (greedo, walrus man). This COULD be great if they stick to the same story and not disapper into a hollywood remake black hole (sorry). Oh, I think they shouldn't mess too much with Max, as he was uuuuber cool and scary. Maybe 3-D? That could be a winner. A decent cast would be nice too.
In fact, give me some say in this film and I could make it a beauty... ... Read More
This film scared the SHIT out of me as a kid - and that John Barry score is as ominous as it gets (and I don't mean that triumphant march that they play everytime someone so much as coughs.) just check out the opening credits. They'll need a good cast too - Hans Reinhardt is a kick ass role. Then again, they'll probably put Zach Efron in the fucker.. ... Read More
