The Black Hole

Research vessel Palamino finds the long-missing ship Cygnus, commanded by the mysterious scientist Reinhardt (Maximillian Schell), on the precipice edge of a black hole. Nearly dragged into the hole’s gravity, Palamino manages to dock with Cygnus which is surrounded by a null-gravity field.

In many ways a reboot of Disney’s classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954, dir. Richard Fleischer), it’s a darker piece, with Reinhardt more truly evil than the misanthropic Captain Nemo.

Disney’s live action sci-fi came out two years after Star Wars: A New Hope (1977, dir. George Lucas), even though it had been in development previous to then. Star Wars’ influence can especially be seen in the inclusion of android/robots and a huge symphonic score by John Barry of James Bond fame.

film website: movies.disney.com/the-black-hole

Part of our 100 Years of Disney series.