Last night, I watched Disney's The Black Hole (1979) perhaps for the first time. While I don't recall thinking that I had ever seen it before, I can't completely rule it out. There are images and sounds from the movie that were seared in my memory. This morning, I realized that those memories were from a picture-story-read-along book that I had as a very young child. I was probably no more than two or three years old. I guess my parents would play the 7-inch record on my Fischer-Price record player and I would follow along in the book, turning the pages when the chime rang. The book was a G-rated re-creation of the movie. Even the voice actors on the recording were different from the film. The film is definitely not a kids' story. I've read that it was Disney's first PG film--chock full of "hells," "damns," and disturbing images.
I have to say its still held up in a haunting way. I undestand that TBH had its detractors who said it was a Star Wars knock-off or a watered-down 2001: A Space Odyssey. I think it's uniquely its own film. By far, the most thoughtful review I've found is here. John K. Muir likens it to a "Childhood Heart of Darkness" with many allusions to Jules Vernes' stories. The pre-CGI effects were phenomenal, as well. The aspects that don't hold up as well were the scoring which had these optimistic orchestral themes that played during dramatic shoot-outs between the crew and robots, leaving little doubt about which side would triumph. Regardless, it's a fascinating, brooding, dark movie that I'm glad I didn't see as a three-year-old.
I have to say its still held up in a haunting way. I undestand that TBH had its detractors who said it was a Star Wars knock-off or a watered-down 2001: A Space Odyssey. I think it's uniquely its own film. By far, the most thoughtful review I've found is here. John K. Muir likens it to a "Childhood Heart of Darkness" with many allusions to Jules Vernes' stories. The pre-CGI effects were phenomenal, as well. The aspects that don't hold up as well were the scoring which had these optimistic orchestral themes that played during dramatic shoot-outs between the crew and robots, leaving little doubt about which side would triumph. Regardless, it's a fascinating, brooding, dark movie that I'm glad I didn't see as a three-year-old.
RSS Feed
