The Black Hole
1979
***
Director: Gary Nelson
Cast: Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine, Roddy McDowall, Slim Pickens, Tom McLoughlin
Nearby a black hole, the USS Palomino, with a crew of five people and one robot, discover the long-lost USS Cygnus, captained by the elusive Dr. Reinhardt, who plans to fly into the black hole. Disney clearly jumped on the Star Wars bandwagon with this intriguing science fiction drama, which was released 2½ years after George Lucas' smash hit. There's an air of familiarity to the laser gun fights, talking robots, and weaponed drones in matching outfits. However, storywise this unusual film is closer to grown-up scifi like Forbidden Planet. Even if the science, visuals, and performances have dated badly, some of the special effects still look decent.
