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Author Topic: 200ft THE BLACK HOLE
Patrick Walsh
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 723
From: Christchurch, New Zealand
Registered: Jul 2006


 - posted July 02, 2009 10:05 PM      Profile for Patrick Walsh   Email Patrick Walsh   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
200ft Walt Disney's THE BACK HOLE.
films starts out with a very edited title sequence, followed by a shot of the big ship sailing towards the black hole, we see the crew of the Palamino running through the ship trying to escape, we cut to that classic shot of one of the asteroids crashing through the ship, the bad guy's robots are shotting at them, they go into a garden room where the roof is removed by one of the asteroids, we see what looks like snow come in to the room and some of the bad guy's robots get shot and sucked out into space, we cut to the inside of a small ship and the good guys escape, we also see a brief scene of the bag guy scientitst getting killed by a falling piece of the ship.
the picture quality is very good as well as the sound, the colour is good as well.
It is one of the only digests where Ive seen a warning at the start about showing the film in a public place tc, just like the warnings on VHS and DVDs.
Production date of the digest is 1980 so must of been one of the last Disney super 8 films.

Stop Press, I have just viewed the 400ft version and the 200ft version is just the slightly edited down version of the 400fter.

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"Raise The Titanic!", It would of been cheaper to lower the Atlantic!

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005


 - posted July 02, 2009 11:16 PM      Profile for Osi Osgood   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Thank you for doing that review of the 200ft digest. I was hoping that it would have some more footage I could add to the 400ft but apparantly not.

I have heard that "The Black Hole" trailer made it out onto Super 8, but I don't know as to whether it was in scope or flat. If in scope, then it would sit nicely upon this 400ft reel.

Good little review Patrick and thanks!

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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Douglas Meltzer
Moderator

Posts: 4554
From: New York, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003


 - posted July 03, 2009 10:18 AM      Profile for Douglas Meltzer   Email Douglas Meltzer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Patrick,

Thanks for the review. We had a thread about both versions a few years back.

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Doug

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I think there's room for just one more film.....

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Patrick Walsh
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 723
From: Christchurch, New Zealand
Registered: Jul 2006


 - posted July 03, 2009 07:33 PM      Profile for Patrick Walsh   Email Patrick Walsh   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hi Doug
My 200fter came with a free coupon to buy the poster for the film.
I liked the title music in it, very space aged!
Pat

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"Raise The Titanic!", It would of been cheaper to lower the Atlantic!

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005


 - posted July 03, 2009 08:06 PM      Profile for Osi Osgood   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Mine came with the same poster offer!

This film I thought was better than it was given credit. Very good special effect, decent story line. The only downside was those two "garbage can robots" (Vincent was the name of one of them), with those rediculous cartoon eyes. Disney couldn't get away from at least one cartoony influence.

By the way, just as they released a Super 8 handcrank movie viewer (by "Kenner" toys). They released a "Black Hole" cassette and viewer. I don't know if they released any other cassettes but the one. It did have scenes on that that were not on the Super 8 sound releases. (I don't know for sure, but since "Fisher Price" released all the other Disney hand crank toy cassettes, but they probably released this as well.

They contained the landing of the astronauts ship on the Cygnus, as well as they're first visit to the main control room, as a neat last shot which was a full shot of the Black Hole. I remember because I hand cranked that to death!

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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Patrick Walsh
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 723
From: Christchurch, New Zealand
Registered: Jul 2006


 - posted July 03, 2009 08:57 PM      Profile for Patrick Walsh   Email Patrick Walsh   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hey Osi.
I remember THE BACK HOLE when it came out on VHS and it was the must see rental at the local video shop, and for years it always appeared on the start of all Disney VHS tapes as part of a "trailer" advertising Disney VHS tapes.
I have the viewmaster reel of THE BALCK HOLE somewhere here.

Pat

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"Raise The Titanic!", It would of been cheaper to lower the Atlantic!

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Jean-Marc Toussaint
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: France
Registered: Oct 2004


 - posted July 04, 2009 07:40 AM      Profile for Jean-Marc Toussaint   Author's Homepage   Email Jean-Marc Toussaint   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Osi, yes the trailer is out there on super 8 (I have it). It's in scope and seems more like a teaser.
It features an unused version of the logo that seems attached to the Cygnus's scaffolding-like structure. It's a parallel edit between a long pan shot of said logo with a few short action clips with a temporary soundtrack. Feels a lot like the original Star Wars teaser from 1976.

We screened the movie a few months back (in 35) and it's still a lot of fun to watch. I don't mind the cartoonish robots (Vincent and Old Bob), what really is a turn-off is that silly heaven and hell ending.

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The Grindcave Cinema Website

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005


 - posted July 04, 2009 09:44 AM      Profile for Osi Osgood   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
That ending always got me as well, not that I don't believe that there's a heaven or a hell, but it certianly wouldn't be at the end of a Black Hole!

The one part of that ending that seemed "just" was Maximillian
ending up "housing" the leader of the Cygnus, (his eyes darting back and forth underneath Maximillian head).

But then, just what would be at the end of a Black Hole, "anti Black Hole", "anti- space"?

One of those questions best left to scientists.

Thanks for verifying the Super 8 trailer question.

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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Gary Crawford
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 979
From: Manassas, VA. USA
Registered: Jun 2003


 - posted July 08, 2009 01:34 PM      Profile for Gary Crawford     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The ending for the Black Hole was a major problem as the production was about midway complete. I was working at the Disney studios in Burbank at that time. I was producing the Chilling Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House and helping out on Mickey Mouse Disco albums at the time....and while I was there, there came a memo asking people there to submit ideas for how to end the picture. That's how desperate they were. They had literally written themselves into a black hole and didn't know how to fix it. And , as it turns out, they STILL didn't fix it. I don't think I submitted anything at the time. I was too busy trying to get our albums done. We hated those robots...and couldn't believe it when we saw them the first time. Disney at that time was in sort of a bad way...after a run of mediocre animated films.....terrible live action films, they were trying to tag onto the coattails of the success of Star Wars, etc....instead of going back to their own rich history and doing what they once did best. Still I wouldn't trade my time working there for anything. I took a leave of absence from my east coast radio job to help the main Disney kid's record producer during a tough summer. Too many projects and too few helpers. I took the Haunted House project ..scripted and produced it...and helped with other things. I believe at that time that my friend had begun work on a little kids narrated version/with booklet of the Black Hole. I have no idea how the kids record ended the story...but after seeing the movie I still had no idea how it ended.

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005


 - posted July 08, 2009 03:49 PM      Profile for Osi Osgood   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Gary ...

that is a VERY interesting addition to the story. Thank you very much.

It's too bad that they didn't come up with an "alternate universe' idea (ala Twilight Zone), with the Cygnus waiting there on the other side. Perhaps a while background and black stars?

Oh well, that sounds better than what they came up.

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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