The Black Hole (1979)

Returning to Earth, a spacecraft discovers a seemingly abandoned spaceship hovering near the edges of a black hole. Boarding the ship, they discover a survivor (Maximilian Schell) of a space expedition thought destroyed 20 years ago. But they soon find that the spaceship and its unhinged captain harbor a horrifying secret. Directed by Gary Nelson (FREAKY FRIDAY), the film is a riff on Jules Verne's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA but set in space with Schell standing in as Captain Nemo. Visually, the massive Cygnus (the name of the craft) is stunning and worthy of Verne. The storyline is simplistic (to put it mildly), scientifically inaccurate and the acting (except for Schell) marginal but the depth of its visuals are striking and it received Oscar nominations for its cinematography and visual effects. The actual entry into the black hole could never live up to anyone's expectations of what it might actually be like so the film makers use distinctive images (like the dead Schell and the robot he feared embracing like lovers) conjuring both Heaven and Hell accompanied by John Barry's darkly elegant score. With Anthony Perkins, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Forster, Roddy McDowall, Slim Pickens and Joseph Bottoms.