Vintage original 26 x 39.75 in. US advance one-sheet poster from the classic 1970's sci-fi action drama, THE BLACK HOLE, released in 1979 by Walt Disney Productions and directed by Gary Nelson, in which a research vessel finds a missing ship, commanded by a mysterious scientist, on the edge of a black hole. The cast includes Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, and Ernest Borgnine.
This is the film's advance one-sheet poster, which was issued for display at theaters before the film was released. The graphics are really spectacular, especially for the time, and they effectively convey the feeling of a computer-based world, which is also evidenced by the color and font of the text in the bottom half. Unrestored and rolled as originally issued, this vintage original advance one-sheet is in very fine condition with only random signs of light wear along various portions of the edges from handling over time. There are no pinholes, tears, stains, or other flaws and the colors are fresh and vibrant without any signs of fading.
The Black Hole was Disney's first PG-rated movie and was regarded as the last big special effect production to be made under the "old studio system." All of the elaborate special effects were created within the Disney studio and not farmed out to outside special effects companies. John Hughes created the "green grid" sequence that appears in the opening titles and it was the longest computer graphics sequence ever to appear in a film at that time. This film and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) were the last two Hollywood films to include an overture, once a common feature of major studio releases. This film's overture is usually cut from television broadcasts, though it's included in showings on Turner Classic Movies and the DVD release. To film the special effects, Disney originally wanted to rent the Dykstraflex camera system, the first computer-controlled camera, created for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), from Industrial Light & Magic. The price and rental terms were unacceptable, so Disney created its own version. The result was Disney's A.C.E.S. (Automated Camera Effects System), which was radically superior to the Dykstraflex system, the Mattescan system, which enabled the camera to move on a matte painting, and a computer-controlled modeling stand.