We have just about come to the end of the #Johnuary week where I have been reviewing John Barry’s soundtracks. I was running out of time with this one and I knew I would have to skip a few pieces of his work on his IMDB list. I chose to initially skip The Black Hole. I’m sure I had a good reason at the time for picking that one to skip, but I can’t remember why. I think perhaps just because I had heard such bad things about the movie over the years. I’d seen the film before but not since I was a child.
Today, however, CT from the Nerd Lunch podcast asked me if I had covered The Black Hole, and suggested it might be worth listening to. And if you’re involved in retro/pop culture on the internet and CT from the Nerd Lunch podcast recommends something, you better take notice. So… a late entry in #Johnuary. Let’s enter The Black Hole.
I’m very glad that I did check it out. It’s certainly one of John Barry’s best works out of the ones that I listened to this week. I skimmed through the film tonight, stopping to watch about 30mins in total. And I listened to several YouTube clips with different tracks. As CT said, it’s possibly the best thing about the movie. The heavy, ominous main theme certainly adds ‘gravity’ to the situation. It fills the viewer with a ticking time bomb sense of awe. A great mix of Barry strings and brass (the brass this time mostly being tubas).
The title sequence of the film is great. With the main Black Hole Theme playing whilst the cool green wireframe graphics animate on screen.
Here’s another one of the main themes from the film. Barry’s score really does give you a reason to watch this film. I’ll come back to watch the full film one day but I’ll definitely listen to the soundtrack again at some point.
The Overture