Added: Jul 7, 2008
From: DarkHeartProductions
Duration: 7:6
-YouTube Awards 2007 - Top Six Finalist, Best Short Film-WINNER: Fitzroy Short Film Festival (Melb, Aus)-WINNER: DearCinemaFest Short Film Festival (Int.)and more...Mr Roberts finds himself awoken inexplicably in a white room. A man sits before him at a desk and in between them stands a black button. If Mr Roberts pushes it, he will receive a briefcase filled with millions of dollars. Or he can take the key to the door and leave penniless. The catch? Pushing the button will result in the death of a human being. What would you do?EDIT 1: Some people have observed a similarity in the premise of this film and an revival episode of The Twilight Zone in 1986. Please note (1) We had never seen the episode and only learnt of it long after we'd finished the film (2) The Twilight Zone weren't the first to do it. It's an old premise called the 'Faustian Bargain', around since the 16th century (deal with the 'devil') (3) Our film is similar in premise, but different in plot, characters, dialogue, aesthetics, setting, moral meaning, religious undertone, twist etc. And unless the Matrix has a copyright on the colour white, this film has nothing to do with the Matrix. The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, The Outer Limits, an obscure Roman Portugese writer etc, we are all using the SAME PREMISE. It's the Faustian Bargain and it's been around for centuries. Each version, including ours, aims to bring something new to an old idea. Please have the respect to not accuse us of plagiarism.EDIT 2: Firstly, thanks YouTube for the feature! Secondly, thanks to all of you for watching and commenting! I'll just take the time to say that we have no particular religious affiliation; this is a fictional work and its ideas are designed to encourage thought and debate, not comment on any particular theology.Our first professional short film. We made it for $200 and shot it on the stage of our old school in Melbourne, Australia. Fortunately, professional actor Robert Grubb agreed to act in it for free after reading the script. This film took nearly a year to put together, working on it in stages and creating the 'white' effect on a home PC. Please note that the younger actor, unlike Robert Grubb, has no formal acting training whatsoever.The Making of "Black Button" is now on YouTube.Two of our other shorts have been released on YouTube, 'Campsite' and 'The Window'. Click on our profile if you'd like to see them and subscribe for updates. Thanks!
Channel: Film
Tags: black button crandles dark drama faust film grubb heart intense productions short
Rating: 4.65 (9310 ratings) Views: 953600' favoriteCount='10908 Comments: 7807
Societypunch Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - he probably would have. All human life is equal, as it's been said.
selfmade1234 Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - hahaha he looks like tony montana!
pw4n Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - yes he would. because no matter what he would have done with the money, nothing bad can lead to any good. even if you kill a man with a good cause it's still a sin. yes, i sometimes disagree with it too, but that's the way it is...
Laseczka022223 Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - ZJEBANE
Crio2c5 Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - last watched dis film in here around half a year ago..watched it again today .WoW ..this movie is soo well done & managed.!! real good job!
CAPUSA Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - No it isn't. Plenty of good things have come from killing people. Every nation on earth, for instance. Even Jesus' death lead to something good.
DeltaForceMember13 Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - Turns out I'm going to "Hell" as well. I decided to press the button as well before he made the choice.It doesnt matter, I don't believe in Hell or Heaven.
EtanMeyler Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - great ending
pw4n Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - i told you that sometimes i disagree, but still, that's the way it is... but, man, with the jesus stuff you totally blew it. the guy in this video was preapared to kill some random woman or man to get the money. but jesus sacrified HIMSELF for every people on earth, because he loved us so much. you see the difference? (btw, i'm sorry for my grammar errors, i'm from slovenia...)
CAPUSA Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - But I'm saying that if a different person were presented this test, and they took the money because they knew that they could use it to, say, find a cure for a disease that would prevent thousands of people from dieing, would he/she still go to hell. Sacrificing one life for a thousand doesn't sound immoral.
thebasslegend Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - good point
pw4n Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - you're right. but the guy who had to die beacuse of him, wasn't delighted by it, i think :). let's say the guy who was killed was on the way to laboratory, where he would discover a new cure to save thousands of people. what if he killed someone who was about to invent a new kind of weapon, which would kill millions? we don't know... maybe he's just a random guy without a family, friends and home. we have millions of combinations here, so uit's pointless to argue about it...
pw4n Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - let's just say that this guy only wanted the money for himself, so he should burn in hell :). look, i'm not a priest, so i don't know a lot about this things. i don't think about it a lot, either... but it was nice to argue about it :). see you at some other movie with a hole in a moral ;)bye!
LauraTheReaper Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - Every time I watch this, I'm willing him not to press the button. Pointless really... he always does.
floorpuddle Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - holy shit nice
CrazyFairy34 Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - awesome!!!
HorsieGoesNay Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - this is amazing.i made a short film.only using movie maker. damn its hard.im gettin adobe master suite pretty soon so that will be awesome,check out my short film and comment and rate please.it is my first one so i need as much feedback, suggesstions and ideas as possible.thanx.
ChyeaImaBeast Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - damn what a good movie lol
tarily Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - intense! i changed my view on life after this. creeepy... but very good:)
ThePokari Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - Good movie!
koabarra Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - I'm sorry, but you totally missed the point. It had an obvious religious meaning; that the path of salvation is rather unattractive when compared to the life of sin. But better, though difficult, the right way to go than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.-Bunyan
leperconboy Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - i think this was a good video to show meaning to how life is more valuable than money and that money is just a feature that is useless after death..
shurtugal3 Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - clever.simple.very well done.my only criticism would be that the sound is cut a little short in parts but otherwise im impressed :]
Qirltyu Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - That was very.....intense....♥
CAPUSA Says:
Jul 7, 2008 - but what if somebody pressed the button with the intention of using it to save lives? would he have still failed the test?