Capricorn One (1977) User Reviews (209)

Capricorn One: a real Gem-ini of a movie. I'm Apollo-ed that it's not rated higher.

[rooprect · 8/10 · 17 August 2014]

"Capricorn One" is one of the last great 70s thrillers, alongside "The China Syndrome", "The Andromeda Strain", "Coma", heck maybe even "The Exorcist". Perhaps taking their cues from Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey, Clockwork Orange, etc), all of these classics are presented with an artistic, slightly off-kilter, brightly creepy vibe that encapsulated the end of 60s flower-power optimism and the beginning of 70s cold cynicism.

Stylistic examples include wide angle shots and slow, mechanical camera movements that give the viewer a disturbing feeling of voyeurism or disconnection from humanity (à la "Open the pod bay doors, Hal." "I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid can't do that."). This quiet yet bone-chilling style is the opposite of MTV-type filmmaking which made heavy use of flashy, closeup, disorienting camera shots cut together so quickly that you feel like someone slipped some magic pixie dust in your Kool-Aid. No, the 70s classics, in particular "Capricorn One" and other films by Peter Hyams, instead give you long, deliberate shots from a distance, allowing you to absorb every bizarre detail that was meticulously laid out for you.

If you get bored easily, then this isn't for you. But if you're looking for a film that slowly reels you in without any gimmicks, carefully building momentum for the 1st hour leading to an explosive, roller-coaster finale, then look no further. It's best if you know nothing about the story, so I won't say anything about the plot except that it centers around a mission to Mars. But this is not a sci-fi flick, it's closer to a political thriller.

"Capricorn One" won't necessarily scare the pants off you like some of the other films, but the story will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what's going to happen. The director never telegraphs the ending, so you're never quite sure if things will turn out good or if it'll be a miserable tragedy. You have to ride it out to the very last scene.

Two things won me over immediately. First is the careful, artistic approach to cinematography which is evident in the opening scene: a slow rusty sunrise behind the colossal silhouette of the Capricorn spacecraft. Many other shots are as powerful, whether they're outdoors or indoors. Hyams frequently does a neat little trick where he establishes a shot and leaves the camera where it is but slowly, over the course of 2 minutes or more, moves the camera in or out of the action, creating a thick suspense.

The 2nd thing that won me over was something many thrillers overlook: HUMOR. There are some priceless scenes that had me rolling, and it's all due to the great script and lines delivered by great actors. Telly Savalas makes an appearance as a grumpy old airplane pilot, and his rapid fire volley of dialogue with Elliot Gould is like something straight out of a Cary Grant-Catherine Hepburn comedy. Another hilarious rapid-fire comedic scene is Elliot Gould arguing with his boss, played by David Doyle ("Bosley" on the original Charlie's Angels). Big laughs without disrupting the tension of the story. It takes a bold filmmaker to put such comedy in a serious film, and Hyams & his acting troupe succeeded brilliantly.

A final note that's worth mentioning: there's a scene where a snake meets with an unfortunate fate. While the snake is real (hats off to James Brolin for having the guts do the scene), the snake's stunt double was a dead carcass they had found. No snakes were harmed. So animal lovers as well as 70s thriller lovers, have no fear. Once you start watching "Capricorn One", nothing will make you Sat-turn the channel! (wow that was lame)

A Mission To Mars That Wasn't

[virek213 · 8/10 · 20 March 2013]

The notion of conspiracy within the bowels of the U.S. government was very much on people's minds following the triple traumas of the JFK assassination, Vietnam, and Watergate. Even something as noble as manned space flight couldn't escape the grasp of the conspiracy theorists out there, as many of them didn't believe that the Apollo 11 moon landing of July 20, 1969 ever took place, and that it was all done on a Hollywood soundstage. In 1978, one film took this conspiracy all the way to Mars and back. That film was CAPRICORN ONE, a fairly taut combination of science fiction and conspiracy thriller elements that, in some ways, presaged later TV shows like "The X Files", and, perhaps inadvertently, also accelerated the conspiracy theorists' attacks on America's manned space program.

James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O.J. Simpson portray the three men who are about to embark on a ten-month space voyage whose ultimate goal is a manned walk on Mars. But just minutes before their ship, Capricorn One, is to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center, they are immediately ordered off; and the spacecraft launches to Mars without them. Bewildered and upset, they are then told by NASA's director (Hal Holbrook) that the life support system built into the spacecraft was faulty and that it is likely that it would have failed before the ship could ever get into Mars' orbit. They are instead ordered to "fake" the landing and the Mars walk on a soundstage in a hangar somewhere in the Mojave Desert, much against their principles though under the threat of their families being killed. But when the spacecraft they are supposedly coming home in loses its heat shield upon re-entry, everyone presumes that the three men have been incinerated. The trouble is, of course, that all three men are actually alive and well, and Holbrook knows that the space program's continued success is incumbent upon them never appearing anywhere in public again.

In steps an enterprising news reporter (Elliott Gould) who, against all odds and some very sardonic colleagues, investigates the Capricorn One incident and uncovers the truth, only to be pursued by military personnel in Blackhawk choppers. In the meantime, Brolin, Waterston, and Simpson break out of the hangar and escape into the Mojave Desert. Only Brolin is able to evade capture or death, however; and it is only through the quick thinking of Gould and an eccentric crop-dusting pilot (Telly Savalas) that he is able to sort everything out for the world.

Writer/director Peter Hyams, whose later sci-fi forays included the HIGH NOON-inspired 1981 opus OUTLAND, and the much-underrated 1984 film "2010" (the sequel to the 1968 Stanley Kubrick classic 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY) directs with a good flair for suspense sequences, especially Brolin's struggle for survival in the desert as he is chased by government agents, including loose homages to both Kubrick's DOCTOR STRANGELOVE and Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST. He also gets good performances from his cast, however, not only from Brolin, Simpson, and Waterston as the beleaguered would-be heroes, but also from Holbrook, who does a typically solid turn as the NASA bureaucrat with a mess on his hands. The Mars landing sequences, though done on a soundstage for obvious reasons, have a crazy kind of realism to them, thanks to the special effects work of Bruce Mattox, Henry Millar, and Robert Spurlock, and the solid cinematography of Butler, who worked on Steven Spielberg's 1975 suspense masterpiece JAWS. Goldsmith, who had won an Oscar for THE OMEN in 1976, and whose sci-fi credits include PLANET OF THE APES, also provides a tense and dramatic score, with almost Stravinsky-like menace.

CAPRICORN ONE is not necessarily the perfect science fiction film; one can spot a number of implausible situations right off. That said, however, it was definitely one of those films that was right for its time, in that it managed to attach something as honorable as manned space travel to a Watergate-type of cover-up scenario. Even if the plot doesn't hold up to 21st century standards (and it may have bee hard to imagine even back in 1978), it still (rightly) made a big deal about how our government too often attempts to dissemble the truth.

Thrilling Conspiracy Film.

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 29 August 2013]

What if a televised Mars landing was an elaborate hoax? And what if, because of an accident, the "astronauts" are believed killed when their capsule burns up in the atmosphere? Why, they would become expendable if the government was ruthless enough to kill them, which for the three "astronauts" of this film(James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O.J. Simpson(!) is exactly what happens, though they manage to escape by plane into the desert, being pursued not only by the corrupt head of the project(played by Hal Holbrook) but also investigative newspaper reporter Elliot Gould, who risks his career and life to track them down, and get his story.

Despite the fanciful premise, this a smart, taut, and breathless film from Peter Hyams,that involves the viewer both emotionally and intellectually, leading to a most satisfying ending.

Pretty solid conspiracy thriller steeped in the '70s

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 15 June 2012]

One of the highlights of Peter Hyams' inconsistent career, "Capricorn One" presents an irresistible "what if?" scenario. The film opens with NASA on the ropes against the bean counters, and the agency can't afford to send the crew of the first manned spaceflight to Mars. So they stash the crew (Brolin, Waterston and Simpson) on a soundstage (dressed to look like Mars), and send the rocket into space. But things go south, the rocket burns up on reentry, and NASA is left with three astronauts who are supposed to be dead. The ensuing nasty cover-up sends our heroes into the desert, as they flee the conspirators.

Aside from the intriguing story idea and the prospect of a thrilling Goldsmith score (and he does not disappoint), I can't say I was expecting much with "Capricorn One". But what's surprising about this film is that is delivers thrills and surprises beyond its novel premise. The dual stories of the three hunted astronauts and the 2nd-rate reporter uncovering the story (Elliott Gould) gives speed to a movie that might otherwise feel sluggish. And the three spacemen prove to be engaging protagonists (even O.J. Simpson seems up to the task). Even the supporting cast is rock solid, including Hal Holbrook, Telly Savalas (in a hilarious bit part) and David Huddleston.

It's interesting that the film's bad guy was motivated by keeping the optimism and sense of progress that NASA represents alive in a time of cynicism and malaise. This was in 1977, when a little movie called "Star Wars" managed to distract America from that same cynicism and overall downbeat feelings of the decade. That morose attitude was very real back then, and it's just a funny little quirk that the misguided actions of the movie's antagonist reflect what that blockbuster actually succeeded in doing. I draw no correlation between the two beyond that. It's just amusing.

7/10

A guilty pleasure

[fitzvizion · 7/10 · 10 September 2005]

One of those movies I'm ashamed to admit that I love. The logic comes and goes in this roller-coaster ride of a film, but the emotional highs are most memorable. One of Elliot Gould's last starring roles. I particularly enjoyed Telly Savalas, who chews the scenery unmercifully but is fun to watch as he saves the day. Also James Brolin, who goes the extra mile and does things that some actors would balk at, such as eating a rattlesnake. When I saw this in the theatre, there were a couple of scenes that had the audience cheering, which is not something one sees very often. And how they ever got NASA to allow them to film has got to be a story in itself, one which I am eager to hear.

Very entertaining thriller

[Idocamstuf · 7/10 · 16 June 2003]

I thought this was a very well done, and intelligent thriller. A group of astronauts are about to launch to space, they soon find out that they do not have enough funding, so they must fake the mission anyway, somebody issues a report that the shuttle crashed, and left the men dead, this means that the public has to think that these men are really dead. This is the kind of thriller than they dont make anymore, and its too bad. Also includes a huge cast of famillar faces: James Brolin(Westworld), Telly Savalas(TV's Kojak), Hal Holbrook(Men Of Honor), David Huddleston(The Big Lebowski), and many more star in this first rate thriller. *** out of ****.

"We're dead." "What?" "We're dead."

[stevenlshoup · 8/10 · 1 April 2006]

WHY CAPRICORN ONE? Capricorn: "Capricorn is one of the most stable and (mostly) serious of the zodiacal types. These independent, rock-like characters have many sterling qualities. They are normally confident, strong willed and calm. These hardworking, unemotional, shrewd, practical, responsible, persevering, and cautious to the extreme persons, are capable of persisting for as long as is necessary to accomplish a goal they have set for themselves." It ain't just about the mission's name.

The space program is in trouble. Their next mission MUST succeed or the funding is axed and the entire agency vanishes. That next mission is the first manned landing on Mars and it is going very smoothly indeed, to the awe and excitement of the U.S.A. and the entire world. What the world outside of the space agency doesn't know is that the whole mission is fake. It's been set up and broadcast from a deserted military base 300 miles west of Houston.

It seems a critical piece of equipment proved faulty too late to abort the project and so the space agency (it is never directly called N.A.S.A.)-- in cahoots with shadowy, high government powers -- had pulled the three astronauts from the capsule moments before launch, whisked them to the deserted base, explained the situation, pleaded for their (reluctant)cooperation through some not-so-subtle intimidation, and all has been peaches and cream and now it looks like their "re-entry and landing" will be near perfect albeit 200 miles off-course so that they can get the spacemen back into the capsule.

Nothing is going to ruin this mission.

So what if one of the console technicians has noticed that the TV broadcasts are earthbound, not from space? He simply disappears.

Nothing is going to ruin this mission.

ALmost nothing: a bad circuit in one of the other consoles claims that the heat shield has separated from the capsule upon re-entry and all three astronauts burned alive in the capsule. But they are alive and well in a deserted base in Texas . . . and they know that they are expendable.

Nothing is going to ruin this mission.

The chase is on between 3 frightened pilots, a far-flung, well organized cover-up machine, two relentless black-ops helicopters, and a lazy, cynical reporter (friend of the missing console jockey) who smells a rat.

Writer/Director Hyams has build himself one slick, fast-paced thriller from a script conceived during his CBS reporter days covering Vietnam. It was there that he envisioned how easy it could be for a huge government to cover up anything it wished. In the post-Moonwalk years, when some wing-nut conspiracy groupies insisted NASA had faked the moon landing, Hyams found his base plot and it works like a charm! The casting is near perfect. Dependable old Hal Holbrook is the head of the space agency, in over his head and resigned to having to kill his crew, including the team leader (Brolin); his friend of 16 years. Nothing is going to ruin this mission. Brolin, O.J. Simpson, and Sam Waterston never really get any chance for character development, save for Waterston's likable wise-cracking. Brenda Vacarro and Karen Black give equally strong performances; David Huddleston is dead on as the Florida senator in support of the space program. In tow with James Karen as the Vice President, they have some enjoyable moments satirizing Washington Double-Speak; Robert Walden, as the doomed console technician, gives an intense, sad, dark sense of puzzlement in his performance of a man who is trying to help but feels like he's to blame. Elliot Gould just normally comes across to me as someone sleeping his way through a role, but for this picture it is perfect for the character of reporter Caulfield. This sleepy, cynical, unenergetic man who is slowly putting the pieces together and too frightened to say his surmises out loud, is deftly handled through Gould's stock-in-trade persona.

I really felt that David Doyle and Telly Savalas should've switched roles. Neither man was truly convincing in his performance and their characters might have been better served being traded between them.

However, the real star of the film is Bill Butler, the Director of Photography. What he releases on your screen is an artful array of cinema: The pull back, and cross pan shots of the in-studio Mars terrain; the terrifying out-of-control car Gould is trying to avoid being pulverized in; the quiet terror of Hal Holbrook's office as he makes and takes his telephone calls; Those evil insect-like helicopters in landing or in flight; the dark dread in the cave as Brolin, hiding from the pursuers, confronts a nasty viper; the stark, dry brittleness of the desert that Brolin, Waterston, and Simpson must challenge; The strain and exhaustion of Waterston as he scales the dry mountain side to escape his fate, but in vain. But most of all it is the exciting, jolting aerial ballet of the copter and bi-plane chase. It draws you in visually to the point of giving you a queasy stomach! (Yes, I know. There are no mountains in central Texas. There are no 50 feet tall gorillas in New York City either, but you enjoyed King Kong didn't you?) The icing on the cake of Butler's images and Hyams well done script is the pounding, driving score by Jerry Goldsmith. It is all beats of percussion, plucks of strings and short orchestral punches. It gives a sense of impending doom, fear, conspiracy, and paranoia.

While it is safe to say that N.A.S.A is the most non-political, benign department of the government, an agency whose efforts have given the public such fruits of success as the microwave oven, superior fibers for insulation, freeze-dried foods, and Tang, just to name a scant few, if you can put your common sense on hold and believe that the space agency could be cold, crisp, self-serving, and ruthless enough to kill to stay alive, then you've come to the right movie.

Exciting thriller

[barnabyrudge · 10 February 2003]

Capricorn One is interesting and exciting, with a very well worked out plot and a fast-moving script, nicely enlivened by the all star cast.

It is about a trio of astronauts about to embark on the first manned mission to Mars who are taken off their shuttle at the eleventh hour and whisked away to a secret building in the middle of nowhere. From there, they are forced into acting out the mission, thus taking part in one of the most audacious hoaxes of all-time against their will. However things get worse when they discover that they are going to be killed when their part in the ruse is over, under the believable cover story that their shuttle burned up during re-entry. Elliot Gould enters the story here, as a nosy reporter who gets wind of the deception and sets out to expose it.

This is probably the best of all Peter Hyams' films, because it has the most ingenious script and feels fresh and lively throughout. Most of the performances are well judged, although the climax is spoilt somewhat by Telly Savalas's unnecessary comic relief cameo. James Brolin, OJ Simpson and Sam Waterson as the unfortunate astronauts turn in convincing performances as men forced to deceive the world - including their families - against their wishes. Gould, as the witty and quick thinking reporter, produces the most colourful characterisation of his entire career.

A botched mission to Mars provides suspense and drama.

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 23 April 2000]

James Brolin, Sam Waterston and O.J. Simpson are astronauts on the way to Mars. NASA knows the mission will not be a success; so the trio is removed from the capsule before the actual launch. The astronauts are then coerced into playing a hoax on the watching world.

Fine performances also from Hal Halbrook, Brenda Vaccaro, Robert Walden and Elliot Gould. Gould actually has the most exciting scene of the movie. He tries to blow the whistle on the hoax and someone fixes his car to malfunction.

Interesting movie that gives you something to think about.

Great film that has stood the test of time!

[sedativchunk · 8/10 · 18 June 2014]

I randomly stumbled across the film "Capricorn One" (released before my time) and I had to check out. The premise of the film sounded very interesting and the movie looked like something that may be more about story and no so much theatrics like the films of 2014 and up. Watching this film I was not disappointed. The story is interesting and exciting, the acting is excellent, and overall this is a pretty good B grade sci fi film that has stood the test of time. I really enjoyed Capricorn One and I have to say this movie is a must-watch if you are a fan of classic and/or sci fi flicks.

In a nutshell, Capricorn One is a film about a NASA hoax where astronauts perform a Mars landing on a soundstage fooling the country and families of the astronauts alike. The film revolves around the drama and conspiracies of what is going on within the confines of NASA and the struggles of the astronauts trying to maintain the secret. The rest is pretty self explanatory and you just have to watch the film to see all the events of the film unfold! This movie has a lot of pluses going for it. Great cast, great storyline, and overall it is just a great film. For a while I forgot I was watching a movie that is almost 40 years old now! The only bumps in this movie are in the scientific area. The Saturn V was no where powerful enough to travel to Mars. The ships were too small to carry enough oxygen and supplies for such a trip. The LEM from the Moon was the same design for Mars, and the LEM was completely incapable of ever landing on Mars. One of the main (and only) reasons I am docking a few points for the film is that they blatantly ignored scientific facts about landing on Mars. Even someone that doesn't know NASA science that well should know that a LEM cannot land on Mars and how ridiculous the entire concept of the Mars mission in this film was. Besides the scientific fact, I won't spoil the movie but I was hoping for a more "satisfying" ending...

Overall, Capricorn One is a great movie.One of the reasons I think this movie has been "swept under the rug" (meaning you don't see it much on streaming services such as Netflix or hear about it much in modern times) is I think because of O.J. Simpson's notoriety. This film is a great movie with a diverse cast and you are missing out on a great film (as well as not admiring the performance from the rest of the cast) by avoiding this film simply because of O.J. Simpson. This film came out far before he ever committed any crimes or had any notoriety. If you get the chance, check out this film. It is very enjoyable and I hope some day it gets a proper remastering in blu ray!

Entertaining concept, nice action scenes.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 8 September 2007]

Peter Hyams both wrote and directed this cynical business about flaws in the space program that first lead three young astronauts -- James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O. J. Simpson -- to participate in a Mars landing faked on a sound stage by the program's head, Hal Holbrook. During the "return mission", after which everything is supposed to be just fine and dandy, there's yet another failure in the hardware, the space capsule blows up during reentry, and the astronauts, kept under guard at a remote landing field, figure things out and decide they'd better vamoose. I mean, "dead" can't become anything other than dead without the quotes.

They make it into the middle of a wasteland before their airplane runs out of fuel and crash lands. Then they stride off in three different directions in hopes that one of them will find a phone booth, a police station, a hospital, a newspaper, or a Starbucks coffee shop.

A grueling trek ensues. O. J. and Waterston are picked up and -- well, we don't find out what happened to them except that they disappear. Let's hope they didn't disappear to the same place that nosy technician disappeared to when he twigged on the ruse at Command Control.

Hyams hasn't written what anyone would call a tight plot. The faked jump from the landing module to the surface of "Mars" ("We make this leap in the name of all mankind") ought to be one of, if not THE, most gripping moment in the story. It raises all sorts of questions. Who wrote their phony dialog from Mars? ("The surface seems powdery.") Who dreamed up the Martian landscape? But it lasts no more than five minutes and the backdrop and lighting look as slapped together as in a "Dragnet" episode.

The dialog is no help either. "This is a good, old-fashioned, American, can-do, red-white-and-blue favor I'm asking." (Something like that.) The characters are stereotypes. Brolin is the sober commander of the three. Waterston provides the comic relief, which isn't very comic. O. J. has no lines to speak of -- just as well.

Hyams does much better with the action scenes. There's an out-of-control speeding car with Eliot Gould, as a meddlesome reporter, behind the wheel. No brakes, he can't shut the ignition off, the parking brake doesn't work, he can't down shift, an open drawbridge looms in the offing, and -- well, you know how it goes by now. It's exciting. It would have been just as exciting if the camera hadn't been under cranked to speed up the motion artificially. And you can pretty much tell this is a post-"French Connection" film because a camera is mounted on the speeding car at about one foot above the zipping pavement.

Motion is accelerated during the airplane chase too, where it REALLY doesn't belong, but the chase itself -- two armed government helicopters after a beat-up old biplane, swooping down among the desert canyons, looping around crags, without CGIs -- is thrilling. And obviously dangerous. The airplanes banging their parts against one another are real in a way the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park" never were. And I don't know whether Hyams intended this to be "cute" or not, but the two diminutive military helicopters acts like individuals. They fly in single file and when they find something interesting, they hover and turn face to face, as if having a conversation. When they make a "decision", they practically nod in agreement, then they turn in the same direction and fly off together again. They do this several times. It's like watching an animated cartoon on Saturday morning TV.

Goldsmith's score is bound to the genre, but it's a good one, and you can hear echoes of "Chinatown" in the thrumming of piano wires.

A very mixed bag but worth seeing. (I kind of like movies in which people get lost in deserts.) Evidently Hyams had tried to put such a film together earlier but wasn't able to do so until after Watergate. (Kids, "Watergate" is the name of a Washington scandal that led to a president's resignation in 1974. This movie came out the following year. PS: That would be 1975.) Of course, now, in 2007, I don't think Hyams or anybody else would have much trouble.

An '70's favorite.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 8/10 · 23 March 2010]

Even though this certainly isn't the best movie you'll ever see, it's still a movie that is a perfectly entertaining one. It makes this movie one of my favorite movies to watch from the '70's.

The movie has a really great premise, that provides the movie with plenty of thriller elements and action. It has a lot of elements in it that always make '70's movies such great ones to watch. It's a movie with a conspiracy story but luckily the movie decides to be more entertaining with it than heavy or serious really.

It's really mainly the concept and main story that makes this movie an interesting one as well as entertaining. It doesn't always make the movie the most believable one to watch out there but in this particular case that hardly matters at all. It's such a great and entertaining movie that you're basically willing to forgive everything that is less great about it. It's a movie that I have always enjoyed watching and always will.

Some of the action is really memorable. The plane and helicopters chase in this movie is pretty insane and was obviously very dangerous for all of those involved with it. No way they'll ever do a sequences like that again now days, with all those heavy regulations for stunts and of course the availability of CGI this present time. But of course as you can expect from an '70's movie, there also is plenty of action involving cars and other great action stuff.

What also really uplifts the movie and its action and entertainment value is the great musical score by Jerry Goldsmith.

It's a really well made movie, that got directed with lots of pace by Peter Hyams, who has always been at his best directing action stuff, even though most of his movies aren't exactly among the greatest, this one not included. It also had some real nice camera-work by Bill Butler.

The movie also has a pretty nice cast with Elliott Gould, Hal Holbrook, James Brolin, Sam Waterston and O.J. Simpson involved. Perhaps it's true though that the movie is lacking a clear main character and the movie isn't always clear with on which character it is going to focus with its main plot. Karen Black and Telly Savalas also make some small, almost cameo like appearances in this movie.

One of the most entertaining '70's-flicks out there.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Good Escapism!

[joposa · 6/10 · 22 April 2007]

When I first heard of this movie in high school, about the time of its release (it would be years before I would actually see it), I was under the impression that it was sort of an expose, clothed in fiction, of the "moon hoax." Actually, while the makers of this flick were no doubt inspired by these weird theories, they didn't really subscribe to them, which I was gratified to learn.

In Capricorn One, the head of the U.S. Government space agency (a fictional NASA) learns that a planned mission to Mars cannot be accomplished. So, to keep government funding, he decides to stage the mission on a studio set , and will go to all extremes, including murder, to protect the secret. One of the technicians suspects that something isn't quite right with his readings, and tells his bosses about it. Shortly thereafter, he disappears. The tech's close friend, a reporter, probes his friend's mysterious disappearance, meeting intrigue and danger along the way. (Funny how only one "lowly" technician was able to figure it out!)

There are too many holes in the various "moon hoax" theories (there are several different theories, having in common only that they all say NASA fabricated the Apollo missions) to mention here. Capricorn One illustrates one of these holes, in that a very few people were able to fool the entire world, including the Soviets, who would have screamed bloody murder to the world had they even suspected such a hoax. On even a strictly need-to-know basis, at least hundreds would have to be on the inside, and many others participating in the mission, including the "lowly" technicians, would be able to figure out that something was amiss. Also, in Capricorn One, the astronauts were prepared to spill the beans to the world. Why haven't we heard "the truth" from moon hoax insiders?

It's a fun movie to watch, despite some bad writing and dialogue. Just sit back, have some popcorn, and don't take it too seriously

Great premise, bad script, robbery of an ending

[lloydbraunaia · 4/10 · 14 February 2022]

I missed this movie until late last night. It was well received in it's day, but it is a film to be endured. The director's premise is excellent. In fact it's so compelling that you'll stick with it to see how it ends, even though you'll have welts on your head from banging yourself with the TV remote because of the writing. Oh, the director also wrote it. Bet he didn't tell his all-star cast that unimportant little detail before signing. My patience with the writing blew at the early scene where Hal Holbrook "explains" to the astronauts why they were yanked away at the last second. (Have patience, he'll eventually get around to it once he remembers why he's there.) What a meandering monologue -- and the astronauts just sit there like glasses of Tang, stoic and unemotional despite their entire lives seemingly turned upside down. It also doesn't help that the secure facility in which they are confined to work for the next nine months has almost no occupants but themselves. And by confined I mean a single locked door.

It has all the special effects of a Mannix episode except for being amply graced with tons of props and locations courtesy of NASA - the only reason you'll keep giving the movie until the next commercial. But that helicopter chase scene? The only fire being unleased by these two rocket-armed attack helicopters was by somebody leaning out the window with a firearm. Plus they exhibited no strategy but to unrealistically follow the biplane in close single file. At one point one helicopter hovers over the biplane and bangs on its wing several times. Excuse me, but if you couldn't hit the biplane from a couple hundred feet back, ever think of shooting the pilot now that he's six feet away in an open cockpit? But I digress because that still wasn't the most insulting part of the movie.

The worst part was the final scene in the cemetery. Imagine Star Wars rewritten to have Luke shoot his torpedoes at the Death Star in slow motion and then pause at a still of them entering the Death Star's ports, and then...roll credits. THAT, or the equivalent, is how this movie ends. Don't let the clock read 1:30 a.m. Like it did for me when that "great premise" (remember that?) culminates. You will regret it.

A great premise is rendered merely watchable by a script that produces a poor middle section

[bob the moo · 19 July 2004]

America is excited by a new space launch; the mission to mars putting them past their 'space fatigue'. However, mere minutes before the launch, the astronauts are spirited away from the rocket while the mission goes ahead but unmanned – with the vast majority of NASA, the media, the politicians and the American people completely unaware that this has occurred. The astronauts are taken to a soundstage and informed that the mission would have failed, killing the space programme; however the plan is to fake the landing and keep the funding – a plan the astronauts begrudgingly agree to when they see their options are very limited. However when the rocket explodes on re-entry, the astronauts realize that the men in charge have only one way to keep their secret– killing them. Meanwhile journalist Robert Caulfield tries to follow a suspicious lead given to him by a man inside NASA only for the man to vanish and for Robert to be nearly killed when his brakes 'fail' – he investigates what he suspects but cannot believe.

The film opens with a blacked out screen with a man introducing the mission launch to gathering (unseen) journalists. This is a solid start and it continues in an aborted launch that immediately sets up a premise that is so simple and so effective that it promises a great film to come. However from the moment the astronauts escape the film has already taken a real dip from the good start. What spoils it is the writing; the start gives it the foundation to build on but it doesn't manage to build very much at all. Things happen but there is no consistent tension or excitement to speak of – the astronauts are forced into one-off moments of danger but that's about it; this leaves Caulfield as the main thread which, while enjoyable, still doesn't manage to cut it. The film should have been tighter, with a deeper conspiracy, a tangible threat and a real sense of it being a race against time – but it doesn't manage it. It still remains interesting and watchable but the word 'thriller' is not one that I would pick.

The film ends in a stronger final 20 minutes where we get a helicopter chase and some well shot scenes with a crop duster but even these are filled with the same lack of logic that the middle section of the film suffers from. Sadly even an exciting conclusion gives way to a rubbish final shot of slow-mo sentiment. The cast are part of the reason that the film is watchable as they are quite good even if the material lets many of them down. Gould is always watchable even though his section should have been much more dramatic. Of the astronauts, Brolin is OK, Waterson has an average character and Simpson is wisely given little opportunity to flex his acting muscles. Holbrook starts with a good sense of conspiratorial menace but the film practically forgets he is there and he just slips away. Black is wasted and she doesn't even look like she wants to be there, but the presence of Huddleston is always welcome. Savalas is good value even if he seems to have walked in from another film – but he is good fun and breathes quite a lot of life back into what was becoming a rather stale affair.

Overall this is watchable and quite enjoyable but it is frustrating to see the potential of the premise wasted. The opening 30 minutes is great and sets up a tense film that is sadly never forthcoming. The majority of the film after the rocket is destroyed goes gradually downhill as logic fails and it totally fails to ratchet up the tension in the manner it really should have. Watchable but it should have been loads better – I'm not a remake fan per se, but surely somebody can remake this film and make good on the potential.

Slow-burning conspiracy thriller

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 8 June 2021]

Another decent conspiracy thriller of the 1970s, CAPRICORN ONE benefits from a classic plot set-up which involves a trio of astronauts being sent to Mars, except there's a twist: the mission is a set-up which for various reasons can't be made public knowledge. What follows is a slow-burning thriller in the classic conspiracy mould, with investigators and journalists being silenced all around, and innocent men finding themselves at the mercy of an impassive, murderous state. It's well-made and well-directed by Peter Hyams, giving his movie a classic look, and the excellent cast includes such '70s heavyweights as James Brolin, Elliott Gould and Hal Holbrook. While not quite as expertly crafted or suspenseful as my all-time favourites like THE CHINA SYNDROME or TWO MINUTE WARNING, this is a film that still packs a punch.

Houston, we have a completely different type of problem!

[Coventry · 7/10 · 30 October 2017]

I'll be entirely honest straight away and open with the blunt opinion/statement that "Capricorn One" isn't a very good movie. The script is often poorly written, with abysmal dialogues and unclear sub plots being the most noticeable painful shortcomings. There are also too many overlong and tedious sequences, underdeveloped characters and a downright ridicule climactic battle-sequence featuring an antique and ramshackle crop duster versus two hi-tech governmental helicopters! But guess what? All this doesn't really matter because "Capricorn One" also has one of THE most shockingly brilliant and uncomfortably disturbing premises of all times! I'll leave in the middle what came first: writer/director Peter Hyams' ideas for this film or the existing conspiracy theories around the 1969 Apollo moon landing. It's probably the latter, but fact remains that Hyams was the courageous man who turned the hypothesis into a big Hollywood story AND even managed to engage NASA as a sponsor and technical adviser for a tale that basically banters them.

I tell you, the premise is truly amazing! The moment is finally there after years of preparation and hard work. A not-so-large crowd has gathered to witness the launch of the very first manned US space mission to Mars, but literally seconds before lift-off, the three "hero"-astronauts are instructed to leave their capsule and subsequently get escorted to a secretive desert location. First they receive a long and depressing speech from NASA director James Kelloway, about how the American public - including the President - isn't interested in expensive space programs anymore and how potential failures aren't tolerated. The three astronauts (Brubaker, Willis and Walker) silently listen to their superior and immediately understand what is expected from them. They are forced to comply with the simulation of the whole prestigious mission. For months and months, they stay at the hangar where the Martian landscapes and a replica of their rocket Capricorn One have been recreated to fool the TV- networks and their wives. However, pretending to be circling around in outer space is easy, but what'll happen when the mission is about to come to an end? Meanwhile, a freelance journalist (Elliot Gould) becomes suspicious after a tip from an inside NASA collaborator.

"Capricorn One" is utmost powerful and compelling for as long as it remains a tense (and talkative) conspiracy thriller. Peter Hyams exploits the surreal but simultaneously plausible premise, but his film runs into trouble as soon as story-complexities arise or when the obligatory action/thriller footage has to be delivered. The second half of the film is quite boring, even though that is clearly supposed to be the exciting half, and the whole climax is a weak & desperate attempt to enforce a "happy/truth-will-come-out" ending.

Or perhaps the ending of "Capricorn One" is dumb and goofy because NASA only wants us to believe that such a large-scaled conspiracy is impossible and unrealistic! After all, yours truly isn't 100% convinced that the landing on the moon ever take place. Ha :-)

interesting conspiracy premise

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 11 December 2015]

NASA launches Capricorn One into space on its way to Mars. The space program is under financial stress and the President can't even bother to show up for the launch. The astronauts Charles Brubaker (James Brolin), Peter Willis (Sam Waterston) and John Walker (O. J. Simpson) are surprised to be secreted away. Director Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) tells them that the life support system was found fatally flawed. Instead of scrubbing the mission, Kelloway pressures them to fake the Martian landing. Few people would be involved in the cover up. A technician discovers the conspiracy but then he disappears which alarms his investigative journalist friend Robert Caulfield (Elliott Gould).

It's an interesting premise for the paranoid conspiracy era. The story has great potential. I prefer staying more with the astronauts and the reporter. I don't think most of the scenes at the control room are that compelling. The movie feels a little scattered until the plane helicopters chase. That is a great sequence. It is a thrilling stunt and amazingly shot.

Cult Masterpiece!

[Francesco-Accattatis · 10/10 · 24 March 2015]

The launch is ready at Cape Canaveral, to send three men to Mars, when something goes wrong. The story unfolds with astronaut Brubaker and co. forced to simulate the first man mission to Mars in an abandoned base in the desert, to keep the space program funded by the government, in a game of deception between life and death. I cannot stress enough how well made this film is. I love every bit of it. It contains all the elements for a great film. Action, intrigue, drama, adventure, science fiction, thriller, comedy, altogether. Every scene, every line, are memorable. The excellent soundtrack is in perfect harmony with the images. The well crafted dialogues, follow the story unfolding, with interesting characters, in a realistic scenario and great rhythm. The relationship between the characters and the plot are captivating. The punch-lines are hilarious. Not to mention the dangerous stunts, very effective. All in all a masterpiece of cinematography IMHO.

Where's the ending?

[hexfield · 6/10 · 29 April 2001]

Capricorn One is a film about a mission to Mars that fails, so those in charge decide to fake it to save face. Coincidentally, it's also a film in which the third act fails, so those in charge decide to fake it to save face. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this movie and the acting is first rate (although take note that O.J. Simpson received very few lines), but the fact is that it ended at a very odd place. I'm not revealing where that was, but any of you familiar with screenwriting will know what I mean when I say it had no third act. Yes, it was a well done drama that gripped and intrigued you, but the big payoff that you expect isn't there. Instead you are left to assume that it happens off camera as the credits roll. It was like reading a really good book and then discovering the last chapter is missing. But, if you can stand to fill in the blanks yourself, this really is a pretty good flick. It's best feature is that it will get you thinking about a real life incident.

The movie was based loosely on the possibility that the 1969 moon landing was faked by NASA in order to beat the Russians. This may sound insane, but when one is presented with some of the evidence, one becomes at least intrigued by the possibility. (Check out the Fox special "Conspiracy theory: Did We Land on the Moon?" Yeah I know it's a Fox special, but it's good, trust me.) Questions such as "Why can we see shadows on the moon pointing in conflicting directions when NASA claims the only light source was the sun?" and "How does the American flag flap in the supposedly airless atmosphere?" have caused some to believe we never made it to the moon.

Regardless of this, Capricorn One is a C+ film with an A+ cast and a D- ending, but it still receives my endorsement and I encourage you to go pick it up and judge for yourself.

Different From How I Remembered But Very Impressive

[Theo Robertson · 8/10 · 10 July 2004]

!!!! SLIGHT SPOILERS !!!!

NASA send a manned space mission to Mars but at the very last minute change their minds and ask the astronauts to take part in an elaborate hoax . They agree but a computer error at mission control states their capsule burnt up on re-entry which means they are now dead

I first saw CAPRICORN ONE in 1982 and was slightly disappointed by it . I was under the impression it was going to have science fiction elements to it but there were none . I saw it again for a second time tonight and was very impressed by it mainly because I knew what it isn't . It isn't a sci-fi movie and it's also important to point out that it isn't a conspiracy theory thriller either . Can you imagine how the movie would have played out if it was produced today ? It would have shot itself in the foot by bludgeoning the audience to death with a " trust no one " message . Gawd I hate conspiracy theories , but not as much as I hate conspiracy theorists , many of whom point to this film saying that if someone can make a movie about a hoax mission to Mars then that proves that the moon landings were faked !

It is true that CAPRICORN ONE will always be remembered as " That movie about the Mars landing that's faked in a film studio " but this is to do it a slight disservice . The one thing I liked about this movie is that it succeeds in doing what must be the hardest thing for a screenwriter to do and that is to create pithy dialogue that sounds natural . Take the scene where the NASA boss catches the Vice President drooling over some spectators butt : " It's over there mister vice president . It's the big long thing on the launching pad . You can't miss it " or the later telephone conversation between the same two characters , or take the highly amusing scene where Elliot Gould's journalist character is given a lecture by his editor . Perhaps the most memorable conversation is the monologue scene where Hal Holbrook's character laments the lack of endeavor of the present day Americans some of whom phoned up to complain about the I LOVE LUCY re-runs being cancelled because of the moon landings .

The clever dialogue is a joy to behold . Ironically the bit that I remembered the most - The desert escape scenes - from first viewing are the bits I was least impressed with after seeing it again tonight . This down to one simple reason and that's the lack of dialogue . Unfortunately there are one or two plot holes that also stopped me from praising the movie as a classic thriller . One is that you are never totally convinced that this type of hoax would ever work in reality . On screen it just seems a couple of NASA people , a couple of feds and two helicopter pilots know what's going on . Surely the hoax would have comprised of hundreds of people ? Would they all be trusted to keep their mouth shut ? What about all the radar stations and observatories across the world ? Wouldn't they have noticed something was wrong when the capsule didn't re-appear on their radar screens during re-entry . Wouldn't these spooks destroy all the evidence in case a nosy journalist chanced upon the studio where the fake mission was filmed ? You see it all falls apart when you study the scenario a little too hard , but no doubt there's a lot of middle aged virgins wearing anoraks jumping up and down pointing out that because the Apollo missions were faked no one making this movie wanted to give away any secrets as to you can fake a space mission

So if you get the chance to see CAPRICORN ONE just sit back and don't let your mind work too hard but listen out for the memorable dialogue . Also watch out for the desert scene where the three astronauts find a survival kit and Brubaker decides to give the knife to the astronaut who isn't played by OJ Simpson

Lots of fun

[Boyo-2 · 7/10 · 3 October 2000]

If you don't take this movie too seriously, you can have a great time. The actors playing the astronauts are very good but the movie is made by actors in small parts - David Doyle as Elliot Gould's long-suffering assignment editor, Karen Black as as Gould's co-worker and Telly Savalas, who saves the day (more or less). The movie has a funny and reasonably intelligent screenplay and if you want some decent entertainment, you could do a lot worse.

First-rate, thought provoking and exciting thriller

[jimjoejohnmoore · 9/10 · 9 May 2004]

I just wish some of those technically minded, nit-picking nerds who submit boring, long winded indictments of really good films would just lighten up and take films for what they're meant to be.....entertainment. I revisited Capricorn One this evening and the 2 hours just flew by. Every film ever made (no matter how great) is flawed. They're not meant to be picked apart, anyone can pick holes in a film. Capricorn One is a very exciting, thought provoking thriller which still stands up today.

Writer/director Peter Hyams deserves great credit in attempting in just 2 hours screen time to construct a film designed to entertain and at the same time get you thinking. To do full justice to the story line would require another 2 hours, but many people are reluctant to sit through a 4 hour film. Of course it has it's faults but it has very much to commend it such as the exciting action sequences, intelligent and at times very humorous script and convincing performances. One doesn't have to accept the film's premise (hoax Mars/Moon whatever landings) to enjoy this fine film. Judge for yourself. My verdict....9 out of 10.

Don't be discouraged at first glance...

[fletch5 · 7/10 · 14 January 2002]

The first couple of minutes of Capricorn One feel rather tedious, but the rest of this suspenseful conspiracy film classic is quite enjoyable. The cast is a great collection of more or less second-rate actors, including a brief but memorable turn by Telly Savalas. During its latter half, the movie turns into an incredibly exciting chase flick taking place in a secluded desert and involving a breathtaking aerial climax. Special mention must be made of Jerry Goldsmith's fantastically effective score.

So awful it's funny (SPOILERS)

[Klaus Silberbauer · 1/10 · 9 July 2003]

I had a good laugh watching Capricorn One. The general idea is good: A movie about the biggest scam of them all - a fake Mars journey. But the movie is so amateurish made that it hurts. Even the cutting is poorly done - the movie simply falls apart.

The first 15 minutes rocks. A genuine no-nonsense rocket launch, NASA style, using actual footage. Very promising. And from then on it disintegrates.

The dialogue changes from long (long long), boring monologues to stupid, slap stick dialogue, using every cliche in the book.

The plot itself could have been good, the general idea is interesting, but the story line has gaping holes. What about this: You perform the greatest scam of mankind - only three men know the truth. Do you guard them? No - you lock them up in a room and go away. And so of course they escape - simply by removing the door from it's frame .... please.

The life support systems turn up to be defective... 3 weeks before launch!? Oh come on!

• "Yes, now we are ready to go to Mars, we only need the life support system"

• "Oh that? It will be ready 3 weeks before launch - then we test it" ...

The choppers send out to find the astronauts fly together instead of splitting up. There is no soldiers or anti terrorist guys in the choppers - the pilots themselves run out wearing flight helmets and a hand gun, trying to shoot the fugitives :-)

Notice the center screen in the control room - even when the space ship has reached Mars it's still showing an Earth orbit...

And so on... one blunder after the other.

The timing is strange too - small, non-important scenes seem to take forever (e.g. the "I'm telling a joke while I climb a mountain scene".) While important parts of the story disappear in a blur. For how long are the astronauts walking in the desert? 2 hours? 2 days? Hard to tell.

Other reviewers tend to say that I'm not a true sci-fi fan because I tend to rate sci-fi movies badly. Believe you me: I'm a huge sci-fi fan. I've seen most of it, and I have read most of it. That's why I get so disappointed when it's poorly done. And, let's face it, there is lot of bad sci-fi out there.

So... watch this, by all means. It's a laugh - not just because it's bad sci-fi, but because it's a bad movie, breaking every rule in the book. This should have been a B TV-show, not a movie.

Bad writing, bad directing, bad bad effects and, oh my god: Bad bad acting!

1/10.