Capricorn One (1977)

A NASA Mars mission won't work, and its funding is endangered, so they decide to fake it just this once. But then they have to keep the secret.

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writer:

Peter Hyams

Stars:

Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Brenda Vaccaro

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elliott Gould	...	Robert Caulfield
James Brolin	...	Charles Brubaker
Brenda Vaccaro	...	Kay Brubaker
Sam Waterston	...	Peter Willis
O.J. Simpson	...	John Walker
Hal Holbrook	...	Dr. James Kelloway
Karen Black	...	Judy Drinkwater
Telly Savalas	...	Albain
David Huddleston	...	Hollis Peaker
David Doyle	...	Walter Loughlin
Lee Bryant	...	Sharon Willis
Denise Nicholas	...	Betty Walker
Robert Walden	...	Elliot Whitter
James Sikking	...	Control Room Man (as Jim Sikking)
Alan Fudge	...	Capsule Communicator

Storyline

Charles Brubaker is the astronaut leading NASA's first manned mission to Mars. Seconds before the launch, the entire team is pulled from the capsule and the rocket leaves earth unmanned much to Brubaker's anger. The head of the programme explains that the life support system was faulty and that NASA can't afford the publicity of a scratched mission. The plan is to fake the Mars landing and keep the astronauts at a remote base until the mission is over, but then investigative journalist Robert Caulfield starts to suspect something.

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Plot Keywords:

jet | car | biplane | rattlesnake | funeral | 

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Taglines:

The mission was a sham. The murders were real.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 June 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Capricornio Uno

Filming Locations:

Titan Missile Museum - 1580 W. Duval Mine Road, Green Valley, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated General Films,ITC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min 130 min (original)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm optical prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the scene in the 1973 film Westworld,James Brolin's character was bitten by a rattlesnake. While the milked rattler was attached to Brolin's arm, he was bitten by the teeth on the snakes lower jaw, despite wearing padding on his arm made of leather and cotton. In Capricorn one,Brolin's character was seen killing and eating a rattlesnake in his attempt to survive while being hunted by the two helicopters.

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Goofs

Just before the launch, as a man in a black suit walks across the capsule gantry to open the door and tell the astronauts to "come with me", a crewmember is visible. As the man is opening the capsule door, a crewmember's bare arm is clearly visible on the left helping him open the door. The man is wearing a black suit and the crewmember lending assistance is clearly bare-armed.

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Quotes

Charles Brubaker: [dividing up the first aid kit] John, you take the flint. Peter and I will split up the matches. Anybody want the gun?
Lt. Col Peter Willis: I'd shoot my foot.
Cmdr. John Walker: I'd shoot his foot.

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Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Ghetto Blaster, Terror in Beverly Hills, and Killing American Style (2014)

User Reviews

An '70's favorite.

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

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