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Unternehmen Capricorn

Original title: Capricorn One
  • 1977
  • 12
  • 2h 3m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
25K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,900
3,932
Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
Home Video Trailer from Artisan
Play trailer3:08
1 Video
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureDrama

When the first manned flight to Mars is deemed unsafe and scrubbed on the launch pad, anxious authorities must scramble to save face and retain their funding - and so an unthinkable plot to ... Read allWhen the first manned flight to Mars is deemed unsafe and scrubbed on the launch pad, anxious authorities must scramble to save face and retain their funding - and so an unthinkable plot to fake the mission is hatched.When the first manned flight to Mars is deemed unsafe and scrubbed on the launch pad, anxious authorities must scramble to save face and retain their funding - and so an unthinkable plot to fake the mission is hatched.

  • Director
    • Peter Hyams
  • Writer
    • Peter Hyams
  • Stars
    • Elliott Gould
    • James Brolin
    • Brenda Vaccaro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    25K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,900
    3,932
    • Director
      • Peter Hyams
    • Writer
      • Peter Hyams
    • Stars
      • Elliott Gould
      • James Brolin
      • Brenda Vaccaro
    • 209User reviews
    • 82Critic reviews
    • 38Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 nominations

    Videos1

    Capricorn One
    Trailer 3:08
    Watch Capricorn One

    Photos115

    James Brolin, O.J. Simpson, and Sam Waterston in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
    James Brolin, O.J. Simpson, and Sam Waterston in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
    O.J. Simpson in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
    Elliott Gould and Telly Savalas in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
    Monty Jordan in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
    James Brolin, O.J. Simpson, and Sam Waterston in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
    James Brolin, O.J. Simpson, and Sam Waterston in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
    James Brolin, Hal Holbrook, O.J. Simpson, and Sam Waterston in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
    James Brolin, Hal Holbrook, O.J. Simpson, and Sam Waterston in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
    James Brolin in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
    James Brolin, O.J. Simpson, and Sam Waterston in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)
    James Brolin in Unternehmen Capricorn (1977)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Elliott Gould
    Elliott Gould
    • Robert Caulfield
    James Brolin
    James Brolin
    • Charles Brubaker
    Brenda Vaccaro
    Brenda Vaccaro
    • Kay Brubaker
    Sam Waterston
    Sam Waterston
    • Peter Willis
    O.J. Simpson
    O.J. Simpson
    • John Walker
    Hal Holbrook
    Hal Holbrook
    • Dr. James Kelloway
    Karen Black
    Karen Black
    • Judy Drinkwater
    Telly Savalas
    Telly Savalas
    • Albain
    David Huddleston
    David Huddleston
    • Hollis Peaker
    David Doyle
    David Doyle
    • Walter Loughlin
    Lee Bryant
    Lee Bryant
    • Sharon Willis
    Denise Nicholas
    Denise Nicholas
    • Betty Walker
    Robert Walden
    Robert Walden
    • Elliot Whitter
    James Sikking
    James Sikking
    • Control Room Man
    • (as Jim Sikking)
    Alan Fudge
    Alan Fudge
    • Capsule Communicator
    James Karen
    James Karen
    • Vice President Price
    Virginia Kaiser
    • Mrs. Price
    Nancy Malone
    Nancy Malone
    • Mrs. Peaker
    • Director
      • Peter Hyams
    • Writer
      • Peter Hyams
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Despite being portrayed as a villain, NASA provided technical assistance, including mock-up spacecraft, sets, vehicles, front screen projection expertise.
    • Goofs
      When reporter Robert Caulfield tells his editor about NASA technician Elliott Whitter's disappearance, he says that Alva Leacock claims to have been living in what he knows to be the other man's apartment "for over a year." Even *if* NASA engaged the connivance of the telephone company to change their own current records, they could not possibly have altered and/or replaced every copy of the telephone directory in the Houston metropolitan area, and just a handful would not only put the lie to Leacock's claim, they would also document Whitter's existence.
    • Quotes

      Robert Caulfield: Mr Albaine, how much do you charge to dust a field?

      Albain: Twenty five dollars.

      Robert Caulfield: I'd like to hire your plane.

      Albain: That'll be a hundred dollars.

      Robert Caulfield: You said you charged twenty five?

      Albain: Twenty five dollars to dust a field, but you ain't got no field because you ain't no farmer, which means you ain't poor and I think you're a pervert!

      Robert Caulfield: Okay, one hundred.

      Albain: One hundred and twenty five.

      Robert Caulfield: What?

      Albain: Because you said yes to a hundred too quick, which means you can afford a hundred and twenty five.

    • Alternate versions
      Originally released in Japan in a longer (129 min) version which featured alternate and extended scenes (including an additional scenes showing the docking of the spaceship during the Mars landing sequence). This version was unavailable for decades and considered lost, until a copy was discovered in the National Film Archive of Japan and was finally released on Blu-ray in Japan in 2019.
    • Connections
      Edited into Magnum: Two Birds of a Feather (1983)

    User reviews209

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A great premise is rendered merely watchable by a script that produces a poor middle section
    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.
    helpful•35
    25
    • bob the moo
    • Jul 19, 2004

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    FAQ18

    • How long is Capricorn One?Powered by Alexa
    • With current rocket technology the trip to mars would take over a month. How did they expect to get three astronauts to mars in a Apollo type capsule?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 3, 1978 (West Germany)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Official Site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Capricorn One
    • Filming locations
      • Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Associated General Films
      • ITC Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $5,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $402
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 3 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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