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:

astronaut | nasa | hoax | investigative reporter | conspiracy | 

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Taglines:

Would you be shocked to find out that the greatest moment of our recent history may not have happened at all?

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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

The film was made and released about nine years after man first landed on the moon in 1969.

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Goofs

When giving the tear-filled message to his wife while in zero gravity, Bru's tears run down his cheeks instead of staying in his eyes.

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Quotes

Charles Brubaker: [Cockpit indicator alarming] Oh, Christ. Fuel. There's no goddamn fuel!
Lt. Col Peter Willis: I told you never to take a trip without checking the tank.

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Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Supergirl, Captain America (1990), and Roger Corman's Fantastic Four (2014)

User Reviews

Good Escapism!

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