Capricorn One

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.

This movie is indeed a noteworthy sci-fi/conspiracy flick, even after all these years.

Unmistakeably based on the real-life "moon hoax" pseudo-conspiracy, it takes the issue one step further and explores just how far your government might go to cover up its own incapacity and silence everyone who gets in its way (Ironically enough for that matter, the moon landings are portrayed in this movie as a non-hoax and really did take place).

When three would-be Mars astronauts are secretly pulled out of their capsule just minutes before liftoff due to a malfunctioning life support system that would have meant certain death, they are quickly transferred to an abandoned air force base out in the desert. Upon arrival, they are told that they'll have to play make-believe using the facility's very own "Mars" sound stage. It's got everything in place to fool the public about an actual Mars landing. Things go somewhat well and although the astronauts really begin to resent the big swindle they were drawn into, nobody really notices. That is, until their real-life landing capsule disintegrates while re-entering the earth's atmosphere. They figure that now that they're all supposed to be dead, the government will have them killed for real....

So much for the plot, the rest is yours to find out about. Definitely worth watching. One thing though, try to watch it in widescreen - somehow they showed the 4:3 full-frame version on TV here, which was a major drawback considering the movie's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

8 out of 10!

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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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 ****.

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.