Capricorn One (1978) Warner Bros./Action-Thriller RT: 123 minutes Rated PG (violence, language, sexual references) Director: Peter Hyams Screenplay: Peter Hyams Music: Jerry Goldsmith Cinematography: Bill Butler Release date: June 2, 1978 (US) Cast: Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Brenda Vaccaro, Sam Waterston, O.J. Simpson, Hal Holbrook, Karen Black, Telly Savalas, David Huddleston, David Doyle, Lee Bryant, Denise Nicholas, Robert Walden, James Karen, Virginia Kaiser, James Sikking, Alan Fudge, Nancy Malone, Hank Stohl, Norman Bartold. Box Office: N/A
Rating: *** ½
Conspiracy theorists still clinging to the belief that the 1969 moon landing was faked will have a field day with Capricorn One, an early effort from writer-director Peter Hyams (Outland) that will likely confirm their fears about governmental malfeasance within the space program. Others will find it silly and far-fetched. Either way, you can’t deny it’s engaging and entertaining.
Capricorn One was made with the cooperation of NASA which is really something since it doesn’t exactly paint a flattering portrait of the government agency responsible for all space-related matters. It portrays them as an evil organization that deals in deception, blackmail and murder. Who knew they were such great sports? Give them a round of applause.
The plot concerns the first manned mission to Mars. The world watches as a trio of astronauts, Brubaker (Brolin, The Amityville Horror), Willis (Waterston, The Killing Fields) and Walker (Simpson, Firepower), prepares to make history. Just moments before blastoff, they’re removed from the craft and taken to an abandoned military base in the middle of nowhere where they’re briefed by NASA official Kelloway (Holbrook, Magnum Force).
Due to a faulty life support system, the mission as they know it has to be scrubbed. Well, not exactly scrubbed. If NASA admitted to yet another failure, they’d lose their government funding and public support. It’s in the agency’s best interest to make the world believe the mission is a success. In short, the plan is to fake it convincingly. To do this, he’ll need the cooperation of the three astronauts. In true bad guy style, Kelloway threatens their families if they don’t agree to go along with the plan. They’re held at the facility where a mock version of Mars’ surface has been built. They’re filmed landing and walking on it. Naturally, their cooperation doesn’t necessarily guarantee their survival. Something goes wrong, horribly wrong. Soon, the guys find themselves running for their lives through the desert.
Meanwhile, dogged TV reporter Robert Caulfield (Gould, The Silent Partner) realizes something is amiss after his friend, a NASA technician (Walden, Lou Grant), disappears without a trace after noticing certain things don’t add up. He brings it to the attention of his superiors who try to blame it on a broken workstation. As he delves deeper into the story, attempts are made on his life. Somebody doesn’t want him to discover the truth.
For me, there’s a lot to like about Capricorn One. Let’s start with the star-studded cast, most of them shown in small boxes on the poster. That’s always a positive sign. What a cast it is too. In addition to those already mentioned, it also co-stars Brenda Vaccaro (Airport ’77) as Brubaker’s “widow”, Karen Black (Airport ’75) as a female colleague of Caulfield’s, David Doyle (Charlie’s Angels) as Caulfield’s editor and James Karen (The Return of the Living Dead) as the Vice President. Telly Savalas (Kojak) contributes a funny cameo as a crop-dusting pilot hired by Caulfield to help look for the astronauts in the desert. This guy sure knows how to handle a plane. Check out how he takes care of the two helicopters that come after him and Caulfield. Although she’s only in a few scenes, Black makes an impression with lines like “I’ll fix you some coffee, then you can jump me.” LOL! She makes several comments about being jumped by Caulfield. It’s a kooky performance by a kooky actress. Holbrook is suitably sinister (and wonderfully hammy) as the NASA bigwig pulling the strings. Brolin, Waterston and Simpson are all good as the heroes-turned-puppets-turned-targets. Gould brings a dry sense of humor to an otherwise stock character.
Many think Hyams is a hack filmmaker and while that may be true to some extent, he’s done some solid films- e.g. Outland, 2010, Running Scared, Narrow Margin, Timecop and guilty pleasure End of Days. I’d put Capricorn One on that list too. It has a few pacing issues, but it always manages to regain its footing. The best scene has Caulfield trapped behind the wheel of an out-of-control car. Obviously, it’s been tampered with by unseen bad guys. It’s an exciting sequence that ends with a plunge off a bridge. If nothing else, Hyams knows his way around an action set-piece.
What else can I say? Capricorn One is 100% pure 70s conspiracy thriller fun! Sure, it lags a bit in places and the acting isn’t always great. WHO CARES?! I never said it represented cinematic perfection. For its type, it’s GREAT. It tells a gripping albeit implausible story of the evils that lurk behind big government agencies. Capricorn One is a perfect example of a “Hidden Treasure”. It wasn’t the summer blockbuster the makers hoped for, but it didn’t bomb either. It was the most successful independent movie of 1978. Even so, it doesn’t get the recognition it should. It’s been largely forgotten over the years. It deserves better.
