Rating: 
Summary: LACKS PRODUCTION VALUES
Review: I don't know if a laser version exists; or if it does - is it any better? What seems like a good story falls by the wayside when viewed on this grainy, murky video-tape. Politics demand an aborted Mars mission go on as planned, except, it shall be done on a soundstage. Oddly ironic as one watches a fictional account of a fictional event being fictionalized on flim! Dreadfully ironic as one watches co-star Orenthal James Simpson run for his life! Probably a good copy could catch a few bucks at E-BAY though. That is, if a good copy exists!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent thriller with sci-fi themes
Review: They knew how to make conspiracy thrillers back in the 70s, and this fine one may have slipped under your radar screens. With an ideal cast of 70s icons (a quintessential counter-culture hero in Gould!), a thundering Jerry Goldsmith score, and a helluva helicopter chase, this is sure fire enjoyment. Plus, the film makes an interesting comment on science-fiction: the astronauts of Capricorn One are to become the heroes of science fact, but find themselves acting out a fiction -- a very deadly one. The films' desert landscapes make a clever parallel to the martian landscapes of 50s sci-fi flicks. Entertaining on many levels.
Rating:
Summary: Witty, cerebral thriller
Review: This film has many excellent components that make it a highly enjoyable thriller: chases, suspense and a conspiracy! The "Orwellian" government theme, made popular in post-Watergate America dominates. Clever dialogue throughout keeps things interesting even when the plot hits a snag. For fans of Oliver Stone pictures, this one won't disappoint!
Rating: 
Summary: Apparently OJ was innocent, because he sure can't act
Review: Sensational theme and dramatic concept...Three astronauts troubled by the NASA deception of a phony trip to Mars (for political reasons), realize their lives are in jeopardy when the real, unmanned launch doesn't make it back. Drags a bit because Simpson and Brolin are wooden in leading roles, but Sam Waterston, Elliot Gould, Karen Black, and the evil Hal Holbrook make up for it (nearly).
Rating:
Summary: Plays to the "Moon Landing Was a Hoax" crowd
Review:
Good entertainment. It plays on the old "the moon landing was all a giant hoax" conspiracy theory. There are people who still believe that, and this film is built on the same plot. The trip to Mars was a failure, and so the "power brokers" stage it with real astronauts who have to be killed in the end, and movie and television tricks.
Hal Holbrook plays the heavy (bad government guy in charge of the hoax, including killing folks). Elliott Gould is the plucky young reporter (Caulfield) who is being set up by the government because he knows too much, and suspects more than he knows. The three astronauts are played by James Brolin, O.J. Simpson and a young Sam Waterson. They are supposed to be killed when their heat shield fails on re-entry (to avoid any embarrassing leaks later), but they escape from their southwest location. Even Telly Savalas gets a part in the solution, as Elliott Gould closes in on the bad (read "government") guys who are caught red-handed in their hoax on the gullible American people (aren't they always?). This film has the whole schmeer, including the black helicopters, bad politicians (probably Republicans, of course), car chases, gun battles from airplanes, and the bad guys getting their comeuppance in the end. It's good entertainment. Joseph (Joe) Pierre
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books
Rating:
Summary: Underground Classic for Conspiracy Buffs
Review: If this wasn't the original Black Helicopters movie, it sure went a long way toward immortalizing that aviatory image as a sure sign of evil government conspiracies. On a personal note, I remember it for two things -- seeing it on a Sunday afternoon with my Dad on the best weekend we spent together of my pre-teen years; and first hearing the "black guy dies first" movie custom from Dad.
The plot is simple and, at the time, rather chilling. Remember, it was only nine years after the 1969 moon landing, even less after Vietnam lies began coming to light and four years after Watergate climaxed with Nixon's resignation. Also, it's one year after the Viking unmanned craft landed on Mars. The first manned mission to Mars has a wee bit of a problem -- a life support system that was too cheap and discovered too late. NASA needs this mission to be successful with no glitches to keep its considerable funding amidst dying interest in the space program. Solution? Fake the mission! Hal Holbrook explains all this to astronauts James Brolin, Sam Waterston and O.J. Simpson (there were athletic black actors who could ACT in the 1970s, but the trend was to use famous and semi-famous jocks. Probably has something to do with Q ratings and bankability). Holbrook persuades them to go along in a manner that makes you ask "Are the government or major corporations such as the aerospace industry siblings, distant cousins, kissing cousins or incestuous siblings with the Mafia?" All is well until technology and the astronauts begin little rebellions that hint this mission isn't exactly a space oddity. This puts Eliott Gould, a newspaper guy always foolishly swinging for the fence sexually and professionally, on the case. Unlike others, I think the part as written called for Gould, someone who could flow between drama and comedy seamlessly. So you've got Gould doing his Scooby Gang thing and the whole months long fakery being pulled off when there's another wee problem on reentry. That sets up the last third to half of the movie when we get black helicopters, snake lunches and Telly Savalas. Not a great flick for the quality cast involved (Gould, Waterston, Holbrook, Denise Nicholas, Robert Walden) but a good one. It does drag in some spots. The DVD doesn't have enough extras to be a great DVD or even a good one -- no commentaries, just some production notes. I bought it just because I wanted the movie. I'm not sorry I did, but the DVD package is still disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: An uneven film, still worth the effort
Review: In many ways, Capricorn One is a quissential example of a '70s action film. The film tells the story of the first manned spaceflight to Mars and the three dedicated pioneers (played by James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O.J. Simpson -- and yes, it is impossible to watch the film without thinking about Simpson's most recent role) who bring hope to a cynical country by conquering the Red Planet. The only problem, of course, is that the whole thing is a fake. The three men are actually in a hastily constructed studio in the middle of a barren desert and their spacecraft is empty as it journeys through space and time. As implausible as this plot may sound, the film actually goes to the trouble to make the reasoning behind this plot believable and it even goes to the trouble to provide some humanity to the plot's mastermind, a NASA official played by Hal Holbrook. Because the film actually takes the time to set up the situation, it remains compelling even when that empty spacecraft happens to burn up on reentry, meaning that -- in order for the three spacemen to remain martyrs and for NASA to continue to get funding -- they have to die in reality as well. As the three men try to escape across the barren desert (pursued by three very ominous helicopters -- never has a sinister government conspiracy ever looked so realistically sinister), a reporter played by Elliott Gould slowly starts to uncover the conspiracy and soon his life is in danger as well. While the basic plot itself is similar to quite a few recent action films, what distinguished Capricorn One is that the film -- made while the nation, still feeling the pain of Watergate and Viet Nam, was still getting used to not being able to trust the government -- plays this story totally straight. Neither of the film's leads (Brolin and Gould) manage to get off a single smirky one-liner in the style of our modern action heroes and the film makes it painstakingly clear that neither one of them is invulnerable. Brolin's trek through the desert is almost painful to watch (at one point, nearly dead of dehydration, Brolin very graphically kills and eats a rattlesnake -- a scene that would verge on disgusting if it wasn't obvious that Brolin's life depends on his actions). As for Gould, he has a wonderful scene in which he discovers that his car's breaks have been tamepered with and the entire sequence of his car racing out of control down the streets of Houston before eventually plunging off a bridge is almost totally shot from his point of view -- it's a scary sequence that is well-directed and if it's conclusion seems a little far fetched, the build-up is almost equal to the famous car chase in The French Connection. That said, this is not a perfect film. Director/Writer Peter Hyams allows quite a few scenes to go on a bit too long. (The film is full of quirky characters but occasionally, the spend so long being quirky that it becomes obvious that they're there for no other purpose other than to show off that quirk.) This is a two hour film that would have been better if it had been thirty minutes shorter. The film has a clever script but far too many scenes (especially of Gould's character trying to figure out the conspiracy) seem to repeat each other for no basic reason other than the lack of a good editor. The performances are a mixed bag. Gould does a good job for the most part except for a few scenes when he was seems to be chanelling Dustin Hoffman from All The President's Men. As for the three astronaughts, their characters aren't strong developed beyond a few identifying quirks -- Brolin is the heroic one, Waterston is the funny one, and Simpson -- well, he doesn't really get any identifying quirks beyond being O.J. Simpson. Of the three, only Waterston gives a memorable performance and this is largely because he gets the funny lines. Brolin is -- well, he's Brolin, vaguely likeable but mostly dull. Simpson's performance is a typical O.J. Simpson performance -- he seems to be trying really hard to excel at something that he has no talent at. You'd almost feel sorry for him if he wasn't O.J. As far as the supporting roles are concerned, there's a lot of familiar faces and it's a mixed bag. Both Karen Black and Telly Savalas put in what the credits assure us are "special appearances." Black is occasionally amusing even if her character serves no real purpose while Savalas manages to bring the film to a dead stop by wildly overplaying a role that one hopes was meant to be comic relief but, which in the end, just serves as a very annoying distraction. On the plus side, Brenda Vaccaro is sympathetic and compelling as Brolin's wife and the undderrated Denise Nichols has one good scene as Simpson's wife -- one almost regrets that the crew of Capricorn One had to be male as Vacarro and Nichols give the type of performances that should have come from Brolin and Simpson. However, the film's greatest performance is given by the great Hal Holbrook who, instead of playing an outright, melodramatic villian, instead plays a human being who, for good reasons, does some truly evil things. Indeed, the film's main strength is Holbrook's villian who serves as a great testament to what can happen when idealism gives way to self-righteousness. By the film's end, you may hate Holbrook but you never cease to understand him and even mourn the person he used to be. Capricorn One is a flawed film and it's a dated film but it is still a film that is worth seeing for both it's nostalgia value (Yes, Virginia, there actually was a time when journalists were considered heroes) and for an example of a believable and compelling action film.
Rating: 
Summary: DVD case says 1:85 aspect ratio but is incorrect
Review: Just received this DVD and it looks terrific. However, the case says "matted" 1:85 aspect ratio. This is incorrect as it has a 2:35 ratio(to my delight). I recently recorded it when AMC showed it in full screen.What a difference. The part that really showed full screen in all its horror was when Elliot Gould and Karen Black are riding in the 280Z and the camera shows a front view of them. In full screen you only see one of them at a time as the camera pans back and forth to whoever is talking. On my new DVD you get to see both actors at the same time.And of course thre are many, many other scenes that are like that also. Some reviewers said the transfer was not good but I disagree. This DVD looks great and what a story, even if far-fetched and a little slow in the middle. Telly Savales as a crusty old crop duster is a real hoot. Gould says, "I'm Cauldfield". Savales says , "I can't help that". Gould says, "I thought you said $100 to rent your plane?" Savales says , "$125 because you said OK to $100 too quick, smart a#%".I recommend this to anyone who likes 70's thrillers with just the right amount of humor thrown in.
Rating:
Summary: How long can you hold a fake ?
Review: The sinister metaphor around a failure establish all a complex web of lies , guided by the rules of the Status Quo . When a serious accident occurs in a space flight , the tripulation is notified and convinced to maintain that tramp to the great audience . But they ignore what it is going backstage and obviously that will be the dramatci focus of that cult movie .
Arresting picture from start to finnish .
Rating:
Summary: Terrific conspiracy thriller
Review: "Capricorn One" (1978) is quite simply one of my all-time favorite movies: a fast-paced conspiracy thriller brimming with excellent performances and a script by writer/director Peter Hyams which is filled with witty dialog and believable situations. And the cast is terrific: Elliott Gould as an investigative reporter who has "cried wolf" one too many times, James Brolin, Sam Waterston and O.J. Simpson (Let's not go there.) as ill-fated astronauts, Hal Holbrook as a shady NASA chief, Brenda Vacarro as Brolin's dutiful wife, David ("Bosley") Doyle as Gould's harried editor and David Huddleston as a congressman and NASA booster. Add funny cameos by Karen Black as Gould's fellow reporter and Telly Savalas as a crop-duster pilot who comes in late and saves the day and you have a terrific cast that brings welcome professionalism to what could have been a silly affair.
The plot is typical '70's-era political paranoia in that it involves NASA faking a mission to Mars then having to terminate the "astronauts" when the plan goes awry and the public believes the astronauts have been lost. Enter third-rate reporter Robert Caulfield (Gould), who is tipped-off that something is wrong by a NASA engineer (Robert Walden) who promptly disappears. It's up to Caulfield to figure out what's going on (much to the chagrin of his skeptical editor Doyle) while the astronauts plot an escape into the West Texas desert.
Everything is preposterous, yes, but Hyams directs with such slam-bang pacing and such an obvious sense of humor it's hard not to get involved in the story. And there are two excellent action set-pieces: Gould piloting an out-of-control car through the streets of Houston and a thrilling last-minute cliffhanger involving two menacing helicopters and Savalas' crop duster.
Actually, I like everything about this film, from the performances, especially Doyle and Savalas, who are hysterical, to the fact that O.J. gets killed halfway through the film.(Okay, I couldn't resist.) Hyams' script, his direction, the production values are all top-notch and the musical score is memorable, especially over the fast-paced opening credits, which set the mood for everything that follows. And for once a film ends on just the right note.
In all, this one is a winner, and would rate ***** (out of *****) if it weren't for the disappointing DVD package, which contains production notes and a widescreen 2:35:1 print and nothing else. Since Hyams is still working today, a commentary track doesn't seem too much to ask, does it? Until then, even this treatment can't harm a terrific popcorn flick.
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