In order to protect the reputation of the American space program, a team of NASA administrators turn the first Mars mission into a phony Mars landing. Under threat of harm to their families the astronauts play their part in the deception on a staged set in a deserted military base. But once the real ship returns to Earth and burns up on re-entry, the astronauts become liabilities. Now, with the help of a crusading reporter, they must battle a sinister conspiracy that will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden.
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Reviews
I wanted to but couldn't!
Good , But It Is Overrated By Some
A Masterpiece!
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Never heard of this movie? Well, it does have over 100 reviews here, so it can't be that obscure. Anyway, this is a pretty nice little film even though it's not a classic. The plot is that astronauts are going to Mars, but it turns out to all be a hoax. The astronauts aren't aware that they just sent a fake space shuttle and they're taken to a studio where they'll film being on Mars. Unfortunately, the fake space shuttle disintegrates. The only way to cover this up is to kill the astronauts, so they steal an airplane to escape but it runs out of gas. They're stranded in the desert where the government hunts them down. I admit the second half isn't as good as the first, but it's still good. It is too long, but I still found it to be a unique idea done pretty well. I had no idea OJ was in all these movies. I just know more about movies than sports. ***
If you're willing to overdose on suspension of disbelief pills and overlook the multitude of absurdities in Capricorn One, you can enjoy it for what it is: a silly, campy, thriller that only the most gullible conspiracy theorists would take seriously.Okay, the idea of (1) a shady element within NASA planning and executing a plot within a few weeks designed to fake a mission to Mars AND FOOL THE REST OF NASA, (2) erasing the existence of a suspicious engineer without anyone else at NASA, his neighborhood, family, etc . . noticing, (3) O.J. Simpson being taken seriously as an actor, and so on is all perfectly absurd. But hey, it's only a movie, and Telly Savalas' cameo is worth the price of admission.Bottom line: pop this movie into the DVD player, open a beer, remove your brain, and enjoy this generally fun movie. If you believe any of it is remotely plausible, you'll believe Oliver Stone's "JFK" as well.
i remember watching this movie back in 1983 when i was about 12 .in the beginning it was complicated for my little experience with movies at the time because i started watching movies about 9 years old OK.but this movie is just plain great i got into it immediately.good innovative surprisingly simple story .great suspense .this movie came in the heels of 70 era watergate conspiracy thrillers..and in the end its not that complicated .this is a great unique movie to enjoy .no special effects.no monsters and no phasers if you expect in sci-fi .just great old fashioned mystery suspense ..elliot gould is great .one of my best of its kind .its in my blu-ray collection
Despite one of the most intriguing premises in movie history, to my mind at least, this science fiction thriller ultimately fails to deliver on its promised goods. However, it's still a good flick with a fairly solid plot. Still caught up in the space race, the planned NASA landing on Mars turns out a doomed project due to technical errors and financial problems, but to keep up national pride without making America lose face with the rest of the world, the US government secretly plays out and films the whole proposed landing in a studio (a popular conspiracy theory concerning the actual lunar landing in 1969, which some consider to have been a hoax), while still sending a rocket up into space and convincing the world it's manned. However, the covert plot backfires completely when the rocket disintegrates upon re-entry into the Earth atmosphere and everyone assumes the astronauts (played by James Brolin, Sam Waterston and O.J. Simpson; yes, that O.J.) have died with it. Soon, the three would-be space explorers need to run for their lives, hunted down by their own government who can't allow them to survive and thus expose the whole conspiracy. A damn brilliant set-up for a movie, but it focuses too much on the melodramatic family issues of the astronauts and a rather dull investigation by journalist Elliott Gould, and thus never gets going as the high adrenaline political thriller it could have been. A remake has been suggested on multiple occasions: though I'm usually opposed to the very notion, in this case I'll make an exception since there's still plenty to improve upon this otherwise fascinating premise.
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