Capricorn One

Capricorn One (1977)

Runtime: 124 minutes

Directed by: Peter Hyams

Starring: James Brolin, Sam Waterston, O.J. Simpson, Elliott Gould, Hal Holbrook

From: Associated General Films/ITC Films

This was watched in part so I could comment on how dopey the moon landing conspiracy theorists are.

Here is another film I've known of for years but it took a random inspiration one day for me to see this, and as I have watched a few other films from director Peter Hyams, I might as well check this out. Sure, this did play a role in people starting to entertain the thought that the moon landing never happened, but more on that later. I have NO idea how the film was allowed to have NASA be the the space agency in this film considering this is one of those paranoid conspiracy thrillers from the 70's; sure, NASA themselves are not trying to kill astronauts in order to perpetuate a lie but Hal Holbrook is a part of NASA in the movie and he knows. I suppose it's not a spoiler to say that Hal Holbrook is in a 70's picture and you can't trust his character, is it?

It's mainly unidentified “mysterious forces” in the government that are a part of this scheme. NASA does not want to lose funding so them getting their ass to Mars is a must... and it's a manned mission to the red planet. Unfortunately, a screw-up happens so they have to fake the mission, despite the protests of the three astronauts (James Brolin, unfortunately without beard, Sam Waterston, and... O.J. Simpson). They are forced to go along with this hoax. It seems fine, as they actually are able to send a capsule to Mars... it's just unmanned. Well, when the capsule explodes upon re-entry to Earth, there's a pickle of a problem and the trio realizes they better escape & go on the run. Also, reporter Elliott Gould starts becoming suspicious of the government's story.

There are some “huh” moments and perhaps more obtuse scenes than there should have been, but it was still a fun watch. The cast all does a fine job (I was able to forget about Simpson in real life and instead note that he was fine in his role) and besides the people I already mentioned, there is Karen Black for a few minutes, Brenda Vaccaro, the actual Big Lebowski himself (David Huddleston) and in the true highlight, Telly Savalas in a small yet memorable over the top performance as a character who-among other things-is a Houston Astros fan. Along with the typical hallmarks of those 70's thrillers, this does end in a very exciting setpiece which required some stuntmen. While not the best of its kind, it was slick entertainment.


Ever since I heard the rumors as a kid of the moon landings being a hoax, I thought of it as stupid. NASA and other trusted sources have spent much time and effort in debunking those rumors; it's mainly people not understanding that science and it's understandable and yet that belief is still a thing among way too many people. Sure, it's resulted in interesting discussion of how NASA was able to achieve some great moments in human history but it's a belief I wish would go away. As there are too many who now believe that vaccines = autism... I know there will still be some who think we never made it to the moon. I say all this to note that I don't regret seeing Capricorn One... it's just something that couldn't have happened in real life. Like with the real life Apollo missions, the Soviets were watching and listening carefully. Wouldn't you think they'd loudly broadcast that something was amiss if they believed chicanery was going on?