Other Titles • Capricorn One • Unternehmen Capricorn (1978)
Synopses for Capricorn One (1978)
1.
In order to protect the reputation of the American space program, a team of scientists stages a phony Mars landing. Willingly participating in the deception are a trio of well-meaning astronauts, who become liabilities when their space capsule is reported lost on re-entry. Now, with the help of a crusading reporter, they must battle a sinister conspiracy that will stop at nothing to keep the truth a secret.
2.
What if one of the greatest space adventures was really a hoax? The whole world is watching the first manned flight to Mars prepare. Suddenly, its astronauts are taken from the craft to an abandoned desert hanger where NASA's director tells them their life support systems have failed. Because the mission's success is crucial to future space programs, he orders them to take part in a simulated Martian landing as cameras roll. If they refuse, their families will be harmed. The phony flight goes well until an uninformed NASA technician spots a computer discrepancy. He mentions it to a reporter friend who smells a story and starts to investigate. When their rocket disintegrates and the world thinks them dead, the astronauts realize their lives are in danger. They escape and separate - hoping one will survive to expose the sensational fraud.
3.
Thanks to repeated showings on cable television and home video, this speculative thriller has built quite a loyal following since its release in 1978. The provocative "what if?" scenario still packs a punch, even if it is not always believable. James Brolin, Sam Waterston and O J Simpson star as three astronauts who agree to spare the government embarrassment by faking their historic landing on Mars after their spacecraft is determined to be unsafe for blastoff. When a scheming mission controller (Hal Holbrook) plots to kill the astronauts in a staged capsule fire, the trio embarks on a dangerous mission to expose the truth. Elliott Gould costars as the journalist determined to crack the conspiracy, and director Peter Hyams turns up the tension with an exciting chase sequence involving Telly Savalas as an eccentric barnstormer who comes to Gould's aid in his attempt rescue the hoax mission's sole survivor. --Jeff Shannon
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