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ERA
Did you know
49 years old β old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#01
Capricorn One
"The mission was a sham. The murders were real."
1977 2h 3m EN
π
6.8
SOLID
β
6.8TMDB Β· 533
DramaActionThrillerScience Fiction
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
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.
βThe mission was a sham. The murders were real.β
Where to watch Β· US
Cast
Elliott Gould
Robert Caulfield
James Brolin
Col. Charles Brubaker
Brenda Vaccaro
Kay Brubaker
Sam Waterston
Lt. Col. Peter Willis
O. J. Simpson
Cmdr. John Walker
Hal Holbrook
Dr. James Kelloway
Karen Black
Judy Drinkwater
Telly Savalas
Albain
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Peter Hyams
- Writers
- Peter Hyams
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United Kingdom, United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts πΏ
2 / 8
WORLD
Did you know
International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#02
3 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Peter Hyams, shot by Wilmer Butler. Note their partnership β DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#03
4 / 8
ERA
Did you know
Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after β most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor James Mitchell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#05
6 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Elliott Gould and James Brolin and Brenda Vaccaro carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#06
7 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "The mission was a sham. The murders were real.".
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0077294 β still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Peter Hyams directs. Wilmer Butler behind the camera. Jerry Goldsmith scores. James Mitchell cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 149 years old β old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
- 2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
- 3Directed by Peter Hyams, shot by Wilmer Butler. Note their partnership β DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 4Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after β most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 5Editor James Mitchell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 6Elliott Gould and James Brolin and Brenda Vaccaro carry the top of the cast.
- 7Marketing tagline: "The mission was a sham. The murders were real.".
- 8IMDB entry: tt0077294 β still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 9Classified under 12 themes, including "spacecraft", "helicopter", "planet mars", "escape".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Wilmer Butler
- Original score
- Jerry Goldsmith
- Editing
- James Mitchell
- Production design
- Albert Brenner
- Costume design
- Patricia Norris
- Makeup / hair
- Michael Westmore
- Stunt coordinator
- Bill Hickman
- Runtime
- 123 min Β· 2h 3m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $5,000,000
- Box office
- $12,000,000
- Return
- 240% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- PG
Also by
Peter Hyams
Stills Β· wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames β open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- John Chardβ 8/10
It's a pleasure alright, and I don't feel guilty about it at all!. A NASA space mission up to Mars fails to get off the ground due to major technical problems. Fearing funding could be taken away and wishing to avoid embarrassment, the powers that be decide to do a fake landing in a studio. With the astronauts forced to pretend that they are actually up on Mars, and fighting with their own personal belief systems, the government executives in charge fear that the fake flight could come to light. Upon learning that the outside world actually thinks they crashed upon reentering the earths atmosphere, the astronauts run for their lives knowing that the government can't afford for the men to stay alive. Capricorn One is an excellent conspiracy picture that sadly seems to have been largely forgotten. Even today we are still hearing mooted stories of the landing on the moon actually being fake, so here director and writer Peter Hyams takes it and crafts a thrillingly taut piece of work. At the films heart is Elliot Gould's (his great 70s work under valued) intrepid journalist, Robert Caulfield, after being nudged in the ribs by one of his friends at NASA, is himself under threat of death from shadowy government types who will think of nothing to offing him along with the astronauts. The film is split into two very significant halves, the first half is the set up, the conversations before and after the fake landing are clever and crucially attention grabbing, and of course we get to know our characters with the right amount of time. The film then shifts for the second half into a quality thriller chase movie, our main protagonists pursued by the government assassins courtesy of two gun toting helicopters. Jerry Goldsmith's score brilliantly becoming part of the chase sequences, making the helicopters seem like death stalking machines operated by no man alone. We even get Telly Savalas joining us for the last quarter with a highly fun and enjoyable portrayal as a crop dusting knight in red shiny armour, and the finale positively rocks and finishes the film on the high note it promised all along. James Brolin, Brenda Vaccaro, Sam Waterston, O.J. Simpson, Hal Holbrook and Karen Black fill out the rest of the cast with much credit indeed. Capricorn One, criminally undervalued, and perhaps even more sad, forgotten. 8/10
Production companies
Who made it
- AS
Associated General Films
ITC Entertainment
GB
Key crew
- ProducerPaul Lazarus III
- EditorJames Mitchell
- Special EffectsRobert Spurlock
- Still PhotographerBruce McBroom
- Art DirectionDavid M. Haber
- Makeup ArtistMichael Westmore
- Camera OperatorJames R. Connell
- HairstylistEmma M. diVittorio
- Sound mixerJerry Jost
- Script SupervisorMarshall J. Wolins
- CastingJane Feinberg
- CastingMike Fenton
- Location ManagerRon Underwood
- Assistant DirectorIrby Smith
- Associate ProducerMichael I. Rachmil
- Boom OperatorJoseph Kite
- Production DesignAlbert Brenner
- Set DecorationRick Simpson
- Costume DesignPatricia Norris
- Special EffectsBruce Mattox
- Special EffectsHenry Millar
- Stunt CoordinatorBill Hickman
- Title DesignerDan Perri
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- spacecraft
- helicopter
- planet mars
- escape
- nasa
- beguilement
- texas
- crop duster
- conspiracy
- astronaut
- desert
- investigative reporter
Release history Β· US
When it landed
- Theatrical1978-06-02PG
- Physical1998-02-17PGΒ· DVD Release
Also known as
International titles
- CapricΓ³rnio UmBR
- ιηΎ―δΈε·ε€§θ‘ε¨CN
- γ«γγͺγ³γ³γ»1οΌ1977JP
- KozioroΕΌec 1PL
- Kozoroh jednaCZ
