Product Description

A reporter discovers that the first manned flight to mars is really a hoax. A riveting conspiracy-inspired nail-biter. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 07/22/2003 Starring: Elliott Gould James Brolin Run time: 124 minutes Rating: Pg

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8629 in DVD
• Brand: Lions Gate
• Released on: 1998-02-18
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.com
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. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Wonderful forgotten movie - Lousy transfer
What a joy to see this movie again. I had forgotten how suspenseful it was, not having seen it since its theater release. Even O.J. Simpson can't ruin it. Of course, it pushes the limits of believability from time to time...but never far enough to make it unenjoyable.

Now for the bad part....this movie definitely deserves a better DVD than this. It is widescreen, but not enhanced as it should be. But worse...the picture has areas where it almost appears as if it is being projected against a dirty screen. Other areas of the movie are blurred...amplified when viewed in a large format.

I can't NOT recommend this DVD...only because it is the only one available of this film. But I sure wish someone would do the movie justice.

This should be a cult classic !
I love this flick ! from 1978, it's a thriller that stands up to many, many viewings, and it gets you thinking...could something like this ever happen ? It's a great one for "Conspiracy theorists", "Enquiring minds", or just plain old folks like me who distrust "The System".

It boasts a cast of actors that never quite made it big, all turning in excellent performances: Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Brenda Vaccaro, Sam Waterston, Hal Holbrook, Karen Black, Telly Savalas, you even get O.J. Simpson in one of his finest minutes.

I get a big kick out of films made in the '70's. The mens fashions were priceless. Those wonderful suits, ties, and haircuts ! What a hoot it all was.

A favorite scene is the one with Sam Waterston on the cliff, and the crop-dusting plane chase is fabulous. The Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack is terrific, as is Bill Butler's cinematography. Though there are lapses in the script, I give this five stars for being one of the most entertaining and best B movies out there.

the ultimate 70's conspiracy thriller
When I was 9 yrs old I lived next door to a mall where a theater complex (one of the first Multi-plexes) was erected just around the time of this film's release; I must've seen Capricorn One at least 6 times in that theater alone as well as countless times on VHS and on TV and I guess i always grew up thinking that things are never what they appear to be and i have never had any trouble believing the worst of my government and I think Capricorn One probably had a lot to do with that. After a decade of Oliver Stone movies and the X files it might be easy to forget that CAPRICORN ONE had it all first.There are some memorable set-pieces: The slow pullback from the astronauts shining faceplate to reveal the soundstage while the rah-rah speech is recited, the insane Bi-plane and helicopter chase that ends the film. My personal favorite among the scenes are those involving Elliot Gould and his travails at the hands of shadowy govt G. Gordon Liddy types, who first erase all traces of his pal from NASA ( a nicely worried Robert Walden) and then proceed to attempt to assassinate and then just generally screw with him. Other plusses: a grip of excellent characterizations--from James Brolin's flinty-eyed commanding astronaut,OJ Simpson's stoic but warily paranoid fellow astronaut,Hal Holbrooke oozing apologies and menace as the NASA hatchet man-- everyone gives it their all to produce a first rate thriller. And the film benefits enormously from Jerry Goldsmiths pounding and ominous score; it continues to remain one of my all time favorite soundtracks. Bravo to all involved.