Capricorn OneIf Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, who put the camera there? Capricorn One is a political thriller about the first manned voyage to Mars, which--contrary to reports--is a hoax. The three astronauts--Colonel Charles "Bru" Brubaker (James Brolin), Lieutenant Colonel Peter Willis (Sam Waterston), and Commander John Walker (O. J. Simpson)--are pulled from the cockpit mere minutes before launch, and secreted away to a remote army base, where a sound stage has been constructed to simulate the red planet for the audiences at home. The erstwhile space cowboys must now become actors on a global stage, while a darker conspiracy takes flight.
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According to director Peter Hyams, Capricorn One was born from the question that if the only evidence of mankind stepping onto a celestial body other than Earth came from a television camera, who's to say that it wasn't all made up? Consider current blockbuster films with budgets in the hundreds of millions and convincing special effects, and it doesn't seem like such an impossibility to simulate the impossible. This sobering, cynical point of view was prevalent in films from the Seventies, exploring a contemporary disillusionment with the powers that be (e.g. the government, media, big business, et cetera)--that they could not be trusted to tell the truth, and would cover it up by any means necessary. Enter Robert Caulfield (Elliott Gould), a reporter with a keen sense for picking out discrepancies in the subtlest of moments--like when his friend who works for NASA, Elliot Whitter (Robert Walden), mentions a broadcast signal inconsistency from the spacecraft ostensibly in deep space. When he reviews a video of Brubaker's wife, Kay (Brenda Vaccaro), he notices that she reacts to an almost impossibly subtle reference her husband makes in their video conference--Brubaker's guarded attempt to clue her in that everything is not alright. Caulfield becomes a "Woodward and/or Bernstein" type of investigative journalist, discovering a conspiracy to cover up any sign of malfeasance, and permanently silencing anyone poking their knows into it. Against his better judgment, Caulfield cautiously continues his investigation, unsure of the outcome, but determined to pull back the curtain. Caulfield's editor accuses him of chasing phantoms for personal glory based on his history, and he shares with Kay that he has a habit of drinking too much and talking too much. Despite these avowed character flaws, Caulfield represents those Americans who demand integrity and transparency from those in the public service sector, instead of being spoon-fed convenient lies.
Capricorn One opens with an announcer describing the events of the morning prior to takeoff, like what the astronauts had for breakfast. Yet what is shown is the sun rising in the background, silhouetting the eponymous space shuttle instead, and any other details--even these inconsequential ones--have to be taken for granted by the audience. This subtle fact is how the conspiracy behind the fabricated landing is able to work--because audiences will generally accept what they are told as true when it comes from someone in authority, be it a newscaster or a politician. When Brubaker descends from the ladder onto the stage standing in for the Martian surface, it is played back at slow motion to simulate the effect of a low-gravity environment. A banal speech scripted ahead of time is delivered, recalling the famous words of Neil Armstrong, because the architects of this conspiracy know that such words would be recorded in history books, reinforcing the false pretense that the landing must have actually happened. The irony of using television to perpetrate this ruse is that it represents how cynical the conspirators are of its audience, so glued to the "boob tube" that they consider this the only plausible way to reinforce the lie. And that audience seems ignorant of the technical gaffes that should reveal the "landing" for the facade that it is, including a metal rod inserted diagonally in the American flag to simulate a lack of atmosphere, or--more alarmingly--the reflection of the stage lights on Brubaker's helmet. (There's also the inescapable question about who placed the camera on the surface in the first place.)
Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) is the head of the Capricorn One launch who has the three astronauts removed from the cockpit without any advance warning, and flown in secret to the remote installation. He gives an impassioned speech about why this was necessary, exploiting his history with his buddy, Bru, to gain his trust, and the group's passion for aerospace exploration and adventure to justify it all. He claims that the reason was due to a faulty life support system--the result of budget cuts motivated by political greed. Yet when the astronauts prepare turn down his outrageous scheme to defraud the world--with Brubaker contributing the most vehement opposition--Kelloway makes a sideways threat about the plane transporting their families "blowing up". This last detail circumvents the ethical conflict of lying to the American people--whether it is nobler to sustain the dream of space travel as an essential part of the psychological well-being of the nation, or whether it is futile when it is predicated on a lie. Instead, Kelloway reveals that the banner of space exploration is nothing but a false flag waived by opportunists whose primary motivations will always be self-serving. The irony is that Kelloway is a rather amiable guy, who seems to truly love space exploration as much as his long-time friend; and yet he represents the fulcrum upon which this conspiracy pivots, willing to abandon his scruples entirely to this end. Whether he is sitting at the launch control site in Houston, Texas, or in his office, he is rarely far from his red phone--his link to the dark confederacy to which he has sworn his allegiance. Is Kelloway the real mastermind of this plot, or is he also just a cog in the machine like he insinuates? A few scenes depict Congressman Hollis Peaker (David Huddleston)--a bloated, sneering caricature of a corrupt politician--as the primary advocate for the space program on Capitol Hill. Conversely, his equally distasteful and smarmy counterpart is the Vice President, who chides that the money for such frivolities would be better spent on other ventures. Space exploration is treated by both of these divergent bureaucrats as nothing more than a publicity scheme, like the race to beat the Russians to the Moon in 1969. Is Peaker behind the conspiracy, or is the audience only led to believe this solely because he is so loathsome and deceitful? Like the conspiracy woven into the plot, Capricorn One exploits these underlying questions to keep the audience guessing as to who the "bad guy" is--because an enemy you can see is one you can fight, but an unknown foe is far deadlier.
Recommended for: Fans of a suspenseful thriller about a government conspiracy that plays off of the real-world conspiracy about the Moon landing being a hoax. Capricorn One remains as timely today as in the Seventies, with government secrets exposed by daring whistleblowers and where the dream of space travel and colonization remains a contentious topic for world leaders.
Capricorn One opens with an announcer describing the events of the morning prior to takeoff, like what the astronauts had for breakfast. Yet what is shown is the sun rising in the background, silhouetting the eponymous space shuttle instead, and any other details--even these inconsequential ones--have to be taken for granted by the audience. This subtle fact is how the conspiracy behind the fabricated landing is able to work--because audiences will generally accept what they are told as true when it comes from someone in authority, be it a newscaster or a politician. When Brubaker descends from the ladder onto the stage standing in for the Martian surface, it is played back at slow motion to simulate the effect of a low-gravity environment. A banal speech scripted ahead of time is delivered, recalling the famous words of Neil Armstrong, because the architects of this conspiracy know that such words would be recorded in history books, reinforcing the false pretense that the landing must have actually happened. The irony of using television to perpetrate this ruse is that it represents how cynical the conspirators are of its audience, so glued to the "boob tube" that they consider this the only plausible way to reinforce the lie. And that audience seems ignorant of the technical gaffes that should reveal the "landing" for the facade that it is, including a metal rod inserted diagonally in the American flag to simulate a lack of atmosphere, or--more alarmingly--the reflection of the stage lights on Brubaker's helmet. (There's also the inescapable question about who placed the camera on the surface in the first place.)
Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) is the head of the Capricorn One launch who has the three astronauts removed from the cockpit without any advance warning, and flown in secret to the remote installation. He gives an impassioned speech about why this was necessary, exploiting his history with his buddy, Bru, to gain his trust, and the group's passion for aerospace exploration and adventure to justify it all. He claims that the reason was due to a faulty life support system--the result of budget cuts motivated by political greed. Yet when the astronauts prepare turn down his outrageous scheme to defraud the world--with Brubaker contributing the most vehement opposition--Kelloway makes a sideways threat about the plane transporting their families "blowing up". This last detail circumvents the ethical conflict of lying to the American people--whether it is nobler to sustain the dream of space travel as an essential part of the psychological well-being of the nation, or whether it is futile when it is predicated on a lie. Instead, Kelloway reveals that the banner of space exploration is nothing but a false flag waived by opportunists whose primary motivations will always be self-serving. The irony is that Kelloway is a rather amiable guy, who seems to truly love space exploration as much as his long-time friend; and yet he represents the fulcrum upon which this conspiracy pivots, willing to abandon his scruples entirely to this end. Whether he is sitting at the launch control site in Houston, Texas, or in his office, he is rarely far from his red phone--his link to the dark confederacy to which he has sworn his allegiance. Is Kelloway the real mastermind of this plot, or is he also just a cog in the machine like he insinuates? A few scenes depict Congressman Hollis Peaker (David Huddleston)--a bloated, sneering caricature of a corrupt politician--as the primary advocate for the space program on Capitol Hill. Conversely, his equally distasteful and smarmy counterpart is the Vice President, who chides that the money for such frivolities would be better spent on other ventures. Space exploration is treated by both of these divergent bureaucrats as nothing more than a publicity scheme, like the race to beat the Russians to the Moon in 1969. Is Peaker behind the conspiracy, or is the audience only led to believe this solely because he is so loathsome and deceitful? Like the conspiracy woven into the plot, Capricorn One exploits these underlying questions to keep the audience guessing as to who the "bad guy" is--because an enemy you can see is one you can fight, but an unknown foe is far deadlier.
Recommended for: Fans of a suspenseful thriller about a government conspiracy that plays off of the real-world conspiracy about the Moon landing being a hoax. Capricorn One remains as timely today as in the Seventies, with government secrets exposed by daring whistleblowers and where the dream of space travel and colonization remains a contentious topic for world leaders.