← Back to Reviews
in
Plot – Charles 'Bru' Brubaker (Brolin) is the astronaut leading NASA's first manned mission to Mars. Just seconds before the launch however Bru and his fellow astronauts, Peter Willis (Waterston) and John Walker (Simpson), are removed from the capsule which then proceeds to launch without them. The head of the programme Dr Kelloway ((Holbrook) explains that the life support system would have failed but that NASA could not afford to have a scrapped mission in terms of funding and publicity. So they plan to fake the mission, while keeping the astronauts at a remote base until their supposed return. Meanwhile, going on a tip from a friend who is working on the mission and suspects something is amiss, journalist Robert Caulfield (Gould) starts to investigate and soon finds his life in great danger.
This is a rollicking good yarn. Yes it may be a bit cheesy and flawed in parts but yeah, rollicking good yarn sums it up pretty succinctly.
After the unnerving chills of Magic and the methodical drama of Escape from Alcatraz, this finds me firmly back on classic 70s thriller territory. We've got conspiracies, cover-ups, the ordinary man being squeezed under the thumb of the government, the conspiracy being blown apart by a tenacious journalist. Indeed much of it feels very All the President's Men, right down to the two films sharing Hal Holbrook as a member of their cast. He was Deep Throat in All the President's Men, and here he is the puppet master who makes the whole operation happen.
Quite obviously taking its inspiration from the numerous conspiracy theories that popped up after the Moon Landing in 1969 the film has a terrific premise to build upon. And while it may fumble a few elements here and there, for the most part if fulfils its great promise. Alongside the moon landing much of the story's inspiration comes from the growing indifference of the American public to space travel. It's amazing to think that the moon landing was one of the biggest events of all time, and yet in less than 10 years the American people were already bored with it, complaining when shuttle launches replaced old repeats of I Love Lucy on TV. Given how much the film was inspired by its time you may have concerns about it feeling very dated but for the most part it really doesn't. Thrillers taking in conspiracies and government cover-ups are always likely to be relevant; I mean just look at all the conspiracy theories that popped up surrounding 9/11 and the Iraq war. And the actual issue of the space program being closed still has a lot of relevancy with funding continuing to be cut by President Obama. The way that element is worked into the story is very clever, giving the cover-up an air of feasibility.
The film's taut story has some great twists and turns thrown in, although it has to be said that the pace does sag at times, largely down to the fact the scenes have a tendency to become dialogue heavy. And the middle stretch of the film between the cover-up and the escape of the astronauts perhaps pauses a little too much. All that aside though it is kept moving at a good pace by Peter Hyams, his direction delivering a couple of really nice set-pieces, from Gould trying to reign in his out of control car to a fantastic aerial battle which I'll talk about later. The star though on the technical side would have to be cinematographer Bill Butler. He delivers some great moments such as the pull back reveal of the studio-set Mars environment and in particular the way that the desert is presented. As the three astronauts try to escape, the film becomes a real tale of survival and visually the desert provides a a very harsh and stark setting to challenge them.
I always really appreciate when a film has a strong ending; it can just make such a difference. A decent film can be propelled to something special, while a strong film can just slip into something forgettable all by their conclusions. So it's a real bonus that the film is strong down the finishing straight. A large amount of the credit should go to the ace that the film had been holding up its sleeve until the last 15 minutes – Telly Savalas. He plays a gruff crop dusting pilot, and appears to take on the role with relish. He can't have more than about 15/20 lines of dialogue in his short screen time but he makes a terrific impact as he barks orders at Gould to keep his head down, and bafflingly abuses anyone who annoys him as a 'pervert.'
Some people may see it as being out of sync with the rest of the film's tone but I found it to be so much fun that I really didn't care.
And then there's the spectacular dog fight that occurs when two helicopters chase down the biplane piloted by Savalas' character, with Gould's journalist riding shotgun and Brolin's astronaut hanging onto the wing. It's a thrilling set-piece featuring some amazing stunts and some beautiful aerial photography. Hyams also deploys a nice touch by making the black helicopters into sinister characters in their own right. By never letting us see the pilots it turns the helicopters into a real symbol of dread, meaning that anytime they loom into view in pursuit of the astronauts is a moment of menace.
Alongside Savalas the cast is made up of a series of recognisable faces, many of them delivering strong and engaging performances. Holbrook is the star turn here, a combination of his great performance and the fact that his character is by far the one blessed with the most depth. Also impressing are Brenda Vaccaro as Brubaker's wife and Elliott Gould as Caulfield. It's just a shame then that the astronauts themselves are left as rather bland characters. Their main character aspect seems to purely be their profession as astronauts, outside of that they don't get much fleshing out. That aside James Brolin and Sam Waterston still prove likeable presences. Even OJ Simpson is pretty decent, despite the queasiness I feel at watching him on screen.
Conclusion – A flawed, sometimes dated, but terrifically slick bit of entertainment. A riveting bit of nonsense which has a real charm to much of its production. With so many films from the 70s and 80s having been given the remake treatment I'm surprised this one hasn't yet, given the fact it seems ripe for it.
|
|
Year of release
1978
1978
Directed by
Peter Hyams
Peter Hyams
Written by
Peter Hyams
Peter Hyams
Starring
Elliott Gould
James Brolin
Hal Holbrook
Sam Waterston
O.J. Simpson
Elliott Gould
James Brolin
Hal Holbrook
Sam Waterston
O.J. Simpson
Capricorn One
Plot – Charles 'Bru' Brubaker (Brolin) is the astronaut leading NASA's first manned mission to Mars. Just seconds before the launch however Bru and his fellow astronauts, Peter Willis (Waterston) and John Walker (Simpson), are removed from the capsule which then proceeds to launch without them. The head of the programme Dr Kelloway ((Holbrook) explains that the life support system would have failed but that NASA could not afford to have a scrapped mission in terms of funding and publicity. So they plan to fake the mission, while keeping the astronauts at a remote base until their supposed return. Meanwhile, going on a tip from a friend who is working on the mission and suspects something is amiss, journalist Robert Caulfield (Gould) starts to investigate and soon finds his life in great danger.
This is a rollicking good yarn. Yes it may be a bit cheesy and flawed in parts but yeah, rollicking good yarn sums it up pretty succinctly.
After the unnerving chills of Magic and the methodical drama of Escape from Alcatraz, this finds me firmly back on classic 70s thriller territory. We've got conspiracies, cover-ups, the ordinary man being squeezed under the thumb of the government, the conspiracy being blown apart by a tenacious journalist. Indeed much of it feels very All the President's Men, right down to the two films sharing Hal Holbrook as a member of their cast. He was Deep Throat in All the President's Men, and here he is the puppet master who makes the whole operation happen.
Quite obviously taking its inspiration from the numerous conspiracy theories that popped up after the Moon Landing in 1969 the film has a terrific premise to build upon. And while it may fumble a few elements here and there, for the most part if fulfils its great promise. Alongside the moon landing much of the story's inspiration comes from the growing indifference of the American public to space travel. It's amazing to think that the moon landing was one of the biggest events of all time, and yet in less than 10 years the American people were already bored with it, complaining when shuttle launches replaced old repeats of I Love Lucy on TV. Given how much the film was inspired by its time you may have concerns about it feeling very dated but for the most part it really doesn't. Thrillers taking in conspiracies and government cover-ups are always likely to be relevant; I mean just look at all the conspiracy theories that popped up surrounding 9/11 and the Iraq war. And the actual issue of the space program being closed still has a lot of relevancy with funding continuing to be cut by President Obama. The way that element is worked into the story is very clever, giving the cover-up an air of feasibility.
Film trivia - Strangely much of this film would later be recycled. The terrific aerial chase scene would later be used in an episode of The Fall Guy. The runaway car sequence was re-used numerous times in other movies and TV shows. And Jerry Goldsmith would later revive a bit of his own score in his work on Star Trek: Insurrection.
I always really appreciate when a film has a strong ending; it can just make such a difference. A decent film can be propelled to something special, while a strong film can just slip into something forgettable all by their conclusions. So it's a real bonus that the film is strong down the finishing straight. A large amount of the credit should go to the ace that the film had been holding up its sleeve until the last 15 minutes – Telly Savalas. He plays a gruff crop dusting pilot, and appears to take on the role with relish. He can't have more than about 15/20 lines of dialogue in his short screen time but he makes a terrific impact as he barks orders at Gould to keep his head down, and bafflingly abuses anyone who annoys him as a 'pervert.'
Some people may see it as being out of sync with the rest of the film's tone but I found it to be so much fun that I really didn't care.
Film trivia - Despite the fact that they are quite clearly portrayed as the villain of the piece NASA actually co-operated and provided technical assistance for the film, including real equipment for props and a prototype spacecraft.
Alongside Savalas the cast is made up of a series of recognisable faces, many of them delivering strong and engaging performances. Holbrook is the star turn here, a combination of his great performance and the fact that his character is by far the one blessed with the most depth. Also impressing are Brenda Vaccaro as Brubaker's wife and Elliott Gould as Caulfield. It's just a shame then that the astronauts themselves are left as rather bland characters. Their main character aspect seems to purely be their profession as astronauts, outside of that they don't get much fleshing out. That aside James Brolin and Sam Waterston still prove likeable presences. Even OJ Simpson is pretty decent, despite the queasiness I feel at watching him on screen.
Conclusion – A flawed, sometimes dated, but terrifically slick bit of entertainment. A riveting bit of nonsense which has a real charm to much of its production. With so many films from the 70s and 80s having been given the remake treatment I'm surprised this one hasn't yet, given the fact it seems ripe for it.