Capricorn One

Artisan | minutes | | | Standard DVD reviewed by: Christopher Bligh

In the mid-80s, many older films that might not have gotten a huge following in the theatres got great exposure on local channels thanks to being broadcast with few commercials to solid ratings and followings of new even though the movie might have been a product of its time. From Halloween 2 to Thank God It's Friday, second tier movies used to be a fixture while sports were out of season on Sundays until the corporations took over all the local channels with paid programming. One of those films had a solid premise and was constant viewing to this viewer. Although local TV did no picture quality justice to this movie, it remained an intense tale about a reporter, three astronauts and a shuttle called Capricorn One

It's a beautiful day at the Cape. Charles Brubaker (James Brolin), Peter Willis (Sam Waterston) and John Walker (O.J. Simpson) are three astronauts prepared for the space program's most prominent mission, exploring the planet Mars. There is widespread coverage over the nation including the presence of the Vice President on launching day. What the three astronauts don't know is that the shuttle is faulty and the space program has had many problems before and this mission means the future of the program, according to the head man, Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) who has forseen this problem and has a solution: to fake the landing on Mars for television when there is direct communications with the shuttle. Inside the control room, Elliot Whitter (Robert Walden) starts to notice something unusual about the signals and tells his reporter buddy Robert Caufield (Elliot Gould) but before he can tell him more, he mysteriously disappears. From that point, it's up to Caufield to reveal the truth about what has happened before he turns out to be the next victim.

Here's a movie that provides a solid viewing thanks to an irresistable premise. What if astronauts went to space only to find out they went nowhere but to a nearby TV studio and made the public believe that they were in outer space. There are complications and twists during this story with our reporter and the three astronauts and they are handled very well in the hands of director Peter Hyams. Despite some dating in the material, the premise still remains intriguing and provides for a few sequences that are gripping.

All three astronauts have different personalities, Brubaker is the captain of our team followed by Willis the joker and concluded with Walker the man following the captain and doesn't have much to do but be a father like the other three.

All actors and actresses are like a who's who of some popular names of the seventies, including the two cameos in the film and as an ensemble they don't waste the premise and provide for an entertaining film that sometimes slows a bit at times but when it gets going, it does in a big way thanks to a solid editing job and the score from Jerry Goldsmith that still remains one of my favorite film scores ever. It's super bombastic and driving but with this film it does something that's rare, it's a key element that makes this film go from watchable to memorable. I can't think of looking at mountain shots or walking in that environment without thinking of that score in the back of my mind. Nevertheless, it's one of his best pieces.

Overall, Capricorn One both lives up to it's premise and delivers some solid entertainment that is worthy of multiple viewings.

Capricorn One is given the non-anamorphic treatment on this DVD in beautiful Panavision in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The results are good, but compared to the sterling transfer on laserdisc, this one suffers from many print problems. The picture is an improvement from the broadcasts in the eighties but one of the few cases where another medium captured the film better than DVD. The print has it's share of flaws but in brighter scenes there are more specks and dirt than the laserdisc and despite working in darker scenes and being a wider better picture than full frame, overall turns out to be a decent effort that could be better.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track on this DVD works better in the front than on the sides as the score sounds solid and does it's work during the film but when it comes to dialogue it only works well in spurts and it comes out sharp and clear but it takes a volume button to increase the sound on this film as some dialogue is lower than expected audibly and with mixed in with the score it works and it doesn't work. In the end there's plenty of room for a remastering and the effort is decent. The disc also has Spanish subtitles.

This disc has a miniscule amount of extras with Cast and Crew Bios, Production Notes and two theatrical trailers which I'm amazed don't include the original Warner Bros. logo that this movie originally had on release. Either way, their inclusion are welcome.

Capricorn One always has been one of my favorite movies of the seventies and here's hoping a remastering in little areas could be made in the near future.