Capricorn One

Overlong but interesting thriller in which Mission Control commander Holbrook discovers that the ship set to take the first astronauts to Mars (Brolin, Simpson, and Waterston), is unsafe. Rather than permit their failure to disappoint the public and lose the government's precious funds, Holbrook convinces the astronauts to fake the landing on a Hollywood-type soundstage. The deception works, but soon the astronauts realize that their lives are in danger (NASA will have to kill them while in "orbit" to ensure their silence), so they escape into the desert. Enter investigative reporter Gould, who pieces the conspiracy together. Unfortunately the premise sounds more i...