tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post33507791446454532..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: Film Friday: Capricorn One (1978)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-3907102376734282052009-07-24T12:50:08.357-04:002009-07-24T12:50:08.357-04:00A couple of Redford films come to mind, but they p...A couple of Redford films come to mind, but they probably fall more into a"few bad apple criminals than official policy." I'm thinking of three days of the condor and sneakers.Tennessee Jedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-46672150400490456232009-07-24T13:21:10.390-04:002009-07-24T13:21:10.390-04:00Jed, Sneakers came later. Three Days of the Cond...Jed, Sneakers came later. Three Days of the Condor did come before Capricorn One, but it doesn't quite fit what I'm talking about because the conspiracy in that case was more about an inter-agency power struggle between bad-apple CIA agents. As you note, it wasn't really about the government doing wrong, so much as those agents.<br><br>And while they do "discover" a vague conspiracy to take over oil fields, that was really just tacked onto the ending to give the conspiracy a purpose, but it never fit into the plot.<br><br>I see Condor more as a spy story involving good and bad agents, rather than foreign and domestic agents.<br><br>Capricorn One, on the other hand, involves a grand cover up at the highest levels -- of the type that is commonly alleged now.AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-59211454080377722682009-07-24T13:40:56.962-04:002009-07-24T13:40:56.962-04:00I love that movie, even though it seems to validat...I love that movie, even though it seems to validate the moon truthers I know. As a movie, it's really quite well done.JGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03116405895683599572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-73824270814836995932009-07-24T13:50:13.316-04:002009-07-24T13:50:13.316-04:00I must have seen this movie way back when but, for...I must have seen this movie way back when but, for some reason, I can't remember it. Another great movie review, Andrew. I've added it to my summer viewing list.Writer Xhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16505411188186283813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-46758528080004785362009-07-24T13:51:56.629-04:002009-07-24T13:51:56.629-04:00JG, I really liked the movie too. It's got a ...JG, I really liked the movie too. It's got a very realistic sense that makes it very believable to me, and the acting is great. Plus, I've discovered that I'm a fan of Hyam's style -- particular in Outland.<br><br>The whole "moon truther" thing is really silly. I saw a discussion of it the other day and one of the debunkers made a great point -- this is about "cultural vandalism", trying to diminish human achievement, just as if someone were to pour acid on the Mona Lisa.<br><br>(If the inspiration ever strikes, I may do a series on debunking some of these conspiracy theories -- this one in particular.)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-13547527978359876922009-07-24T13:53:31.722-04:002009-07-24T13:53:31.722-04:00Writer X, thanks, glad you liked it. I definitely...Writer X, thanks, glad you liked it. I definitely recommend this film. It's very well done and the acting is superb. I'm particularly a fan of Holbrook, but all the rest do a great job in this.<br><br>FYI, I understand that they are talking about remaking the film next year.AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-64639371367502739492009-07-24T13:54:35.131-04:002009-07-24T13:54:35.131-04:00Andrew: There are conspiracies everywhere! They&...Andrew: There are conspiracies everywhere! They're out to get us. Ever since we started this blog I've been hearing strange clicks on my telephone lines. Hollywood is just confirming my delusions (I mean , my beliefs).<br><br><i>The Parallax View</i> (1974) did the conspiracy thing, only in the opposite direction. In that one, an evil multinational corporation was conspiring against the government, but was slowly bumping off all the elected officials (and news reporters) who got in their way. So eventually, they must have succeeded, since they ended up running the government that resulted in the Capricorn One conspiracy. My head is spinning.LawHawkRFDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-55452300693307857012009-07-24T14:06:12.581-04:002009-07-24T14:06:12.581-04:00Andrew - do you own the Special Edition DVD that w...Andrew - do you own the Special Edition DVD that was released last year? I don't but it does feature a commentary by Hyams and a new featurette on conspiracy theories. Some good background info, I'm sure. :-)<br><br>Hyams actually worked in journalism before making the leap to feature filmmaking. <br><br>Re: government conspiracy thrillers, I'm sure some people consider the genre "un-American" but I guess it depends on the context. No one likes to believe something at face value; there must be something else behind it. I recently went to the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas (the JFK Museum) and I read a quote: something to the effect of "People need to believe there was a conspiracy because they can't believe the president was simply killed by one lone nut."<br><br>In addition to Three Days of the Condor, I would also put The Parallax View into this category. I don't remember it that well, except that it was genuinely spooky at times (assisted by Gordon Willis' trademark inky black photography).<br><br>And I'm probably the only person in 100 miles who owns the score to Capricorn One, by the late great Jerry Goldsmith. Intrada Records released it a few years ago and used copies go for $100+ on eBay!ScottDSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-23356021527645883232009-07-24T14:07:39.094-04:002009-07-24T14:07:39.094-04:00Lawhawk, Just because you're paranoid doesn...Lawhawk, Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't really out to get you. LOL!<br><br>The <i>Parallax View</i> is one of several corporate conspiracy movies. Those were fairly common prior to <i>Capricorn One</i>, but <i>Capricorn One</i> was really the first broad-brush, sinister, government-run conspiracy movie to come down the pike. And it opened the flood gates really for a new way to view the government.AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-76181597772433742882009-07-24T14:14:41.443-04:002009-07-24T14:14:41.443-04:00ScottDS, I don't have the special edition -- m...ScottDS, I don't have the special edition -- my DVD is a lot older, but now that you mention it, I am interested in seeing the special features.<br><br>On conspiracies, I think there are three reasons why people believe in conspiracies. (1) Sometimes, historically speaking, they have proven to be true;<br><br>(2) as you note, we don't like the idea that a single bad decision or a single nut or a single mistake can change the course of human history; and<br><br>3) humans by their nature tend to categorizes information and they look for connections -- that's why we are good at science -- conspiracy theories are a natural outgrowth of that, because we see a lot of facts in hindsight that we instinctively want to combine.<br><br>P.S. On soundtracks, I'm still jealous that you have the Black Hole soundtrack! :-)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-42859013807524163042009-07-24T14:21:47.376-04:002009-07-24T14:21:47.376-04:00If it makes you feel any better, I actually don...If it makes you feel any better, I actually don't own The Black Hole soundtrack and I apologize if I implied that I did in that BH thread last month. I can get it from iTunes but I'm holding out for a complete, remastered version one day.<br><br>(Anything is possible. Last Monday, Film Score Monthly announced a release of the complete, remastered Star Trek II score. Talk about coming out of left field!)<br><br>And I would very much enjoy a column from you debunking various conspiracies. Like one of the astronauts said, if we faked the trip to the moon, why did we fake it twelve times?ScottDSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-84898008074402812772009-07-24T14:33:39.304-04:002009-07-24T14:33:39.304-04:00Law, just a suggestion, only pay cash for the alum...Law, just a suggestion, only pay cash for the aluminum foil you buy and/or wear (if you know what I mean). "They" track your consumption and adjust their listening waves accordingly. Why else do they want us to "recycle" aluminum? ;-)BevfromNYChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14953050916932306270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-75923220854630154112009-07-24T14:33:39.303-04:002009-07-24T14:33:39.303-04:00ScottDS, I'll see what I can do about putting...ScottDS, I'll see what I can do about putting together a series.<br><br>You can get the Black Holes soundtrack on iTunes? Really! I'm going to have to check that out. I really love that sound track. It's got this amazing ... how to describe it... "circular sense" to it that can almost make you dizzy listening to it. It's very impressive.AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-33800301560189015762009-07-24T14:58:16.759-04:002009-07-24T14:58:16.759-04:00Bev: I'm way ahead of you. I now wear state-...Bev: I'm way ahead of you. I now wear state-of-the-art mirrored hats with lot of mercury behind the glass. The only thing the feds are now monitoring is my ham sandwich that I'm taking with me for lunch. I intend to leave the foil on a park bench, thereby littering and <i>foiling</i> the people who are following me. Bwah hah hah!LawHawkRFDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-44889247802601629262009-07-24T23:38:34.454-04:002009-07-24T23:38:34.454-04:00Ah, LawHawk..."Sitting on a park bench...&quo...Ah, LawHawk..."Sitting on a park bench..."<br><br>Another well done piece Andrew!DCAlleyKathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13595521064453455995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-21771241102197397672009-07-25T13:02:59.687-04:002009-07-25T13:02:59.687-04:00Thanks DCAlleyKat! :-)Thanks DCAlleyKat! :-)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.com