Factual error: A round-trip voyage between Mars and Earth would take about two years. Although the movie's timeline is compressed, from when the astronauts supposedly leave Earth to them supposedly returning (and dying) and then Caulfield rescuing Brubaker, the entire plot implausibly takes place in only eight months. It is mentioned at the memorial that they "left" Earth eight months earlier. The military memorial is held at least a month after the "tragedy" so that would mean they made the trip in seven months, which is impossible. The film is not set in the future when technology would be more advanced.
Capricorn One (1977)
21 mistakes
Directed by: Peter Hyams
Starring: James Brolin, Elliott Gould, Sam Waterston, Brenda Vaccaro
Walter Loughlin: You're not crazy, I'm crazy. I'm crazy for listening and I'm crazy for saying what I'm about to say. I'll give you twenty four hours to come up with something. Not forty eight. I saw the movie too, it was twenty four.
Trivia: When Hal Holbrook talks to the press after the heat shield separation we see a model Saturn V in the background. An extra stage has been inserted above the S-II second stage and the mission payload appears to have been augmented too.
Question: Okay, so the three astronauts are on the run but only James Brolin makes good his escape. What happened to the other two? They're shown as being caught, but what happened after? Anybody know?
Answer: How were they able to fire their flares, then?
Answer: O.J. Simpson would have had time to shoot his flare to show he was caught. With Waterson harder to believe, he had climbed the side of the mountain and was just coming to the top with the planes coming into view. Either he would have been dropped and died on way down, not getting the chance to shoot the flare, or he was grabbed from the edge. Unlikely to have time also to shoot the flare before being intercepted.
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Chosen answer: It's never stated in the film, however, as the astronauts have been declared officially dead and therefore cannot ever be allowed to contact anybody, they were most likely executed as soon as they were captured.
Tailkinker ★