bkoganbing
The Groundstar Conspiracy is your average spy thriller with George Peppard as the ruthless investigator from an unnamed government agency and Michael Sarrazin as a scientist who is the only survivor of a lab explosion at a top secret US space program called Groundstar. Peppard knows that Sarrazin is not who he says he is. But how did he get clearance in the place, what may or may not have been taken from the lab that the explosion covered up are the questions Peppard has answers for. Because Sarrazin's memory has been wiped clean.The key character in The Groundstar Conspiracy is Peppard as a ruthless government investigator, a man who could be J. Edgar Hoover if given half a chance. That title phrase comes from Peppard's mouth who would like to bug every bedroom in the country for security's sake, better to ferret out would be subversives.Of course Peppard plugs up his security leak, but Sarrazin, freedom, and Sarrazin's freedom pay a price.The Groundstar Conspiracy has some interesting notions to put forth, but the productions values are pretty skimpy. Christine Belford as a woman that Peppard's using to keep tabs on Sarrazin has her role very poorly defined. The players do their best, but the film's general mediocrity weighs heavily on their work.
dbdumonteil
This is a movie as easy to watch as to forget but it's quite entertaining.The story is very far-fetched,but in this kind of spy thriller including amnesia ,mysterious conspiracies and who-the-Hell am I? subject,it's the rule of the game.George Peppard tries hard to be evil but he does not always succeed;Michael Sarrazin is the perfect victim/culprit (God only knows) .The love story may seem derivative and it is,but there are enough unexpected twists to sustain interest throughout.The working title ("the plastic man" ) was perhaps a better choice than "The Groundstar Conspiracy "but it might have been a spoiler.
jeremy3
This is the kind of movie that Hollywood doesn't usually produce. In Hollywood, there has to be a clear distinction between "good" and "evil" to win audiences and revenue. Unfortunately, this destroys a lot of significant films from being made. Groundstar Conspiracy was atypical in that there was a definite blur between "good" and "evil". None more so than in the character of Tuxan, played by the late George Peppard. Peppard plays a government operative who is maniacally obsessed with protecting national security. You like the guy at the beginning, but when he starts interrogating "The Alien" - played by Michael Sarrazin (in the same year played in "Never Given In An Inch", and has a striking resemblance to the singer BJ Thomas), you like Tuxan much less. "The Alien" allegedly committed terrible espionage crimes, but cannot recall due to amnesia. You immediately empathize with "The Alien" as a guy who has to act tough, but you can tell is a regular guy. The whole point of the movie is that Tuxan is dead-set on capturing "The Alien" at all costs. The ending has a strong moral message, and you have to decide whether you agree with what Tuxan does for a living or not. That is the strength of the movie - you have to decide upon morality for yourself (a powerful dilemma in America during the early 70s).
Homme
This movie isn't really interesting in itself: the plot is far-fetched, the characters are wooden and the action scenes probably would have been considered dull even when the movie was made. Nevertheless a very interesting picture for anyone interested in early-seventies interiors, fashion, hairstyles, etc.: for me, being thirty-something, it was a feast of recognition :-)P.S. Don't forget to listen to the soundtrack.
AD
