Customer Reviews

Roswell: The UFO Cover-Up

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As I indicated in my review of debunker Karl Pflock's Roswell book, there is an erroneous belief that if you can disprove the Roswell Incident, you have automatically debunked all UFO reports. How ridiculous.

This is the case they feel they HAVE to crush in order to get a handle on disempowering the pro-UFO/Alien lobby. When you watch this movie, you will understand why.

Roswell is a very well made movie, with an excellent cast, which features some powerful performances by Kyle Mac and Dwight Yoakam above all.

The UFO debunkers will hate it because it tells the story of an actual Alien incident including the recovery of at least one semi-telepathic crash survivor.

Some contemporary UFO purists will have a problem because of the artistic license taken and the fact that it seems like Marcel was stuck between a rock and a hard place, having wanted to release the true account of the crash - whereas now some people believe that Marcel was told to release an exaggerated 'crashed disk' report by Blanchard, which was then pulled/denied in true disinformation style.

Whatever the theorizing, this movie tells a fairly traditional Roswell story, which includes all of the main elements of the discovery and cover-up. If anything, as another reviewer said, a worst case scenario.

The Project Mogul balloon that debunkers keep whining about, DID have a roughly disk-shaped instrument gondola suspended way beneath it, but nobody in their right mind could EVER mistake it for a craft that was capable of independent flight, even if it had become totally separated from the mother balloon, which seems not to have been the case, per their own debunking mythology.

This movie has a feel about it that just gets under your skin, and for many reasons, flaws and artistic license or not, it flows more like a documentary of Marcel's life than a piece of pure fiction. When you compare the flow and feel of this movie with the infantile ramblings of debunkers such as the barely literate Kal K. Korff (yeah, KKK), you cannot help but feel that the movie is the closest thing we might ever know to the Truth.

The idea that the whole Incident was a piece of disinformation, to fool the Russians or whatever, falls apart instantly for 10,000 reasons and is perhaps the most ludicrous suggestion of all.

No, something unusual came down in Roswell, and until the Government comes clean, and stops fabricating seemingly deliberately absurd 'explanations', the story told in this movie may be considered a very reasonable possible scenario.

Very highly recommended.

First off, the entire UFO scene is corroded by "nit-pickers" who couldn't be proven that cookies exist at a grocery store much anything more ("We have no proof that cookies are always in the cookie aisle, sometimes they are seen in the dairy department.."). Essentially they are wannabe-lawyers without practical information to live life by; real people need good-enough information to act on, and this film gives us just that. This is probably THE best UFO/ET movie Hollywood has made yet, better than E.T., Close Encounters and all of the other fairy tales. It takes what took place at Roswell in 1947; puts you there with Major Jesse Marcel, and runs-with-it, to its full conclusion: the worse-case-scenario that indeed alien craft crashed there etc. In an exciting, and dramatic way you see how the truth is covered up with intimidation (Your career will be ruined!) and fear and how the military/government was (is) scared white by the UFO/ET phenomena as it should be. Civilians who seek courtroom-level "proof" and "open-ness" are not so smart. There is a big differance between National Security and a feel-good debating society.

The film works on many levels, authentic 1940s look/feel, excellent music, but the key idea is the general concept of a cover-up and what do the men who hid the truth do when they get old and are ready to die? Do they talk? Noone had asked that question until the film. A few years later, Colonel Philip Corso wrote a book from his end as an Army R&D developer (The Day After Roswell) just before he died; so the question is; if someone hid the truth as a young man, would we listen to him as an old man with nothing-to-lose? If we are wannabe lawyers in our mentality, we certainly will be legalistic and not listen because these folks have ruined their "credibility". Real people, not UFOlawyers understand that in time of war you have to lie at times to protect the common good and that people/situations change...as life is in some ways a struggle, and when the time is right the truth might be able to be revealed. That the USAF has already lied at least twice about Roswell (Weather balloons, lately parachute dummies) should tell you something is not what it appears. Those that say it was project MOGUL sensor balloons to monitor Russian A-Bomb test, geee big deal. After the Russians declared they had "the bomb" most people wouldn't care if you ran kites up to the stratosphere to measure radiation. Why the secrecy now, then? We have spy satellites that everyone in the world has known about since SPUTNIK. Its not the surveillance methodology or the tidbit that we knew the Russians were testing A-Bombs that was worth hiding/deceiving about. Why use stretchers to carry parachute dummies? You simply throw them over your shoulder and walk.

The most compelling scene in the movie is when Secretary of Defense Forrestal communicates with the so-called ET; consider this with the fact that he later jumped out of a window (with assistance) to his death (murder). Suggest you read Corso's book in conjunction with this video and consider that the "beings" that are manifesting themselves are NOT cuddly Spielberg toys from outer space and that there may really be indeed a very GOOD REASON why the military/government covers up the UFO/ET mess.

The dramatic story of intelligence officer Jesse Marcel's controversial quest to determine if a UFO actually crashed outside of Roswell, New Mexico, in the summer of 1947, and whether or not the government engaged in a massive cover up.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. I would not even bother renting it. For (very little) you can own this spectacular documentary that will keep you guessing at what really happened in Roswell. It's a must see film.

The fact that this movie even got made is a miracle. It's not perfect, but you have to realise how the US Gov't "intelligence" services (which we fund w/ our taxes) tried amazing disinformation, threats and lies to keep not only the honest folks of Roswell doubting their sanity, but all of America as well. Kyle Mac does a really fine job as Jesse Marcel who had to 'smile and lie' and at the same time either let others think he was crazy (couldn't tell the difference from indestructible unearthly 'living' metals from a weather balloon!?) or a big fat liar (collected boxes of this amazing stuff, then had to deny it). And the man had attained the rank of Major at the world's (then) ONLY heavy Bomb Army Air Force base in the world! The fine supporting cast via flashbacks add drama and accuracy to all of what the authors had for testimony...at that time. Since the July '47 Roswell was the final straw for the government and the oil industry- the covering up of Truth that we have galactic neighbors (who are smarter than us, but haven't destroyed us!), the CIA, DIA, NSA were all created to smother ALL future UFO sightings and truth. Go read some of the books on this as well as the other coverups. Welcome to the Future. And go see www.DisclosureProject.org too. Mindblowing, the covering up is still going on! You kids under 40 (ha,ha!) have to expose this now.

I have read numerous books containing eyewitness accounts of different, small events that took place in Roswell in July of 1947. Most of them taken by themselves can seem uncompelling, like pieces in a jig-saw puzzle. This film strings the events together in a way that clearly reveals a larger picture. I have read what seemed to me to be credible eyewitness accounts of all but two of the events portrayed here, like the nurse who knew nothing about anything except for a glimpse of something in the hospital. Again, taken by itself, at most an eyebrow raiser, but string a bunch of them together and what would seem to be incredible becomes undeniable.

"Roswell - The U.F.O. Cover-Up" was a made for TV movie in 1994 and I thought it was a good version of what might have happened there in the New Mexico desert in 1947. The Air Force at Roswell claimed that they had captured a "Flying Saucer" but then reversed itself and said it was only a weather balloon! Years later the Air Force said the event was the crash of a "Mogul Train of Spy balloons". ( Special balloons with listening microphones to detect Russian atomic bomb testing). Then later, Air Force claimed the "Crash" was a test where dummies were dropped from aircraft. The film was well acted with Kyle MacLachlan as Jesse Marcel. It showed how he was ordered to be photographed with the remains of a weather balloon and keep quiet about the material that was actually recovered from the crash site; miles from the city of Roswell. I enjoyed the movie ,but wish the film had followed the book "The Truth about the Crash at Roswell", by Kevin Randle.

Though I couldn't care less whether intelligent alien life exists or not (IMHO it probably doesn't, and if it does it would bear many of the same hideous flaws that any "intelligent" life has), this movie is one of thee best UFO flicks I have ever seen. Whether you like good sci-fi stories, UFO mythology, or if UFO-ology is basically your religion (sigh), this is a great movie based on the classic UFO crash myth near Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. Wonderfully filmed, with a good solid script and fine acting. The characters (even the minor ones) are lifelike and appear to be given a great deal of thought. If you want to see one of the best, earliest foundations for the 20th century take on alien life (complete with a typically awful, thankfully short, scene depicting the supposed vastly superior minds of alien life over our own), then this is it. Of course, as this movie shows, it merely scratches the surface of just how far some people take the whole UFO thing and just how much story potential there is within UFO-ology. If you want to be really disturbed by something however, consider the claim at the beginning of this movie that the story is "...based on events that happened near Roswell, New Mexico"!

Kyle Maclachlan (who stared in the original Dune, also appeared in Twin Peaks) does a real nice job here in the lead. A fine actor with a good talent for playing intelligent, inquisitive, determined characters (qualities we could all look for more here among humanity instead of looking towards outer space for them). The movie works well on different levels. Outside of a few weaknesses, the story of the whole Roswell incident itself is fairly brilliant and it's understandable that this movie would turn out pretty good. Yet, this movie also can be used to work the mind as you sit back and think of all the alternative theories possible to the ones given. Many of the alternatives are given right in front of us within the story, sometimes even painfully obviously so. The movie ends on a touching, somewhat sad note as we see further into the isolation, and perhaps self-deception, portrayed so well by Kyle Maclachlan. Perhaps in the long run it can also be seen as a good warning about obsessive-compulsive behaviors, whether one is right or wrong in their views. I think the real question UFO extremists need to ask however is, is this belief trip really necessary? Roswell (1994) helps in thinking about this.

This is one of those rare, and virtually unknown, movies that really makes your brain fire on all cylinders. A fantastic cast that gives stunning performances, very well directed, an eerie but realistic atmosphere, and special effects that don't make you wince. Plus, it's a "true" story that portrays both sides most convincingly. This movie will please those who believe in extraterrestrial life and those who don't. Put all these elements together and you've got one helluva flick! Why the studio won't release this on DVD blows my mind. I've got an old VHS copy of it that I taped off TV...and it's nearly been played to oblivion. SEE THIS MOVIE IF YOU CAN!!!!

I thought this movie was very well done. I bought the DVD and was very pleased with how the subject matter was handled.
Highly recommended.

This DVD could use a few more features, like language options and widescreen for starters. So expect just a basic DVD when you get it.

Personally I don't believe in aliens but it's fun to speculate. I think what's difficult to believe is that they travel millions and millions of miles safely and then just lose control and crash on Earth. Maybe the cruise control was on and they just dozed off.

BUT let's look at the story of Roswell; one that has been revisted many times. Our hero is Major Jesse Marcel (Kyle Maclachlan) who is asked to investigate some sort of crashed aerial vehicle at the ranch of Mac Brasel (country star Dwight Yoakum - actually better than I would have imagined).

Possibly due to budget constraints, the film has the look of a made-for-TV movie and maybe that was the intended target. However, it does have a nice feel of the "coverup" and "misdirection" as we watch an ailing Marcel flashback and review the events of 1947 with his former associates and family. Now, nobody doubts that the real Major Jesse Marcel would not know a weather balloon, so obviously something was afoot. The question is "what?". Evidently something was amiss and from the obscurity the legend has only grown.

There are some beautiful airplanes in the film, including a pristine Boeing B-29 bomber and a beautiful Northrup P-61 "Black Widow" (only partially seen). For those who don't know, the P-61 was a night fighter, radar-equipped, similar in concept to the high-performance Lockheed P-38 "Lightning". It also shot down some German V-1 buzz bombs (the crude but terrifying cruise missiles of their day).

The cast is pretty good with Martin Sheen as "Townsend", the official gov't disinformation specialist. Others include Xander Berkeley as the cagey gov't intelligence liason. There are a host of others you'll recognize from several films. Definitely an all-star cast.

This film is an overview of the events and doesn't examine them critically, but presents the rumors and speculations as generally associated with the infamous incident. For that, it's good entertainment and halfway decent science fiction.

I'd give it 3.5 stars but there's no 1/2 rating so it gets 4 stars. Don't expect your questions to be resolved but you'll have fun with the film. Someday it would be fun to take a trip to Roswell, New Mexico and see all the sights. Until then, here's the DVD.