Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Turner Home Ent
• VHS Release Date: September 2, 1997
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0780618416
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,275 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Superb UFO documentary..., August 9, 2003

By 

Commander Adama (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Searching for Ufos [VHS] (VHS Tape)

As the reviewer below mentioned, one of the problems which confronts anyone who wants to learn about UFOs involves figuring out which UFO books and documentaries are reliable, and which books and documentaries are created by con artists or "true believers" who show obviously faked UFO photos or videos as the "real thing". This video, produced by Ted Turner's TBS cable network, is one of the two best documentaries I have ever seen on the subject of UFOs. This is a "different" sort of UFO documentary, in that it focuses upon the people who research UFO sightings more than it does the actual phenomenon. It treats these people seriously, and (with a few exceptions) most of the ufologists (UFO researchers) they interview do come across as serious-minded and not "flaky" or "fanatical" on the subject. The video explains the history of the UFO phenomenon, and the viewer gets to see old footage of the "pioneers" of ufology, such as Marine Major Donald Keyhoe, who led the first "serious" UFO civilian research group, NICAP; Dr. James McDonald, a professor of physics at the University of Arizona and who was a leading proponent of the theory that UFOs are alien spacecraft (McDonald's story is truly tragic - his scientific criticisms of UFO debunkers and their "explanations" for many sightings led most of America's scientific establishment to turn against him, and he committed suicide in 1971); and Dr. J. Allen Hynek. Hynek was an astronomer at Northwestern University in Chicago who worked as the top scientific consultant for "Project Blue Book", the Air Force's official investigation of UFOs from 1947-1969. Hynek started out as a "debunker", and he helped the Air Force to explain away most sightings. But as the years passed Hynek gradually became convinced that some UFOs were not hoaxes or misidentifications of "normal" phenomena and that these sightings and incidents might represent something extraordinary. He eventually became the leading "ufologist" in America and in the 1970's founded his own organization (called the Center for UFO Studies, or CUFOS) to study UFO reports. Most of this video, however, focuses upon five modern ufologists. The documentary follows each ufologist as they do field investigations of UFO events and interview UFO witnesses. Among the ufologists profiled are Marty Caidin, a veteran pilot and aviation writer who's flown planes since the Second World War. Caidin (who died in 1997) recounts his own UFO sighting over Florida decades ago, and he interviews a retired Air Force bomber pilot who describes his own disturbing encounter with a UFO in the fifties. Caidin, who has written dozens of well-respected books about airplanes, pilots, and science fiction (one of his sci-fi novels was the basis for the "Six Million Dollar Man" TV series) comes across as a serious investigator. Another ufologist seen is Chris O'Brien, who lives in the so-called "Mysterious Valley" - the San Luis Valley of Colorado and New Mexico. The documentary follows O'Brien as he interviews local ranchers, farmers, and sherriff's deputies about the strange events which seem to happen in the Valley on a regular basis - cattle mutilations, strange lights seen at night, etc. Particularly interesting is an account from a local sherriff's office about the crash of an unknown object in the mountains around the Valley, and of a call from NORAD, the US Air Force's massive command center located inside a mountain near the San Luis Valley, to get the sherriff's office to try and locate the crashed object. However, probably the most prominent ufologist interviewed for the documentary is Raymond Fowler, who investigated a number of famous UFO cases in New England in the sixties, seventies, and eighties. None of these three men come across as "nuts", "lunatics" or "con artists" - indeed, all of them have spent a good deal of their own money and resources to do their investigations. Some of the other UFO researchers seen in the documentary, however, are not so impressive (one who seems especially flaky is a nerdy guy in Michigan who turned his parent's home into a giant electronics center to beam signals to potential UFOs in space. By the end of the documentary he has run out of money and is being forced to sell his "house", which isn't very surprising, given that he doesn't have a job and spends all of his time trying to contact UFOs). Overall, however, this is a well-made, engrossing, and serious-minded study of Ufology and the UFO phenomenon in America. Highly Recommended!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Informative UFO Documentary, July 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Searching for Ufos [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is one of the few "serious" UFO documentaries in existence. Many UFO documentaries are done by "true believers" who claim that almost any UFO sighting or homemade videotape is the real thing. This documentary offers both a good history of the UFO phenomenon, dating back to the summer of 1947, and it also focuses on several people who have spent their lives either researching UFO sightings and encounters or trying to "contact" them. The most prominent UFO researcher interviewed for this documentary is Raymond Fowler, who is widely regarded as one of the best "ufologists" in New England. If you're expecting to see wild-eyed stories of alien abductions and "X-Files" type stories, then you should not buy this videotape! But if you're interested in the history of UFO sightings and the people who are trying to solve this modern mystery, then "Searching for UFOs" should provide a good two hours of entertainment.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Serious Documentary on the UFO Phenomenon, February 6, 2004

By 

Rebecca Janine Wise (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Searching for Ufos [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Searching for UFOs is one of the best serious-minded documentaries on the UFO phenomenon I've seen. Most "documentaries" that deal with the UFO phenomenon seem to be made to appeal to people who are entertained by the idea of aliens. This video is different and therefore well worth watching.