Customer Reviews

When UFOs Attack Pack: UFOs - It Has Begun/UFO Syndrome

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

 

 

UFOs It Has Begun:
Nice to see good prints of these films. They obviously held on to Rod Serling's footage from 1975, he looks like he is behind the 1970s version of the Doctor Who opening credits. Also good to see Jose Ferrer and Burgess Meredith taking part.
UFO Syndrome:
Great narration by cult favorite Anthony Eisley as well as some interesting interviews.

The main reason that I bought this DVD is that the first documentary, "UFO's: It Has Begun", is basically the film version of Robert Emenegger's book "UFO's Past, Present, and Future." Originally the latter-named book was intended to be a film that was to include footage of the famous Holloman AFB landing and visitation by a member of the "large-nosed gray" alien species. For anyone unfamiliar with this Holloman landing, I recommend first reading Linda Moulton Howe's "An Alien Harvest" to get some background on the supposed landing and film. I, for one, believe that the landing did happen, making it an event of great importance. Although the date and exact location of the landing are disputed by Richard C. Doty (cf. Doty's statements in "Exempt From Disclosure" and in Howe's "An Alien Harvest"), there is plenty of evidence that the film of the landing does exist.
On this DVD, we are given an artistic reenactment of this landing near the end of the documentary. It follows almost word-for-word the text of Chapter 18 of Emenegger's book. AND, if I am not mistaken, it appears that a portion of the ACTUAL film footage is presented--namely, the scene inside a building when someone picks up a camera and runs to the windows. If you slow down this brief segment of film, you can observe a craft bobbing up and down over the runway outside!
Another reason to watch "UFO'S: It Has Begun" is that we are given an opportunity to see J. Allen Hynek, Jacques Vallee, Lonnie Zamora, and other important names in the history of UFO's, as themselves. We are also taken to the exact spots where famous landings or sightings occurred. So, this DVD definitely contains film footage of historic value.
The second documentary on this DVD, "UFO Syndrome," is also interesting from an historic viewpoint. However, this segment explores ideas that are less "scientific" and more "on the fringe." There are interesting theories presented, such as the "biological UFO" ideas of Trevor James Constable. But, in general, the visual images (continuously repeated photos and drawings) and speakers are much less compelling than those presented in "UFO's: It Has Begun." One of the interviewees in "UFO Syndrome" refers to a typical "Nordic" alien that he encountered as "Jesus," whereas he also describes this person as a man wearing a jump suit and tunic, with brown hair and a tanned complexion. Such "leaps of faith" are not needed in a documentary that claims to offer proof of UFO's.

Although this video was created in 1979 it should be owned by every serious ufologist. It features J. Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallee, two of the primary movers and shakers in ufology, along with several of the directors of Project Blue Book. It has a nice segment on the early days of cattle mutilations, the Robertson panel, many early UFO sightings including films and much more. The information presented in this film is top notch.

This DVD can be especially recommended to anybody who is interested in the UFO phenomena as it was seen in the 1970s. Among much interesting material it includes some of the most well known UFO personalities of that time: Allen Hynek, Jacques Vallee, Lonnie Zamora and others.

The reason why I rated this DVD at 4 stars is due to the unsatisfactory conversion of the original footage to the modern TV format. The original footage was shot in 3:2 aspect ratio - which was standard until recently (the widescreen TVs first became popular at the beginning of 2000s). The publishers of this DVD "converted" both documentaries to a widescreen format. Unfortunately the conversion consisted of simply removing the bottom and top parts of the original picture. This is unfortunate as in few instances one can't see (or read) what the narrator refers to but was part of the original footage.

Another unfortunate aspect of the conversion is the increased color saturation. Both documentaries have been made more colorful. That is the intensity of the colors have been increased (not to look outdated I suppose).

Personally I always prefer to see any re-released material as close to its initial state as possible. As that gives me a more authentic representation of the original product.

Although this is outdated material/film, it still adds piece's to the "Unknown Puzzle of life," as we know it. For the most part, even when a bad review is given I'll still observe the info./film/books/Utube lectures etc...because sometimes very small puzzle parts are understood down the line-path. I'd say, if the information is pertaining to one's interest, it doesn't hurt to spend alittle time thumbing through or fast forwarding along it...

Although, I could be wrong...

David

I can't believe I paid $10 for this. Maybe I missed the production date of 1976 before buying. It is SO outdated and has been redone 50 times on the SciFi channel show 'UFO Files'. Amazon should not be advertising this product.