I have the same fears as you. When I see “UFO documentary on YouTube!” I imagine a clutch of yahoos all nodding at each other and belching, “Yep! I seen ’em!”
These videos are not like that. (I wouldn’t do that to you.) All of the movies below feature intelligent human beings who understand the implications of what they’re saying—and they’re talking anyway. This is real stuff, the real world. And it is, unfortunately for skeptics and deniers who cling to the idea of a mundane world, surprising, shocking, and unsettling. Something really did fall to Earth outside of Roswell, New Mexico in July of 1947—and it was not from this world.
The Roswell Crash: Startling New Evidence
This awesome investigation was sponsored by the Sci-Fi Channel (now known as SyFy), and hosted by journalist Bryant Gumbel. It’s several years old, but when you’re studying an event that happened decades ago, it really doesn’t matter. A team of archeologists was sent to the crash site, northwest of Roswell, New Mexico, to dig. The hope was that if they were to examine the area carefully, they would find evidence of whatever crashed that day in early July 1947.
What did the diggers find? No spoilers! But they did find results—unexplained disturbances in the soil, and yes, they did dig up some interesting things. What’s more, one of the participating researchers wasn’t satisfied with the network’s follow-up on the evidence that was gathered—so he followed up on it himself.
Bonus: Secret History: “The Roswell Incident”
This is a well-made documentary from the UK television series Secret History. Its only problem: it was made at the time when a film of a supposed alien autopsy had captured public imagination. The film, purported to show alien bodies from the Roswell crash, is now known to be a hoax. You have to forgive the film-makers, though; they didn’t know for sure that it was a hoax, and they cast a critical eye on it anyway.
Bonus: Roswell: the UFO Uncover-up
You want to like this documentary, and there is a lot to like: interviews with Roswell witnesses, reliable experts like Stanton Friedman and Linda Moulton Howe. The problem we found is that it veers off into eye-rolling speculation with “experts” who make claims far too dippy for sober minds to entertain. One featured expert suggests that the aliens are angry with us because we occupy the same physical space, but that we don’t usually see them because they live in a four-dimensional reality whereas ours is merely three-dimensional. Problem: we do live in a four-dimensional reality. The fourth dimension is Time. Learn some Einstein, sheesh.
Even so, much of this movie is quite good, and we do recommend it. Just don’t let the crystal-healing voodoo hooey bother you.
Bonus: Unsolved Mysteries: “The Roswell Incident”
Unsolved Mysteries was a popular show on American television some years back. Its host, Robert Stack, was popular for the gravitas of his commanding voice and for his trench coats, which made him look somewhat like a film noir detective.
This YouTube video is a compilation of several episodes, starting with a full account of the Roswell Incident and then moving on to cover Roswell’s connection to Area 51 (the secret base), Belgian UFO sightings, and other famous incidents. It’s fun to watch; it’s listed as a bonus mainly because it is not solely about Roswell.
