UFO: The Truth About Flying Saucers (1956)

This weather here in Virginia Beach has been miserable with it feeling more like I live in Florida than Virginia. But,  even with the weather,  it has not been a terrible week. I did get to see both The Empire Strikes Back and Asteroid City at the NARO and catch some other movie.  Something weird did happen on my last selection though,  I chose a 2018 movie called UFO and what strange was a 1956 documentary/movie called UFO: The Truth About Flying Saucers.

Plot: Interviews and documentary footage combine with the fictional story of an air-force pilot who encounters aliens.

Considering the age of this docudrama, this is an amazingly informative movie. Using actual Military documents and footage with a somewhat fictional story to help navigate the material was a great way to put forth the matter-of-fact approach to the material is refreshing.  This is especially true when comparing it to the documentaries that have overtaken every streaming service on the subject matter. As a researcher, it is really interesting that there are still many similarities between the different decades when it comes to the subject matter. In fact, in many ways, it may be a more accurate capsule of the UFO topic. Yes, is does move slowly and doesnt have the flair of the modern UFO documentary, but it is likely more realistic acting as a real news piece unlike the feeling and interpretation driven approach that litters every  documentary today. This one definitely presented the material and presented the material in a way that allows the viewer to make their own decision on what they believe instead of attempting to steer a narrative. This may not be for everyone, but any serious UFO buff should love it. I did and totally recommend it.