Le cristal de l'espace

This movie appears to try and cash in on the success of "E. T." by telling the story of a (supposedly true) occurrence in Texas almost a century earlier. A little alien lands near a Texas town and befriends many of the locals. Unfortunately his arrival attracts the attention of a few of the wrong people, and things go downhill from there.

The story of "E. T.", retold in a time when there was no 20th century technology to work with - not to mention no Reese's Pieces with which to lure anyone out of the woods - could have made for a most interesting movie. Unfortunately, this feature is woefully slow-paced, and the ending is very much a downer. If the story is in fact true, the writers might have been forgiven for taking a little artistic license to pick up the pace a little and keep the audience's attention. The scenes of the alien's interaction with the townspeople (most notably Jack Elam's character) have some magic to them, but the film as a whole just never quite comes together.

Thirty years ago I read a historical account in UFO literature where a spacecraft crashed into a windmill in a small Texas town back in the late 19th century. The townsfolk found a dead little occupant in the wreckage and gave him a "decent Christian burial". This is the jist of the original story that inspired this film. Everything else in the movie has been added for dramatic effect. One other thing---the place where the alien was supposedly buried has this kind of weird colored fungus or lichen that grows on top of the ground that can't be killed. I saw a picture of the landowner kneeling by the spot. I guess no one ever thought to exhume the grave to find out the truth of the whole matter. And whatever happened to the spaceship wreckage? I thought the movie was very long, dry and boring, the only exception being the little alien scenes.

'The Aurora Encounter" is based on a much publicized "airship" that supposedly crashed near Aurora Texas in 1897. This event was no doubt greatly embellished by the press, and eventually became so 'fictionalized" that any trace of believability vanished. Taking the standard U.F.O. plot and placing it back in the old west is a great idea, that unfortunately does not live up to it's potential. "The Aurora Encounter" is badly scattered, and that is it's main problem. Despite the presence of the wonderful Jack Elam, what you get is a part sci-fi, part western, part "Goonies" clone, that is too simplified for the sci-fi fan, too devoid of action for the western fan, and too boring for the "Disney" crowd. - MERK

I saw this movie a long time ago, and I'm not sure why, but it sticks in my mind as one of the worst movies I have ever seen. It's some silly story about an alien who lands in Aurora in a tin plate spaceship (with strings attached) and hangs out for a while. Take my word for it, don't rent this movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie - I would like to give some history on this movie - it was not, as some may believe, and exploitation of a sick child, rather it was the granting of a dying wish of a child, Mickey Hays, to be a movie star. For that reason alone, I applaud this movie, and as hokey as it is, I enjoyed the positive message of the little alien coming to Earth and interacting with the citizens (and animals) of Aurora, Texas. Even though it has a sad ending, it also had many laughs, and several positive messages.