The Bamboo Saucer

First, let me reassure you that the saucer in this film is not a cheap, Chinese imitation of a flying saucer. That being said, the special effects are pretty bargain-basement, but the science behind it is really not too bad.

Electro-Magnetism is probably how these objects work; at least in part. The acting is not half-bad, even Boris Bendenoff and Natasha are OK. There are no A actors in this film, but who needs them if you have a good story? And this one is a bit far-fetched, but watchable. Have fun for an hour or so, and watch it on a Saturday morning or late Saturday night.

I love older sci-fi movies but in my 67 years I had never heard of this one. I have never seen it on TV and have never seen it in any lists of sci-fi movies. As this movie is fairly well done-the color for example is very good and the acting is good and the story is interesting-I wonder why it is so little known? The main drawback of the movie is that it is way too talky. As well, the outdoor scenes were so obviously not taken in China and the saucer special effects were not great for 1968 but I've seen worse even for that time. Sadly the last film for Dan Duryea who died too young.

The makers of this film put a lot of effort into trying to make an exciting science fiction adventure yarn. However they don't fully succeed because they try to cram too much into the film and the characters never rise above being little more than cliches. But in the end, the film does promote the message of the need for the world to unite, stop fighting and start building a better tomorrow. Deserves points for effort.

The 1960s Cold War.... A flying saucer..... American and Soviet Russian teams in Communist China!

What on earth (if not from Earth) connects these seemingly disparate elements?

A test pilot is about to have his perspective on life irrevocably altered as he becomes one of the "more than 5,000,000 persons who claim to have actually seen unidentified flying objects" and for whom "no explanation is necessary" while "to all others no explanation is possible."

Some viewers might raise the point that the film feels more like a throw-back to sci-fi films of the 1950s and compare it unfavourably to such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Perhaps, but at least the film has an engaging plot with a good mixture of entertainment, action, pacing, drama and some humour. It doesn't seem to be laying claim to being a 'work of art' that's in search of a good story to tell and which could result in audiences nodding off or losing the will to live! And yes, the film is peppered with stereotypical elements in terms of gender and Cold War national and ethnic cliches, but so what? It is easy enough to treat it as a snap shot of a particular time in history and consider whether or not we really have made that much progress in almost 60 years. After all, we've yet to "meet 'them' face-to-face!"

Great Movie. I love it.

Last 15min shows you what special FX were like in late 60s and they did a good job without CGI.

The space scenes are awesome -they have a special feel to them- but watch the blu-ray if you can do it.

Sadly, The final performance of Dan Duryea.

This movie to the best of my knowledge was NOT widely distributed on television in any markets I am aware of.

Many people on social media have also commented along these lines as well.

Russia, China, and UFO's are the main topic of this movie.

You don't see that in too many sci-fi movies of the era & releasing the movie during the tumultuous times of the late 1960s probably didn't help market possibilities.

This aside- It is definitely an entertaining movie with great 1960s talent like Dan Duryea, Lois Nettleton, Vincent Beck, Bernard Fox, and others.

Again, cool movie and fun to watch.