La nuit des extra-terrestres

This was an amazing piece of work for the 1970's. James Earl Jones added such authentic terror to the role of a person discovering forgotten incidents in this life experience, that anyone who has ever forgotten ( and then remembered, realizing they had forgotten) will find this portrayal chilling and unforgettable. His description of the bunny is particularly remarkable...innocent enough to the mind of a child, or an impatient listener. The wife in the story, is played with such stamina and confidence that you could wish to be her in a time of crisis. the natural bravery and assuredness brings a sense of order to the story. Someone please report that this will be distributed for sale sometime somewhere!

First of all, even though I'm a "UFO buff" (depending on how you use that term), I'm tired of many sides of the whole subject, because it's been such a huge, huge pop culture subject for such a long while, and between the believers and the disbelievers (especially the latter, really), you can't get away from it. But, you don't have to like the subject A BIT (either as a believer or a disbeliever) to like this movie. You can watch it as a "docu-drama" (one that came along before the whole docu-drama craze), about how this couple dealt with the whole situation (regardless of what you believe that was). Or you can watch it as a regular "scary story" (it works entirely well as that). And of course, you CAN watch it for the UFO subject itself, especially since it's one of the most famous stories. One of the great things about the Betty and Barney story is that it sticks a pin in the whole "abducted hillbilly" idea (which, even if it weren't such a huge generalization, is such really, really overworked joke). Here's a "mixed marriage," in New England, both people intellectuals. And of course it has three very great actors (one a little less well-known by name than the other two). Estelle Parsons and James Earl Jones draw you completely into the whole thing, especially during the "regressions." And Barnard Hughes as the doctor (he'd played a few doctors already by then), was just right also.

The UFO Incident was one of the hardest movies for me to see. I remember when it first aired, I had to be at a Boy Scout meeting, so I missed it (back in those pre-VCR days). The second chance I had to see it had the station broadcasting it go off the air for a half-hour, and then come back on with a completely fuzzed out picture, so again I couldn't watch the film. I procured a copy last month, and then I lost the bloody tape. I managed to finally get another and FINALLY got to watch the damn thing.

Well, it really was worth the wait. James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons give very believeable and very moving performances as a married couple beset by completely strange and frightening circumstances. Even if you don't believe in the alien abduction phenomenon that has become so widespread after the big-budget version of Whitley Streiber's Communion, you've got to admire the acting abilities of both stars in this movie. You can definitely feel the pain and confusion that Barney and Betty Hill went through in their performances (particularly Jones, who I think accurately encapsulates all of the pent-up frustrations that Barney Hill was reputed to have, though he did so in a decidedly non-stereotypical way - Barney wasn't your average "Angry Black Man" of the seventies).

I suppose because of Communion (and the recent Signs) one might chuckle a bit at the alien visitors in this movie, but one has to remember that this was a made-for-TV movie and I think the production values put it on a par with any of the contemporary science fiction or horror films of the time period. One also has to remember this movie was made before that famous cover of Communion was published, so the aliens don't quite look like the willowy Greys that most folks have come to associate with the phenomenon.

This is a film definitely worth searching out. Sci-Fi Channel apparently shows it now and again, so that's your best bet, outside of the internet trading circles (which is where I got my copy).

This movie caught my eye because I remember reading about Betty and Barney Hill as a young UFO freak. They were the first famous case of alleged UFO abduction. This film is very well done, really effectively resting on the performances of the two leads. They believably portray real people under very unreal circumstances. I'd love to see it again if I could ever find it!

This made-for-television film made quite a splash when it aired on NBC in 1975, right in the midst of a UFO-mania currently sweeping the country. Chronicling the landmark alleged UFO-abduction case of Betty and Barney Hill on the night of September 19, 1961, the film recounts the turmoil they both suffered for years after experiencing "two lost hours aboard a flying saucer" while returning home to Portsmouth from Montreal.

Adapted from John G. Fuller's 1966 book "The Interrupted Journey", the teleplay cleverly utilizes transcripts of the Hills' hypnosis sessions (which commenced the following year and continued for several months) to frame the retelling of their ordeal. Peppered throughout the recreated hypnosis sessions are intriguing flashbacks of the abduction itself, composed of moodily shot and fleeting glimpses of the confrontation, abduction and examination of the Hills by their alien captors. The presentation of their story is remarkably told in a straightforward, balanced and non-exploitive manner. In the last scene there is even room for doubt in the viewer as expressed by the Hills' doctor's attempt to explain that their experience may have been anxiety-induced and/or subconsciously suggested due to stresses related to their marriage.

Yet the element that makes "The UFO Incident" uncommonly excellent, particularly for a movie made for television, are the two tour-de-force performances by leads James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons. Their three-dimensional, full-bodied characterizations cover the full emotional spectrum from beginning to end. They exhibit utterly convincing turmoil, not only during and after their abduction, but in the several scenes displaying their personal doubts and fears about their interracial marriage and the potentially negative perceptions to their plight by friends, family and strangers. Therefore, it's really on an emotional level that "The UFO Incident" succeeds so well. Rather than concentrating merely on the facts of the abduction (a la "Fire In the Sky"), this film enhances the alleged incident by indelibly personalizing its victims.

Kudos should go to director Richard Colla, as well, for utilizing minutes-long takes during a few of Jones and Parsons' scenes together, allowing both of these top-drawer actors to build toward beautiful and natural emotional crescendos. Best watched without commercial interruption, "The UFO Incident" is easily one of the fifty best TV-movies ever made.