Question: Why do people who are abducted by aliens so often have exploratory tubes shoved into their orifices? You'd think that a race of beings who had mastered intergalactic space travel would be able to deduce the operation of the human digestive system without using a roto-rooter. Apparently not. Ever since 1947 when Kenneth Arnold coined the phrase "flying saucer," people all over the world have reported sightings of UFO's (Unidentified Frisbee-like Objects) and contacts with extraterrestrial beings, and while skeptics have scoffed, true believers have remained steadfast. Robert Stone's Farewell Good Brothers, which was made in association with the Discovery Channel, is a decidedly tongue-in-cheek look at many of the early "contactees" from the 1950s who are still firm devotees today. Mixing archival footage, clips from sci-fi flicks, and interviews, Stone's irreverent program introduces viewers to George King, who landed the choice political plum of "voice of the interplanetary parliament" and has had the rare fortune of being personally contacted by Jesus, who came to visit King in a flying saucer. They will also meet Howard and Connie Menger, the former being the author of the 50s memoir From Outer Space to You, an account of Howard's abduction by an angel from space; and a whole host of others who talk about aliens living in the inner Earth, messengers from Jupiter and Venus, and the rediscovery of nuclear fission in our own time (the early inhabitants of Atlantis had already found out that fission and fusion lead to folly--Atlantis apparently nuked itself). No attempts are made to test the validity of the claims made by the interviewees, but Farewell Good Brothers never pretends to be a scientific investigation; rather it's an enjoyable glimpse into the world of "contactees" without the hard sell. And it's sure to be very popular both for Earth patrons and interplanetary library card holders.Visitors From Space, on the other hand, is as serious as its stark title suggests. Filmmaker Juhan Af Grann's documentary (originally made for Finnish television) has all the cheesy dialogue, melodramatic orchestra strings, and wacky camera zooms reminiscent of early tabloid television. Viewers will learn about aliens (extraterrestrial, not illegal) currently residing in the U.S., the boost which extraterrestrials gave Hitler's Third Reich, an Israeli woman's all-expenses paid excursion to the Moon, and extraterrestrial sex, among other interesting otherworldly tidbits. Much of the focus is on the number of unexplained sightings over the past half century, the U.S. Air Force's role in both the investigation of UFO reports (and the cover-up of any resulting information), and the huge geographical span of the over 100,000 sightings reported (ranging from South Africa to Scandinavia and Arizona to Brazil). No skepticism, healthy or otherwise, deters Visitors From Space as it careens wildly from speculations about mutilated cattle to liaisons between E.T's and C.I.A. operatives (an area yet to be explored by John Le Carre). As ludicrous as some of these claims may sound, the fact remains that much unexplained phenomena continues to perplex researchers and scientists today. And the legion of believers is both wide and sometimes well-known. Our own Jimmy Carter saw a UFO, and as one might recall from a certain Playboy interview, the man was scrupulously honest.Farewell Good Brothers is inexpensive, funny, often intriguing, and highly recommended. Visitors From Space, though more costly, and hardly objective, is still a good overview of UFOlogy and is recommended for larger collections. (R. Pitman)
Farewell Good Brothers; Visitors From Space
(1992) 90 min. $19.95. Discovery Channel. PPR. Color cover. Vol. 9, Issue 2
Farewell Good Brothers; Visitors From Space
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