Genre: Sci-Fi | Comedy
Director: Jonny Campbell
Writer: William Davies
Cast: Declan Donnelly, Anthony McPartlin, Bill Pullman, Götz Otto, Laszlo Voros, Morwenna Banks, Omid Djalili, Harry Dean Stanton
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 95 min
Release Date: Available now at WBShop.com
Synopsis:
In 1995, mysterious top-secret black-and-white footage, supposedly filmed during the 1947 Roswell incident, was broadcast around the world. It showed the autopsy of an alien life form. The men responsible for the discovery of the footage, buddies Ray (Declan Donnelly) and Gary (Ant McPartlin), are thrown into intense media scrutiny. But the guys have an even bigger secret. And it’s not very pretty. Based on true events, Alien Autopsy is the alternately bizarre and frequently quirky story of the two unlikely lads from London who become icons in UFOlogy with a discovery that stunned millions who’ve long searched for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Bill Pullman (Spaceballs, Independence Day) and Harry Dean Stanton (Alien) join a cast of intriguing characters in the tale of the mystery that, in one sense at least, was truly out of this world.
Teaser Trailer: Alien Autopsy
Back in the 1990s, Ray Santilli promoted a 17 minute black and white film purporting to be footage of an alien autopsy. In 1995, the film was sold to television networks internationally and broadcast with high viewer ratings in more than 32 countries. The Fox television network ran a special, hosted by Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation) entitled Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?). The special investigated the purported Alien Autopsy footage that was allegedly filmed by the United States military after the legendary UFO crash near Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.
In 2006, the events surrounding the release of that footage were adapted as a feature film, written by William Davies (How to Train Your Dragon) entitled, Alien Autopsy. The film was directed by Jonny Campbell (Doctor Who) and is a humorous look at the story behind Santilli’s film based on the statements of Santilli himself.
Alien Autopsy stars Declan Donnelly (Love Actually) as Ray Santilli, Anthony McPartlin (Ant & Dec’s Push the Button) as Santilli’s friend, Gary Shoefield. In 1995, the pair travel to the United States in search of Elvis memorabilia to sell to the King’s fans in the U.K., while viewing some black and white footage of The King, Santilli is invited to Florida by a strange man named Harvey (Harry Dean Stanton) to view ‘another film’. Harvey turns out to be an eccentric military photographer who claims that he was woken up in the dead of night back in 1947 and flown to a secret military base in Roswell, New Mexico to film what he claims is a genuine alien autopsy, and after viewing it, Santilli seems to believe it’s as genuine as Harvey claimed. The problem facing Ray is that Harvey wants $30,000 for the film and Santilli doesn’t have the money.
Gary and Ray head home to look for an investor and get involved with Laszlo Voros (Götz Otto), a creepy Hungarian art dealer who is obsessed with crop circles. With the cash in-hand, Ray gets the film from Harvey and heads home to view it. Herein lies Ray and Gary’s next problem, after being in a closed film canister in the heat and humidity of Florida for so long, now being exposed to the elements, the film has begun to chemically eat itself and is now completely unwatchable.
Because I don’t want to spoil the entirety of the film for those who haven’t seen it, I’m going to stop with the story details right there and give you my two cents on the film and DVD itself.
The film was really enjoyable, McPartlin and Donnelly were perfect in their roles as Ray and Gary, Madeleine Moffat was exceptionally good as Ray’s Nan, Morwenna Banks as Jasmine, Omid Djalili as Melik, Lee Oakes as Edgar and John Cater as Maurice were all perfectly cast as the rather odd mix of personalities that make up Ray and Gary’s friends and family.
Having only been released theatrically in the U.K., I have to admit that when Warner Bros. released this on DVD, I assumed it was a reprint of that notorious special shown on television back in the 90s. I had no idea that this film even existed, nor did I know that there was a real and entertaining story like this, behind that special I watched on television over a decade ago.
Even though it’s a a relatively unknown film in the U.S., the single disc DVD has an outstanding host of special features, including “The Making of Ant & Dec’s Alien Autopsy”, a 45-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, approximately 20 minutes of deleted scenes, viewable with commentary from director Jonny Campbell, a blooper reel, an alternate opening sequence, and a director’s commentary for the entire film.
This is a really fun movie, and if you enjoy sci-fi and/or films based on true stories and quirky British comedies, I can virtually guarantee you’ll enjoy this DVD.
I give Alien Autopsy Four out of Five Stars
