Alien autopsy (1995)

Original title

Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?)

Directed by

Tom McGough

Genre

found footage film

Country

United States

Runtime

48 min

Rated

NR

Rating

5.9 of 10 from 16 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This 1995 pseudo-documentary shows grainy black-and-white footage that claims to depict an alien autopsy after the Roswell incident. It aired on television worldwide and sparked debate about its authenticity. The film was later revealed as a hoax created in a London living room.

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What happens

Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction is a 1995 pseudo-documentary containing grainy black-and-white footage of a hoaxed alien autopsy. In 1995, film was released by British entrepreneur Ray Santilli purporting to show an alien autopsy conducted shortly after the Roswell incident. The footage aired on television networks around the world. Fox television broadcast the purported autopsy, hosted by Jonathan Frakes, on August 28, 1995, under the title Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction, and re-broadcast it twice, each time to higher ratings. The footage was also broadcast on UK's Channel 4, and repackaged for the home video market. The program was an overnight sensation, with Time magazine declaring that the film had sparked a debate "with an intensity not lavished on any home movie since the Zapruder film". The program was thoroughly debunked; the footage was shot on an inexpensive set constructed in a London living room. Its alien bodies were hollow plaster casts filled with offal, sheep brains, and raspberry jam. Multiple participants in Alien Autopsy stated that misleading editing had removed their opinions that the footage was a hoax. Santilli admitted in 2006 that the film was a fake, though he continued to claim it was inspired by genuine, but lost, footage. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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