Top 10 Ancient Astronaut Movies!

[Giorgio Tsoukalos]

Here's a list of the Top 10 Ancient Astronaut movies of all time.

I urge everyone to go out and see them as they all have defined Legendary Times!

As you see, there are more than 10 movies on this list, that's simply because over the years this list has been expanded! ...plus now there's more cool stuff to watch!

1) The Abyss (1989) (only the extended DVD Director's Cut Version! The version that was shown in theaters didn't make much sense...)
2) Bicentennial Man (1999)
3) E.T. - The Extra-Terrestial (1982)
4) The Forgotten (2004)
5) Independence Day (1996)
6) The Indiana Jones movies (1981, 1984, 1989 ...AND 2008!)
7) K-PAX (2001)
8) Mission to Mars (2000)
9) National Treasure (2004)
10) Phenomenon (1996)
11) Stargate (1994)
12) Star Wars (1977, 1980, 1983, 1999, 2002, 2005)
13) Total Recall (1990)
14) 2001 - A Space Odyssey (1968)
15) The Mist (2007)
16) Knowing (2009)

Got any other ones you'd like to share with us and add to this list?

[slavko.sk]

Great list, I know I have to still see few of them (number 2, .
Is the Abyss DVD Director's Cut Version so much better? Then I have to take a look for it. I'm sure I have some to add to the list but I can't remember. If I do, I will I put it here.
S

[Giorgio Tsoukalos]

Absolutely, the Director's Cut is better because the ending of the version that was shown in theaters essentially only had the massive alien "submarine spaceship" or alien "submarine base" emerging out of the ocean... and then the movie fades to black. Simply a weird ending because there really was no conclusion. Not only is the Director's Cut a bit longer, it also distinctly explains the reason WHY the aliens had this underground base and why they came here... and this reason's quite compelling...

[discwatcher]

Last week I finally saw Contact, which really piqued my interest in alien theories. I would also like to add Sphere, the engaging film version of Michael Crichton's excellent 1987 novel. Definitely a must-read for all spaceship fanatics.

-Dale

[slavko.sk]

Absolutely, the Director's Cut is better because the ending of the version that was shown in theaters essentially only had the massive alien "submarine spaceship" or alien "submarine base" emerging out of the ocean... and then the movie fades to black. Simply a weird ending because there really was no conclusion. Not only is the Director's Cut a bit longer, it also distinctly explains the reason WHY the aliens had this underground base and why they came here... and this reason's quite compelling...

Is it this version - 2 hours 43 minutes length? Because here it calls "Special Edition" ... can you provide more details about Director's Cut version?

[Giorgio Tsoukalos]

Last week I finally saw Contact, which really piqued my interest in alien theories. I would also like to add Sphere, the engaging film version of Michael Crichton's excellent 1987 novel. Definitely a must-read for all spaceship fanatics.

-Dale

Contact - interesting suggestion. I've actually struggled many days before I decided not to put this movie on the list because of the following reasons: this is a movie based on Carl Sagan's book Contact. Carl Sagan was one of the biggest debunkers and critics of the Ancient Astronaut Hypothesis that ever lived.

Sagan did everything in his power to sabotage the Ancient Astronaut movement by, for example, writing to English-speaking publishing houses and asking them not to print any further Ancient Astronaut titles, and if they would Sagan and other scientists would boycot their publishing houses. Interestingly enough, there was (!) a period of time when english-speaking publishing houses indeed did not print any Ancient Astronaut titles. Then Sagan died, and sure enough, new AA titles appeared on the market again.

Another reason why I struggled whether or not to include Contact on the list is this: anyone familiar with the book "Intelligent Life in the Universe" written by Carl Sagan and I.S. Shklovskii in 1966?

See, I firmly think that the reason WHY Sagan was such a ferocious debunker in public was because in his private life, he was, in fact, a supporter of the Ancient Astronaut Theory! Yes, he was a closet-supporter.

How can I draw such a conclusion? Outlandish, isn't it? Well, if you read "Intelligent Life in the Universe", and read Chapter 33 "Possible Consequences of Direct Contact," you will see that this is a chapter dedicated to - in a positive and encouraging light! - the Ancient Astronaut Theory! In fact, the chapter, written by Sagan and Shklovskii, is so positive toward the AAT that the authors draw the conclusion that extraterrestrials DID INDEED visit Earth and mankind in the remote past.

...and then Sagan began his fierce debunking campaign against the AAT for the rest of his life...

What's more, I know from highly trusted sources that Sagan was interested in the AAT until the day he died. How do I know? For many years, I used to live in Ithaca, NY, where Sagan lived as well. I had many encounters with Cornell professors and scientists who counted Sagan as their friend. After a few beers, these profs became open books...

Regarding Contact, I marvel at the fact how positive the movie is towards the AA Theory, which I think is great. But now you know the backstory as to why the movie didn't make the list. But great pick though!

[Giorgio Tsoukalos]

Absolutely, the Director's Cut is better because the ending of the version that was shown in theaters essentially only had the massive alien "submarine spaceship" or alien "submarine base" emerging out of the ocean... and then the movie fades to black. Simply a weird ending because there really was no conclusion. Not only is the Director's Cut a bit longer, it also distinctly explains the reason WHY the aliens had this underground base and why they came here... and this reason's quite compelling...

Is it this version - 2 hours 43 minutes length? Because here it calls "Special Edition" ... can you provide more details about Director's Cut version?

Yes, Director's Cut, Special Edition, Extended Version, etc. it's probably all the same. Have fun watching it!

[discwatcher]

What about The X-Files Movie? I've only seen it twice, but it was really cool, and the concept definitely supports the Ancient Astronaut Theory (I read Kevin J. Anderson's X-Files: Ruins novel to get in the right mindset for writing my own story).

[bezpretenz]

and don't forget "The Thing"! yes, most of you remember what was it all about - northpole, cold and freazy air and then suddenly a chopper lifts in skies to hunt a dog which is infected by unknown disease..(you'll see) In my personal collection i have rated it with 5 out of 6 stars.

[Giorgio Tsoukalos]

It's funny, we've been circulating this Top 10 List around for a while now - this list was first published in the pages of Legendary Times in 2004 - and interestingly, I received multiple suggestions to include John Carpenter's 'The Thing' on the list. Well, I've seen this movie many times, so the question I have is: how can such a blobby, slimy, hysterically screeching creature ever pilot a spacecraft...? Or was it just propelled here by chance? Did some other civilization banish this creature to Earth? Uhm, just wondering...

[Michael Parker]

Hello LT/UFO Radio Forum members,

My name is Michael Parker and I am pleased to be working with Giorgio and the rest of the LT gang on the upcoming UFO Radio Network.

Currently I host a weekly 2 hour show entitled Dark Matter on KarmaAir.com that discusses many topics of interest to those in the UFO/Paranormal community.

Today we will be discussing the Best and Worst of Science Fiction Film and Television and I will be reading Giorgio's list of greatest Ancient Astronaut movies during the show and mentioning this forum. If you have time I invite you to take a listen today and join in on the conversation if you wish.
Joining me in the studio today will be actress Emma Caulfield from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Film and Music Video Director Jeff Myers (Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell, 30 Seconds To Mars, Perfect Circle, etc.

Here is the blog for the show and the links:

http://www.karmaair.com/%5Cshowblog.aspx?episodeid=431

SCI-FI MIND FRY: THE ALL TIME BEST AND WORST OF FILM/TV
Sunday Sep 02, 2007


Since the invention of science fiction by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells the medium has been a voyage of both fantasy and prophecy, a vehicle to explore the boundaries of possibility and sometimes profound social commentary. When sci-fi is taken to the screen (large or small) it is almost beyond parallel for epic vision or staggering cheese. This week Michael and some of the occasional Dark Matter contributors will discuss the highs and lows of the genre. By the way one of Michael's favorites, The Day the Earth Stood Still, is apparently being remade with Keanu Reeves as Klaatu. What?!!

So jump in the ring (or the holodeck) as we throw down gauntlet/ light saber on the greatest and lamest: Star Trek or Star Wars? 2001 or Clockwork Orange? The Matrix or Metropolis? Kirk or Picard? King Kong or Godzilla? Alien or Predator? Heston or Schwarzenegger? Blade Runner or Road Warrior? And let's not forget the cosmic babes: Princess Leia or Padme Amidala, Barbarella or Raquel Welch in any role? It's all on the table this week and we would love to hear your favorites as well so call us up and get your galactic geek on!

Once again, joining Michael will be Emma Caulfield from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Director Jeff Myers to discuss the world of Sci-fi and more!

Open the pod bay doors Hal. Klaatu barada nikto...

If you'd like to leave a comment for Michael or Emma, you can do so when you click here. Or, you can call in live this Sunday, Sept 2nd, at 5PM PST. The number to call is 1-888-495-2762.

[Giorgio Tsoukalos]

Hey Michael, welcome to the Board!

How was the show? Can you tell our Board Members when and where they can listen to reruns? Thanks!

[akramer]

And Alien versus Predator.
There are a ancient alien-pyramid in the artic.

[truthseeker]

And Alien versus Predator.
There are a ancient alien-pyramid in the artic.

firstly, hi and welcome to the forum

you mean in the film or reality?

if its film then i wouldn't hold my breath to see if the film makers are onto something...

if however you mean in reality then i like the rest of the world would love to see that!

[akramer]

Hi truthseeker

Thank you

It´s in the movie

[truthseeker]

Hi truthseeker

Thank you :D

It´s in the movie :P

i seen the film but just wanted to make sure you wasn't erm...a fruitcake :lol: :P

i've seen the trailer for AvP2 and it looks much more brutal than the 1st, which i thought was pretty tame.

anyways, heres my 10 fave scifi films

1) Contact. i know about Carl Sagan but its still an awesome film.

2) Starman.

3) Star Trek The Motion Picture, not the rest of the star trek films they were all lame :(

4) The Medusa Touch, this a MUST see movie about the paranormal and stars Richard Burton and Lee Remick among others. Burton is magnificent in it. if you've never seen it i HIGHLY recommend it, it gets better everytime i watch it :)

5) Star wars Trilogy not episodes 1,2,3

6) Alien/Aliens/Alien resurrection

7) Predator 1 and 2

8 ) war of the worlds, the original

9) The Abyss, directors cut

10) Phenomenon. shame they couldn't make a sequel worthy of the first film, would have been good to know more about where "the power" came from.

11) Stargate

12) Total Recall

13) Starship Troopers

14) When Worlds Collide

15) The Dead Zone, another must see movie about the paranormal

16) The Green Mile

17) The Entity, did it really happen???

18 ) poltergeist

19) Babylon 5. ok i know, its not a film but it was a damn good show none the less :wink:


edit:

20) how could i forget "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" ?!?! :shock:

and just like Giorgio, i got carried away :D

[Ace Rimmer]

K-Pax is a remake of a much better Argentinian film, Man Facing Southeast 1986. If you can find it, it is well worth a watch.

An outspoken, gifted stranger suddenly "appears" at an insane asylum, claiming to be from another planet. Each day he stands in the open yard facing southeast to receive telepathic messages from his home. His presence has a profound effect upon the psychologist who is treating him for his delusions.

I love The Abyss and wish somebody would make another movie dealing with underwater Alien bases.

Another great Alien movie is Brother From Another Planet.

And I just gotta say Hitchhikers Guide To the Glaxay is just so wonderous, the book of course is better, but Douglas Adams had a fantastic mind. Extremely insightful, just BRILLANT...

[Inquiring Mind]

Not neccesarily having to do with Ancient aliens per se (although the movie is obviously a reference to the Nephilim of the old testament and the book of Enoch).....But this John Carpenter movie hits the nail on the head dead on IMO

[Serene]

Kind of reviving an old thread here....but have any of you ever seen "Enemy Mine"? 1985 - Wolfgang Peterson movie. I loved it but haven't seen it since. May have to rent it again and see if I still dig it.

[Ace Rimmer]

Kind of reviving an old thread here....but have any of you ever seen "Enemy Mine"? 1985 - Wolfgang Peterson movie. I loved it but haven't seen it since. May have to rent it again and see if I still dig it.

Yeah I liked that movie.
I always really liked The Last Starfighter too.

[Moon]

Add Knowing (2009) to the list of movies. Although it does have Nick Cage overacting in it (another ham sandwich anyone?), the ending alludes to either ancient astronauts or angels.


There were several TV movies made on the subject in the 1970s. Here are a few I remember:

1. The Stranger Within (1974)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072219/

Barbara Eden as a pregnant woman whose baby might have an otherworldly father.

2. The Phoenix (1981)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083464/

A TV series about an alien named Bennu of the Golden Light who went looking for other members of his race and helped people along the way.

3. Mysterious Two (1982)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084375/

This was a pilot for a TV series that was not picked up. We do not find out much information on the above titled people. John Forsythe played He.

There was another pilot of a series in which a young man gets a part of an amulet with a message in it. He was going to spend the rest of the show looking for the other pieces and fit them together. It had an ancient alien feeling to it as it dealt with the subject. It was done in the 1970s and was not picked up. I cannot remember the name or who starred in it, but I watched it.

And of course the original Battlestar Galactica was all over the AAT, with the costumes and many planets with Egyptian style artifacts like pyramids.

[lunarwing]

Enemy Mine is part of my collection.

The Last Starfighter holds a very special place for me. Before it was released I played the Star Wars arcade game more than what was probably considered healthy. I was so good on it I would rack up millions of points.

I was very young with a over active imagination... so I imagined that some off world folks placed machines like the one I played to find humans that were natural starfighter pilots. Then they would contact them and recruit them for the battle for the galaxy.

Then The Last Starfighter came out.... I was blown away.....

[lauthica]

Where is there an AA reference in Bicentennial Man? I have watched that movie many times and I'm lost Mr. Tsoukalos.

[xsweettooth6]

OMG i have seen all of those great movies and own most of them! Bad ass!

[spacerelatives]

Starman and K-Pax are my favorites.

And thank you, Metaluna. Man Facing Southeast is now next on my netflix queue.

EDIT: it would have been if they had it.

[Ace Rimmer]

Starman and K-Pax are my favorites.

And thank you, Metaluna. Man Facing Southeast is now next on my netflix queue.

EDIT: it would have been if they had it.

Oh I hope you enjoy it. I haven't seen if for years, but it is one of those movies that can haunt a person.

EDIT:Oh darn, I found it years ago at my public library. I hope you can find it sometime.

[spacerelatives]

There's one movie sort of in this genre that has haunted me..."The Man From Earth". Jerome Bixby wrote this one. I won't tell you what it's about but I think you might like it. I enjoyed it a ton.

[Ace Rimmer]

There's one movie sort of in this genre that has haunted me..."The Man From Earth". Jerome Bixby wrote this one. I won't tell you what it's about but I think you might like it. I enjoyed it a ton.

Oh it sounds wonderful, I'll look for it. I don't do Netflix though, or haven't yet.

[~Stormy~]

Ahhh you forgot Sphere!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxAWRjrzUmE

This one sticks out to me because a year before the movie was released my family had a sighting of a UFO exactly like the one in the film.
Ironically we were at the Drive In theater with our kids and 2 of my cousins.
During the film I notice a glow out of the corner of my eye, I turned just in time to see this sphere go by within about 8 ft of my passenger door. It was flying very low just barely above the ground and then after it passed us it shot up at an angle into the sky and gained speed at a rate I honestly cannot calculate, it was gone from our visibility in less than 5 seconds.
We all turned to each other and asked what the heck that was. My husband is a die hard skeptic and though he cannot deny what he saw he refuses to this day to even try to give an explanation to what it might have been.
We did keep the fact that the theater was only a few miles from a military base in the back of our minds but I just can't see us being able to create what we saw. it was seemless and perfect.

[spacerelatives]

Metaluna, I saw Man Facing Southeast last night. I could not find it anywhere for rent and it doesn't even seem to be in DVD form yet but I struck gold at youtube. They had it in eleven parts at youtube.com but at least they had it all.

It definitely leaves me with questions. It is haunting as you say. Raises some major issues for me. Pretty damn depressing when I think about it. ha

[Ace Rimmer]

Metaluna, I saw Man Facing Southeast last night. I could not find it anywhere for rent and it doesn't even seem to be in DVD form yet but I struck gold at youtube. They had it in eleven parts at youtube.com but at least they had it all.

It definitely leaves me with questions. It is haunting as you say. Raises some major issues for me. Pretty damn depressing when I think about it. ha

Oh that's not good! Glad you saw it though, now I have to watch it again myself. Now that you say that, the reason it is haunting is because it is sad and does make you think.
This redefining of reality always leads to some troubling propositions about the life we live.

here it is free on-line it says, if anybody is interested.
http://www.ovguide.com/movies_tv/man_fa ... theast.htm

Stormy that is quite an experience you had at the Drive in. Sure I remember Sphere, I liked it. I love Sam Jackson!

[spacerelatives]

Metaluna, I saw Man Facing Southeast last night. I could not find it anywhere for rent and it doesn't even seem to be in DVD form yet but I struck gold at youtube. They had it in eleven parts at youtube.com but at least they had it all.

It definitely leaves me with questions. It is haunting as you say. Raises some major issues for me. Pretty damn depressing when I think about it. ha

Oh that's not good! Glad you saw it though, now I have to watch it again myself. Now that you say that, the reason it is haunting is because it is sad and does make you think.
This redefining of reality always leads to some troubling propositions about the life we live.

here it is free on-line it says, if anybody is interested.
http://www.ovguide.com/movies_tv/man_fa ... theast.htm

Stormy that is quite an experience you had at the Drive in. Sure I remember Sphere, I liked it. I love Sam Jackson!

This is exactly the kind of movie/film that I like watching. So it's good. Very sad and makes me think and wonder. More than you might imagine!

EDIT: The whole "what is accepted/not accepted" angle in addition to medications for those deemed too different really get my blood boiling. To say the least. I wonder what would happen if we simply cared more for people in this country instead of labeling them and pumping them full of f'ing drugs! Sorry, but this subject does inspire me. So thank you Metaluna.

[Ace Rimmer]

This is exactly the kind of movie/film that I like watching. So it's good. Very sad and makes me think and wonder. More than you might imagine!

EDIT: The whole "what is accepted/not accepted" angle in addition to medications for those deemed too different really get my blood boiling. To say the least. I wonder what would happen if we simply cared more for people in this country instead of labeling them and pumping them full of f'ing drugs! Sorry, but this subject does inspire me. So thank you Metaluna.

I know what you are saying, everything is a syndrome nowadays. Drugs are not the answer. But it is far easier to shove somebody to the wayside and give them some drugs to make them fit in better or not to have to deal with them at all. We have progressed past the lobotomy stage, but now we can quiet bad brains with drugs.

But a lot of us are nuts too in our own quiet, harmless way.

[spacerelatives]

This is exactly the kind of movie/film that I like watching. So it's good. Very sad and makes me think and wonder. More than you might imagine!

EDIT: The whole "what is accepted/not accepted" angle in addition to medications for those deemed too different really get my blood boiling. To say the least. I wonder what would happen if we simply cared more for people in this country instead of labeling them and pumping them full of f'ing drugs! Sorry, but this subject does inspire me. So thank you Metaluna.

I know what you are saying, everything is a syndrome nowadays. Drugs are not the answer. But it is far easier to shove somebody to the wayside and give them some drugs to make them fit in better or not to have to deal with them at all. We have progressed past the lobotomy stage, but now we can quiet bad brains with drugs.

But a lot of us are nuts too in our own quiet, harmless way.

If drugs didn't have nasty side-effects and were so iffy on the targeted effects, maybe it would be ok. But still, it makes me wonder why we demand, as a society, that we all be so much the same.