Watch Roswell For Free

To me, this movie is perfection.

The Worst Film Ever

The acting in this movie is really good.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

When it comes to UFO events, few are more famous than the alleged events that took place outside the New Mexico town of Roswell in the summer of 1947. Yet that wasn't always the case though as for decades the case lingered in obscurity. While it had begun to come back to the fore, it was with this 1994 Showtime film that the case began to make an impact. Looking at the film, it isn't hard to see why as it may well rank among the best films made on the topic.That is in part because of the cast. Kyle MacLachlan was a perfect choice for the role of Jesse Marcel, the Army Air Force Intelligence officer who finds himself unwittingly at the center of the whole affair who finds himself returning to the case three decades later. MacLachlan has a silent strength to him throughout whether he is the young officer who seems to be catching the break of a lifetime or the old man trying to make sense of the past confronting it head on. It is the sort of performance that lifts up the entire production.The rest of the cast is solid as well. Martin Sheen effectively has an extended cameo despite being billed second as the mysterious figure Townsend but Sheen does well with the part and gives a strong performance with the little screen time that he has. Dwight Yoakam does well as Mac Brazel, the rancher who starts off the whole business by finding some strange debris on the ranch he's working. The cast is also full of character actors who bring the story to life admirably including John M. Jackson, Xander Berkeley, Bob Gunton, Nick Searcy, and Phillip Baker Hall among others. Kudos as well to Kim Greist as Marcel's wife. It's a solid cast that helps ground what is an incredible story in some much needed human reality.Beyond the cast, Roswell is a well produced piece of work. From the cinematography of Steven Poster to the production design of Michael Z. Hanan, the costumes from May Routh, and the score by Elliot Goldenthal, the film exudes a competence and firm grasp of the inherent dramatic nature of the events it portrays without overplaying it. Hats off as well to the film's make-up department in aging up several members of the cast for the scenes set in the 1970s. All are brought together under the direction of Jeremy Kagan whose direction shows the occasional flourish but only when the production calls for it. The result is a well made and highly watchable ninety minutes or so. Yet nothing perhaps does more to ground Roswell firmly to Earth than the script by Arthur Kopit (from a story by Kopit, producer Paul Davids, and director Kagan). One can imagine all too easily from other UFO films that this could have been wildly speculative and more science fiction than anything else. Instead, Roswell sticks with the UFO based accounts of the case and presents them without much fictionalization and without frills to make a compelling and believable case. It's true that the film's 1970 sections are fiction with Marcel effectively standing in for a number of investigators who have examined the case but much of what the film presents in its 1947 sections has eyewitness testimony to back it up (whatever stock you wish to place in it). The film admits when it gets into wild speculation (especially in the last twenty minutes or so) and acknowledges conflicting accounts, all to its credit. The script then is an example of how to take compelling but controversial material and present it on the screen.In the end, it is no surprise that Roswell was nominated for a Golden Globe as that year's Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. It is a well acted and well made piece of work which brings potentially one of the most fascinating stories of the 20th century vividly to life without becoming sensational along the way. As a result of both its seriousness and how well it stands up even after two decades, it stands out among the pack of UFO related film works as a definite highlight.

Your enjoyment of this film does not depend largely on your acceptance of the story of a crashed alien spacecraft and a government cover up that just does not seem to want to go away. If you believe the narrative, which is based upon Kevin Randle's book UFO crash at Roswell, you will be amply rewarded by a tale that adheres closely to the story, and which treats the subject matter with respect. Even if you think the whole story is stuff and nonsense, you can still enjoy a well made, well cast film that has plenty of atmosphere and crisp direction. Although made for television, Roswell has above average production values which add greatly to the overall tone of the film. Kyle Mclachlan's performance as the perplexed Marcel is fine and some of the set pieces, especially the discovery of the spacecraft wreckage are truly unnerving.

Kyle MacLachlan is the real-life retired USAF Major Jesse Marcel. He was one of the first people to handle the debris from a suspected alien spacecraft crash on a remote field in Roswell, New Mexico. The government then ordered him to shut up. Many years later, at a reunion of his unit, MacLachlan is old and dying of emphysema, and is intent on prying the Truth out of the several others who were involved in collecting and disposing of the mysterious trash.It's pretty dull going, even for UFOlogists. MacLachlan goes from barbecue to swimming pool to dinners, encountering others, and getting their stories in flashbacks.The more dubious aspects of the legend -- disappearing participants, living alien corpses, "men in dark suits" -- are accepted with the same eager alacrity as the more credible claims -- the government's throwing all kinds of humdrum explanations against the wall to see if any of them stick, the tendency of agencies to beef up their own importance by classifying information about what they do.The movie gives you the legend in its full-blown form here, with Michael Sheen showing up as "Townsend", the man who takes MacLachlan aside and spills the beans in their entirety, in a scene that is an anti-climax if there ever was one. The explanation is all hearsay from an anonymous source. MacLachlan must depart the scene still in a state of distress and confusion.With the exception of some of the supporting players, the acting is perfunctory. The direction is pedestrian. There isn't any real tension and there is no real ending. It all just seems to fade away.These comments, I ought to emphasize, are about the movie, not about the question of UFOs. I should think that by now, with multiple, credible witnesses, the presence of something inexplicable is indisputable. Oh, maybe not alien space ships but surely something. The alternative belief is that many of our military and commercial pilots, scientists, police officers -- people to whom we entrust our lives -- are crazy. Well, let's throw out 99% of the most reliable sighting. That leaves 1% who are believable. All it takes is one case. Too bad none of the UFOs has been obliging enough to put down on the White House lawn.

First off, I'm a huge believer in the existence of Aliens, abduction, implants, crop circles etc. etc. etc. (Did you just hit Not Useful already?? Jerk-off.) So, prior to this movie, I had decently high expectations. I wanted a movie that would deliver an intriguing story but at the same time give lots of interesting facts. Low and behold, my expectations were met and the movie delivered on both accounts.At Major Jesse Marcel's 30th Anniversary for his Nuclear Bomb Unit, he's set on getting the facts straight about what he experienced and what went on during the Roswell incident. Through flashbacks mostly, the movie retells what most probably occurred.With an intriguing and important story being told in a entertaining way, the movie succeeds more than it fails. The acting overall, is kinda average, especially by Kyle MacLachlan, but with an always impressive Dwight Yoakam, and a usually solid Martin Sheen, the movie also ends up succeeding here as well. Overall, Roswell was a entertaining film that delivers a nice story with some nice knowledge concerning the incident. If you're even slightly interested in aliens or Roswell, and if you get the chance to watch this movie, don't hesitate, it's easily worth the 90 minutes.