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Hangar 18 (1980)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
6 May 1982 (Australia)
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Tagline:
It started with an accident in space . . . and led to the terrifying secret in . . . HANGAR 18 more
Plot:
Shortly after the launch of a satellite from a space shuttle the satellite collides with an UFO in front of the crew's eyes...
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Plot Keywords:
UFO
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Space
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Alien Space Craft
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Conspiracy
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Decapitation
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User Comments:
Politics and UFOs make VERY uneasy bedfellows
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) more
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Invasion Force
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
97 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:12 |
Australia:PG |
Sweden:15 |
UK:PG |
USA:PG |
Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) |
Canada:AA (Ontario) |
Canada:G (Quebec) |
Canada:PG (Manitoba)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
This film was produced by Sunn Classic Pictures, the leading "four-wall" distributor of documentaries. Although this was a straight science fiction film, Sunn's TV spots promoted it as if it were another of their documentaries that would "reveal the truth about UFOs" even though the space shuttle which was used in the film had not yet had its first launch.
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Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: Camera shadows can be seen on the car hoods during the chase scenes. In one instance, one can clearly see the camera operator's shadow.
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Movie Connections:
Featured in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Hangar 18 (#1.19)" (1989)
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (24 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Hangar 18 (1980)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| They did get it at Radio Shack | pbb5652 |
| Script Computer Generated? | mkeee |
| Megadeth song | KINGJO4606-1 |
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It is common to bash this 1980 sci-fi/conspiracy movie for its admittedly not-top-notch special effects and pretty much everything else; the limited budget has a lot to do with it. But with the exception of the 1978 film CAPRICORN ONE, nobody else was trying to mix the two elements (sci-fi and conspiracy) together for the big screen. In essence, HANGAR 18 can indeed be said to presage "The X Files" by a decade and a half.
The film begins with two astronauts (Collins, Hampton) encountering a UFO in orbit while launching a military satellite. The satellite collides with the UFO, causing an explosion and killing a third astronaut in the cargo bay who had been watching the satellite's progress. But the UFO makes a surprisingly controlled landing in the Arizona desert, thus necessitating its quick removal and forcing the president's chief of staff (Vaughn, an absolutely steely performance) to concoct a cover story to avoid serious damage to his boss's chances for re-election.
Naturally, both Collins and Hampton are fingered by Vaughn and his staff for blame in the incident. This forces them to gather hard evidence to clear themselves, but it also means that they'll be pursued by government agents the entire way. Meanwhile, at Hangar 18, located at an air force base in Texas, a team of scientists, led by McGavin, are learning everything they possibly can about the UFO and its alien occupants. What they find about those aliens is how uncannily similar they are to humans.
Despite the film's technical imperfections, HANGAR 18 is still a pretty good and speculative science fiction film from Sunn Pictures, the same Utah-based film company that was known for making speculative documentaries during the 70s and early 80s. McGavin is at his usual best, as he was in the 1972 TV film THE NIGHT STALKER. In terms of plot, HANGAR 18 seems to use Watergate as a starting point and then mixes in elements of Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and Spielberg's CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. And although it is hardly on a level with those two great movies, it nevertheless works because of the approach it takes to the debate not only over UFOs in our present day but also the possibility that visitors from another world have visited Earth before.