Official Denial (1994) (TV)

Director:

Brian Trenchard-Smith

Writer (WGA):

Bryce Zabel (written by)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

A man who claims to have been abducted by aliens is also abducted by a top secret government agency...

Plot Keywords:

UFO | Alien Abduction | Military

Cast

Parker Stevenson	...	Paul Corliss
Dirk Benedict	...	Lt. Col. Dan Lerner
Erin Gray	...	Annie Corliss
Chad Everett	...	General Spaulding
Michael Pate	...	Wisdomkeeper
Christopher Pate	...	Sam Fools Crow
Natalie McCurry	...	Janine
Robert Mammone	...	Michael Novado
Peter Curtin	...	Jonathon Applegate
Regina Gaigalas	...	Dr. Melendez (as Gina Gaigalas)
Justin Monjo	...	Franklin Kolbe
Michael Edward-Stevens	...	Savage
Don Halbert	...	Sergeant Bridges
Christopher Mayer	...	Sergeant Gilleland
Chuck Perry	...	Situation Room Controller

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Queensland, Australia

Company:

C.N.M. Entertainment Ltd.

Trivia:

The alien, "Dos", was played by a 12 year-old Australian ballerina in a rubber suit.

Quotes:

General Spaulding: That dog won't hunt, Colonel.

Keep watching--you'll thank yourself after thirty minutes or so

I watched this film on late-night television, as has become my habit in my year-long sojourn here in England. At first, I thought it looked pretty stupid. Actually, at first it was stupid. But I kept watching for no real reason other than that I was too lazy to get up and cut off the telly, and then I discovered that this was really a moving, thought-provoking picture. Paul Corliss, who starts out as kind of an unlikable character (even when you know he's right about the aliens), gets progressively better as the film develops, which leads me to believe he was played by a damn fine actor. His wife, who starts out looking like a nagging, annoying (but pretty) nuisance develops into a strong and likable character. The general and Colonel Lerner, who both start out looking like typical, knee-jerk reacting, firepower-crazed officers develop in separate directions; the general gradually reveals himself for what he is--a thinking, caring authority (who nevertheless knows his job), and Lerner becomes the kind of villian it's easy to dislike--an un-thinking, un-caring, letter-of-the-law authority. Even the tight-lipped government agent near the end of the film (whose name is "not important") makes his potentially boring and/or unbelievable single-scene role a pleasure to watch. At the special effects end, this movie is visibly cheap. We viewers who have been conditioned by digital effects to believe only in realistic (though uncommonly smooth-looking) extra-terrestrial beings and vessels can only see these B-movie effects as...well...B-movie effects. However, if you can suspend disbelief as if you were in a theatre, this movie is immenently watchable, not the least because of its engaging and inspiring story. Without revealing too much about the end of the film (which I partially guessed beforehand), I can say that the viewer can come away from this film ready to try and make this world a better place to live in, and feel that we the human race are not doomed to kill each other off or pollute our planet beyond recognition. Long live Earth.