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★★★★
Directed by: Dwayne Buckle
Written by: Dwayne Buckle
Do extraterrestrials exist? Did they visit Earth a long, long time ago and assist in the evolution of humanity?
That is the main question this fascinating documentary poses. It theorizes whether, throughout history, mankind's progress and achievements have been partially influenced by the intervention of entities from another universe.
The film analyses the theories of Swiss author Erich von Daniken, who wrote several books concerning the idea that aliens visited this planet, most notably Chariots of the Gods?.
Regarding the title, just clarifying that 'Ancient Astronauts' is a term used to describe the allegation that intelligent extraterrestrial beings arrived at Earth and communicated with humans, during prehistoric times and antiquity. Daniken is one of the figures responsible for popularizing this theory.
The documentary begins by analyzing humanity's remarkable achievements and inventions and wonders whether people themselves are responsible for all that, or whether they received help by beings from another world. The attention then moves on to Daniken and his ideas. The film proceeds to analyze the findings that his works point out in various locations throughout the world. The documentary is separated in chapters, each with its own title and in each one a different phenomenon is presented and explored, contemplating whether they are proof that aliens came to Earth. Some of these discoveries and occurrences include prophet Ezekiel's sighting of otherworldly entities, the pyramids of Giza, the Stonehenge monument in England, the petroglyphs in Val Camonica, the archaeological site Gobekli Tepe and the Nazca Lines in southern Peru.
The documentary is rather interesting to watch. It contains footage of spacecrafts being launched and plenty of footage and pictures of the various monuments, geoglyphs, statues, paintings, illustrations and of course, Daniken himself. The footage often appears old, scratched and damaged, which makes the viewing feel more mysterious. The narrator is Myles Wright and he does a great job, sounding enthusiastic. The music is atmospheric and accompanies the images effectively.
The main concept here is the theory that entities from another planet might had came to Earth and contributed to humanity by adding their own creations, and that is rather intruiging. The film also points out the possibility that the extraordinary monuments, geoglyphs and archaeological sites could had been the accomplishments of innovative human beings. Nevertheless, the belief that aliens exist is captivating and it is well worth finding out how this film explores that idea and well worth becoming familiar with the buildings, locations and carvings that entertain this hypothesis.
Trailer:
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