Hangar 18 [Blu-ray]

Terrible, Terrible Quality Conversion to DVD
This poor quality transfer to DVD looks as though it was converted from an old, full-screen VHS of the film. The chapter selection and menu screen have a home-job appearance. Stranger still, the picture on the box (of a green bug-eyed alien emerging from a door, bears no actual connection to the film.) In fact, except for the fact that it was sold on Amazon, you would think that this is a fly-by-night bootleg. Did anyone at Legacy Enterntainment (the DVD producer) actually care about the DVD they were releasing?

Watergate + "2001" + "Close Encounters" = HANGAR 18
The Utah-based Schick Sunn Pictures corporation, known for churning out highly speculative documentaries, turns to science fiction for this interesting conspiracy sci-fi drama. The question: What would the U.S. government do if it suddenly had an alien spacecraft in its possession?

Two shuttle astronauts (Gary Collins, James Hampton) are in the process of launching a military satellite from the shuttle, when they encounter a UFO in orbit. When the satellite is launched, it hits the UFO with explosive results, killing a third man who was inside the shuttle's cargo bay watching the satellite's progress. The UFO, however, makes a controlled landing in the Arizona desert.

When they get back on the ground, Collins and Hampton soon find themselves the target of charges that the incident in orbit was their fault, and are forced to clear their names by finding the right evidence, all the while being tracked by government agents. Meanwhile, a team of scientists, led by Darren McGavin,...

UFO intrigue.
Astronauts, including Gary Collins, sight a UFO from the shuttle. NASA chief Darren McGavin tracks it on radar, but White House officials (Robert Vaughn & Joseph Campanella) want to keep it covered up until the election, because the president had previously ridiculed his opponent for reporting a UFO. McGavin is sent to investigate, but Collins and the other astronaut are kept in the dark - but they investigate unofficially. It turns into an action pic as the government tries to stop them, but meanwhile McGavin and his team have found dead aliens on the ship, and learn of their previous visits to Earth. Considering how old this is it's a pretty good effort and precursor to Roswell, The X-Files, etc.

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