Review: Captivating 'The UFO Incident' Rescued By Kino Lorber

Two years before "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," there was "The UFO Incident," the true story of Betty and Barney Hill, adapted by Hesper Anderson & Jake Just from John G. Fuller Jr.'s 1966 book "The Interrupted Journey."

The 1975 TV movie starred Oscar-winner Estelle Parsons ("Bonnie and Clyde") and Oscar-nominee James Earl Jones ("The Great White Hope") playing the semi-infamous couple who both recounted stories about being abducted by aliens in September of 1961. As an early '60s, middle class, interracial couple living in a white community, the Hills had their own racist-tinged battles to fight, so the alleged incident just added to their confusion and stress. But their encounter with a UFO in the White Mountains of New Hampshire left them with an intense anxiety over what they experienced. The Hills would relive the experience through hypnosis via Dr. Benjamin Simon (Barnard Hughes), insisting they were brought aboard a spacecraft and medically examined.

Were the Hills bonkers? Could they be telling the truth? Or was it Barney transferring a fantasy to Betty or Betty transferring a dream to Barney, two possible theories posed by Dr. Simon? The movie leans in the direction of believing the Hills, and the viewer will probably fall in line thanks to the edgy and mostly endearing performances by the two leads, as well as Richard A. Colla's ("Battlestar Galactica," original pilot feature) evocative, probing and thriller-esque direction.

Kino Lorber is to be applauded for rescuing some of these early '70s made-for-TV films and delivering pristine-looking visuals on the Blu-ray releases. This film has never looked or sounded so good. And the audio commentary by Gary Gerani proves quite informative.

The Special Feature truly worth a watch is a feature-length doc, "Romantic Mysticism: The Music of Billy Goldenberg," where the career of the composer (whose music in "UFO Incident" is key to its success) is examined. He worked with Steven Spielberg on his TV film "Duel," and had he bothered to get back to the director about his first feature, he might have had John Williams' career.

I had seen a crappy copy of this film many moons ago and wasn't very impressed, so it was a surprising treat to watch it looking and sounding like it did back when it first premiered. I gained new respect for the Hills and was captivated by the storytelling.

Blu-ray Extras Include: