A groundbreaking Amazon Prime documentary has thrust the world of UFO enthusiasts and skeptics into renewed frenzy by claiming that three unidentified flying objects landed at a U.S. Air Force base in New Mexico back in 1964. Titled Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind: Contact Has Begun, the film asserts that high-ranking military personnel interacted with extraterrestrial beings during the incident at Holloman Air Force Base, and that former President George H.W. Bush was briefed on the event years later. While the documentary stirs up long-buried questions about government secrecy surrounding alien encounters, it offers no fresh physical evidence, leaving viewers to grapple with eyewitness accounts and declassified hints.
1964 Holloman Air Force Base UFO Sighting: Eyewitness Accounts Resurface
The heart of the documentary revolves around the alleged 1964 UFO landing at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico—a site already steeped in aviation history and whispers of the unexplained. According to the film, directed by renowned UFO researcher Dr. Steven Greer, three disc-shaped craft descended onto the base’s runway in the early hours of April 24, 1964. Eyewitness testimonies, including those from retired Air Force sergeant Charles Hall, describe the objects as metallic saucers, approximately 30 feet in diameter, that hovered silently before touching down without a sound.
Hall, who claims to have been stationed at the base during the era, recounts in the documentary how military personnel approached the crafts cautiously. “It was like something out of a science fiction novel, but it was real,” Hall states in an interview clip featured in the film. The narrative suggests that humanoid figures emerged from the vehicles, engaging in what appeared to be a non-verbal communication with base commanders. This alleged alien encounter in New Mexico echoes earlier incidents, such as the infamous 1947 Roswell crash, which has long fueled speculation about extraterrestrial visitations in the desert state.
Historical context adds weight to these claims. Declassified documents from the 1960s, referenced in the documentary, mention unexplained aerial phenomena over New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range, adjacent to Holloman. A 1964 Project Blue Book report, the U.S. Air Force’s official UFO investigation program, vaguely alludes to “unidentified lights” in the region but dismisses them as possible weather balloons or experimental aircraft. However, the film argues that these were cover stories to maintain government secrecy, pointing to redacted sections in archived files that hint at more substantial events.
Experts like Stanton Friedman, a nuclear physicist and prominent ufologist who passed away in 2019, had previously corroborated similar stories from military insiders. In archival footage played in the documentary, Friedman notes, “New Mexico has been ground zero for UFO activity since Roswell; Holloman’s isolation made it ideal for such landings.” The film’s portrayal of the incident paints a picture of a pivotal moment in UFO history, where human-alien interaction allegedly occurred under the watchful eyes of the U.S. military.
To bolster its case, the documentary includes animations reconstructing the landing based on witness sketches and radar data purportedly leaked from base logs. While visually compelling, these elements rely heavily on anecdotal evidence, prompting critics to question the veracity amid the ongoing debate over alien encounters.
George H.W. Bush’s Alleged Briefing: Ties to CIA and UFO Cover-Ups
One of the most provocative assertions in the Amazon Prime documentary is the claim that former President George H.W. Bush, then serving as CIA Director in 1976, received a classified briefing on the 1964 New Mexico UFO landing. The film alleges that Bush was shown photographs and films of the Holloman incident during his tenure at the agency, preparing him for potential future disclosures as president. This connection ties the event directly to decades of government secrecy, suggesting a chain of command that suppressed information about extraterrestrial life.
Dr. Greer, in a key segment, interviews anonymous sources who claim to have been present during Bush’s briefing. “The former director was stunned; he knew this changed everything about our place in the universe,” one source whispers in a shadowed interview. Bush’s background as a naval aviator during World War II and his later role in intelligence make him a fitting figure in UFO lore. The documentary speculates that his 1988 presidential campaign promise of a “kinder, gentler nation” subtly alluded to broader revelations, though no direct quotes from Bush confirm this.
Government secrecy forms the backbone of these allegations. The film draws parallels to other high-profile UFO cases, such as the 1977 “Wow! Signal” detected by astronomers, which some believe originated from deep space but was quickly downplayed by officials. In New Mexico specifically, the state’s role in nuclear testing and aerospace research has long intersected with UFO reports; a 2019 Gallup Poll indicated that 68% of Americans believe the government hides UFO information, a sentiment the documentary amplifies.
Critics, including historians from the National Archives, argue that while Bush did oversee declassification efforts during his CIA days, no concrete records link him to the Holloman incident. “Speculation without documents is just that—speculation,” says archival expert Dr. Linda Fowler in a counterpoint interview aired in the film. Nonetheless, the Bush angle has sparked online forums and social media buzz, with hashtags like #BushUFOBriefing trending shortly after the documentary’s release on Amazon Prime.
This revelation positions the 1964 event not as an isolated anomaly but as part of a larger tapestry of alleged cover-ups, urging viewers to demand transparency from agencies like the Pentagon’s newly formed All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), established in 2022 to investigate unidentified aerial phenomena.
Documentary’s Lack of New Evidence Sparks Skepticism Among UFO Researchers
Despite its dramatic flair, the Amazon Prime documentary on the New Mexico UFO landing faces scrutiny for relying on recycled testimonies rather than groundbreaking proof. Directed by Dr. Greer, known for his Disclosure Project which has gathered over 700 whistleblower accounts since 2001, the film compiles interviews, old news clippings, and expert analyses but introduces no new physical artifacts, such as metal samples or authenticated videos from the 1964 incident.
“We’ve heard these stories before; what we need is verifiable evidence,” remarked Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, in a recent podcast responding to the film’s release. The documentary counters this by emphasizing the challenges of government secrecy, claiming that key evidence was destroyed or classified post-1964. It features a segment on the base’s security protocols, where personnel were reportedly sworn to silence under threat of court-martial.
In terms of production, Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind blends narrative storytelling with calls to action, encouraging viewers to petition Congress for declassification. Statistics woven into the film highlight the surge in UFO sightings: the National UFO Reporting Center logged over 5,000 reports in 2023 alone, with New Mexico ranking high due to its clear skies and military presence. Yet, without tangible items like the alleged “trinitite-like” residue from the crafts—referenced but not shown—the claims remain in the realm of conjecture.
UFO community reactions are mixed. While forums like Above Top Secret praise the film’s accessibility on Amazon Prime, others, including the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), criticize it for sensationalism. MUFON’s director, David MacDonald, stated in an email to reporters, “Alien encounters deserve rigorous investigation, not Hollywood drama.” The documentary’s budget, estimated at $2 million, funded extensive travel to New Mexico sites, including reenactments at Holloman’s perimeter, adding immersive value but not empirical weight.
Ultimately, the film’s strength lies in its synthesis of existing lore, reigniting interest in the 1964 event and prompting a fresh wave of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests targeting Air Force records.
Public Frenzy and Calls for Alien Disclosure Intensify After Documentary Release
The release of the Amazon Prime documentary has catalyzed a surge in public discourse on UFOs and government secrecy, with viewership numbers climbing to over 500,000 streams in its first week. Social media platforms are abuzz with discussions, memes, and petitions demanding official acknowledgment of the 1964 New Mexico alien encounter. Influencers and podcasters, from Joe Rogan to Lex Fridman, have dedicated episodes to dissecting the claims, drawing in a new generation curious about extraterrestrial possibilities.
Polls reflect this momentum: a recent YouGov survey found that 45% of U.S. adults now believe in alien visitations, up from 34% in 2019, partly attributed to mainstream media coverage of UFO hearings in Congress. The film’s narrative of suppressed briefings to figures like George H.W. Bush has emboldened activists, leading to organized protests outside the Pentagon calling for full disclosure.
Experts weigh in diversely. Dr. Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist, commented in a CNN interview, “If true, this Holloman incident could rewrite physics as we know it—faster-than-light travel implications are profound.” Conversely, skeptics like Mick West, founder of Metabunk, debunk the visuals as potential drone footage or lens flares, urging critical thinking amid the hype.
Looking ahead, the documentary’s impact could influence upcoming legislative efforts. With NASA’s 2023 UFO study recommending better data collection, and AARO’s mandate to report findings publicly, pressure mounts for revelations. Filmmaker Greer has announced plans for a follow-up project, potentially featuring more whistleblowers, while New Mexico tourism boards eye boosted visits to UFO hotspots like Roswell. As debates rage, the quest for truth about that fateful 1964 landing continues to captivate and divide, hinting at a future where government secrecy on alien encounters might finally yield to openness.
