[CNI News thanks British crop circle expert George Wingfield for sending in this update on a developing story, previously reported in CNI News on Feb 23, 1995.]
[March 9, 1995] -- During a BBC-TV morning talk show in January, a man named Reg Presley said that he had recently seen video footage which was said to have been taken at Roswell, New Mexico, following the crash there of a flying saucer in July 1947. This footage apparently showed two aliens who were being "worked on" by doctors, though it is not clear whether they appeared alive or dead.
Reg is a British pop musician, best known as a member of the Troggs during the late 1960s and '70s. He is still very active in that role and a top single he had written then, "Love Is All Around," recently made a sensational comeback when it was featured in the soundtrack of the hit movie "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Reg is also a UFO and crop circle enthusiast.
Background to the Roswell footage story is as follows: Two unidentified men associated with the British pop music industry went to the U.S. to see some old footage of Elvis Presley (no relation to Reg Presley) never previously made public, which was in the possession of a man in California who was nearly 80 years old. They readily agreed to buy his excellent Elvis footage, and the old man was sufficiently encouraged to say, "Well, if you thought that was fantastic, you'd better take a look at this!" He then produced about fifteen cartridges with perhaps 10 minutes of film on each one, and proceeded to show the two men footage which he says he shot at Roswell in early July 1947.
At the time, he explained, he was sent by the U.S. Army to make a cine film (not stills) of debris in the desert which was apparently that of a crashed flying saucer. He filmed this and a large crane which was being used at the crash site. Then he was taken to film two dead or dying aliens who were being "worked on" in a temporary shelter. One had been initially still alive but died subsequently. Whether the two doctors were trying to save this one, or merely performing autopsies on both corpses is not clear. A third man in an overcoat was standing close by and may have been from military intelligence. The photographer lamented the fact that the cine camera which he used for this was one meant for outside filming rather than one suitable for the dimmer light inside where the bodies were.
The aliens appear to be tall, say about 6 ft 6 in. They are very skinny and have big black eyes. This hardly corresponds to other descriptions of alien bodies said to have been seen at Roswell then, which were described as being of "oriental appearance", and it certainly doesn't tally with the story that child-sized funeral caskets were ordered for the bodies, unless of course the corpses were dismembered. Some of this film apparently shows parts of the alien corpses which had been severed and were labelled. Other cartridges allegedly show many military men at the crash site and among them the then-President, Harry S. Truman, is visible. This is something that has never previously been suggested but might be checkable.
The quality of the film, taken from the end of the beds, is "not great". The original was on the type of cine film which would have been used in that era. It is said to have been recently examined by Kodak who confirm this is 1940s film. Reg Presley has only seen 15 minutes worth, which is less than half the total footage. What he was shown had been copied on to modern videotape. He appears very confident that this film footage is in fact genuine. He knows the name of the man from California who is said to have shot the footage but he cannot yet disclose this. This Army cine photographer, who supposedly kept unauthorised copies of what he had filmed, is NOT Nicholas van Poppen, a man sometimes mentioned in connection with filming the Roswell crash but who died several years ago.
The footage is in the possession of Ray Santilli, who lives in London and who intends to produce a documentary out of it. He sees this clearly as a commercial venture. He is said to have purchased the original film for $100,000, or perhaps $150,000. He has had the film for about two years and it has now all been transferred onto modern videotape, both as a direct copy and also in the form of a version which has undergone enhancement. One rumor is that the film has now been sold to Fox for $200,000 and that they will make a TV program about it. Another is that Rupert Murdoch has taken a personal interest in it and has secretly arranged to show it to certain important people. None of this can be confirmed.
Santilli is a book publisher and is connected with the film industry. He is not a UFO buff and has not been at all responsive to inquiries made by other UFO researchers. Clearly his principal interest is in the commercial value of this footage but he has promised Reg Presley a copy of the film for private use but only on condition that it is not copied. Some British researhers are hoping to get a look at this in the near future.
[Crop circle researcher Colin Andrews, who currently resides in the United States, is said to have seen some of the film footage and to believe it is authentic.]
George Wingfield comments: "Although there is obviously much scope for some elaborate hoax, well-fueled by the publicity of suppressed mystery, it would be wise to suspend judgement until we have seen this Roswell footage, which it seems we all will in due course anyway. Any verdict on its authenticity will greatly depend upon an independent examination of the original film, since any amount of falsification is now possible using computer techniques such as those employed in "Forrest Gump" (if you don't believe this, go see the movie!). As for myself, I will only offer an opinion as regards authenticity when I've seen this Roswell footage and have had a chance to look at the original film."
Original file name: .CNI - Ros.Film Wingfield
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