dashadow Review of Chariots of the Gods

Chariots of the Gods (1970)

Poorly done "documentary" on claims for aliens having been responsible for most of humanity's accomplishments

[3/10 · 18 March 2006]

I watched "Chariots of the Gods," as it was known as in the United States, when it was originally released and was rather bored by it, if it were not for the great footage of sites from all over the world I would have probably fallen asleep. The narration is bland, uninspiring,and uninformative. There are a few cases where the narration is unintentionally funny. When discussing a 40,000 year old bison skull the movie states the bison was killed by a high speed bullet and, "The beast was alive when killed." I didn't mean to say it out loud, but I said, "Most animals ARE alive when they are killed. How else could they be killed?" and got a good laugh from the audience near me. As is typical in this sort of film things are taken out of context, questions are asked, but not answered, and simpler explanations are ignored. I bought my copy as part of a double feature DVD issued by EastWestDVD.com. The second feature on the disk is a turkey entitled "Astral Factor" and also known as, "Invisible Strangler." I think the most telling thing about this movie is that the credits say it is "Based upon the novels" by Erich von Däniken which indicates that the producers felt the premise of the film was fictional. I have never understood how the movie was ever nominated for an Oscar in the best documentary category, because as I was leaving the theater, everyone I heard talking about the film felt they had wasted their money. At $1.00, or 50¢ if you divide it over the two films, the movie is worth watching for the location shots.