Communion: Special Edition
On December 25th, 1985 Whitley Strieber had a dream. Weeks later he discovered his family had the same dream. Months later he made the most shocking discovery of his life. Now you will discover it.
It is a great pleasure to introduce this picture I directed in 1988 in this new DVD "Special Edition". A truly independent feature, Communion continues to be a controversial film for anyone with a closed mind. At the time it was made, as filmmakers we had to fight for the right to make it ambiguous and agnostic in regard to the issue of an alien presence. Various powerful film companies wanted a straight horror film or an outright affirmation of alien existence which would have undermined an unbiased point of view. The psychological dimensions of Whitley Strieber's extraordinary book upon which the film is based continue to fascinate me and the issues raised in the film continue to engage millions. A man approached me at a UFO conference and said, "Your film is a fraud." I replied, "How can you say that?" He answered, "The aliens told me!"
-Philippe Mora
Member Reviews
True Close Encounters - newdaysof
Before watching this movie, I had read all of Whitley Streiber's books. The movie follows the first book fairly closely on most details but there are some things left out and more things added.
Christopher Walken was the logical choice to play Streiber, who claims to have encountered aliens in his rural New York state cottage. The movie portrays Streiber as a lot more flamboyant and eccentric than in his book and it made me view Streiber as slightly less credible.
After watching this movie, I am still undecided about the validity of Streiber's encounters. One minute I think yes, it's all true, then the next minute, a series of nagging doubts crop up. To begin with, before his first encounter, Streiber was a struggling horror-fiction author with writer's block under financial stress. So the motivation to come up with a whole fresh new horror novel was strong. And he ended up writing four books in the Communion series, each one giving a bit more detail, and enticing you to buy the next book in the series. He earned millions from all his books. The other nagging doubt is the fact that his brother gave him a book on UFO encounters which he had up at the cottage the night of the first encounter. In his sequel books, he goes into great detail about many other strange, bizarre encounters he had as a boy and it really stretches credibility. Having said all that, he comes across as absolutely sincere and credible and honest when interviewed. And if it was not all true, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to maintain the fiction over many decades and much public humiliation. It is left up to the viewer to decided for themselves.
I do believe aliens are regularly visiting Earth. There is simply too much evidence from thousands of credible witnesses. Also, read the book "Above Top Secret: The Worldwide UFO Coverup", which explains how top-secret government departments are suppressing the truth and confiscating all physical evidence.Makes you think - clovejoy
I rated this one five stars, not because I loved it (I didn't) but because it really made me think. It made me think about what might be "out there" and it made me realize that if an advanced alien species were to communicate with us, it might have to resort to some rather peculiar ways to get to know us first.
The movie started out a little slow, seeming to deal with irrelevant issues, but in retrospect, it was giving the viewer insight into the main character so that we could understand how he deals with his contact experiences and why he reacts the way he does to his alleged abductors.
I think you can be skeptical about the phenomenon of alien abductions and still come away from watching this movie with a renewed appreciation of what it might take for us as a species to interact meaningfully with a species so alien from our own that it might take some serious soul-searching to bring us up to speed with this species, both psychologically and spiritually.
I believe this movie could be viewed as part of that process of evolution.Facinating look at controversial topic. - cathyottawa
In the early 80s, Whitley Strieber was a fairly successful writer in the horror genre. Two of his books were made into films.
Then, in 1989, he published what he said was a non-fiction book, detailing his personal experiences with alien abduction. Was it all a hoax, in an effort to sell more books?
I've read the book, and I have to say, he seems very sincere. He went back to penning fiction novels after Communion, and hasn't made a career out of trying to capitalize on his alleged experience. Since those claiming abduction tend to be ridiculed and made into laughing stocks, it seems odd he would chose to lie about such a thing.
The movie is quite creepy in a sixth sense kind of way. You'll be seeing things in the dark corners of your room after watching it. Christopher Walken strikes just the right note as someone who doesn't want to believe what he sees with his own eyes.
Fact or fiction, it's an entertaining film either way.
Member Reviews
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True Close Encounters - newdaysof
Before watching this movie, I had read all of Whitley Streiber's books. The movie follows the first book fairly closely on most details but there are some things left out and more things added.
Christopher Walken was the logical choice to play Streiber, ...Makes you think - clovejoy
I rated this one five stars, not because I loved it (I didn't) but because it really made me think. It made me think about what might be "out there" and it made me realize that if an advanced alien species were to communicate with us, it might have to resort ...Facinating look at controversial topic. - cathyottawa
In the early 80s, Whitley Strieber was a fairly successful writer in the horror genre. Two of his books were made into films.
Then, in 1989, he published what he said was a non-fiction book, detailing his personal experiences with alien abduction. ...