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The alien autopsy
The term alien autopsy is used in ufology to refer to an alleged examination of an alien corpse, performed in 1947, and recorded by the American Government on a black and white 16 mm film. The same is also known as Santilli Footage, because Ray Santilli purchased the footage.
By Michele Bugliaro Goggia - last modified: April 12, 2007 1:08 PM
The term alien autopsy is used in ufology to refer to an alleged examination of an alien corpse, performed in 1947, and recorded by the American Government on a black and white 16 mm film. The same is also known as Santilli Footage, because Ray Santilli, a London-based Merlin Group producer, is the one who purchased back in 1995 the footage (for £ 100'000) .
Santilli has explained how he came across a retired cameraman who offered him the alien footage. Quoting Santilli himself:
"Following my purchase of the film from the original the cameraman he asked if I would be interested in any other type of film and he explained in 'short form' the events he found himself filming 1947. He explained that the footage he was offering to me came from the Roswell crash, that it included debris and recovery scenes and of most importance footage of an autopsy."
Source: http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/santstry.html
The lot included more than the autopsy: 2 reels of film, 21 safety prints and one negative. From this, Santilli has put together:
- the famous alien autopsy everybody has seen on TV;
- a second autopsy of a similar, less injured being;
- a tent footage, showing a gray being examined inside a military tent;
- the wreckage footage, showing some I-beams and control panels.
The second autopsy is a genuine rarity. It seems Santilli gathered only a few selected watchers for this private show (Italian journalist Maurizio Baiata was one). Such second autopsy has never been shown publicly. It was purchased by Volger Spielberg. The tent footage was later identified as a hoax.
The alien body
The alien body is something unique. Next, is a detailed description that includes many details that emerged only after careful study of the video.
The body (134 cm high) appears to be humanoid and seems to be a female. She has what appears to be a vagina and even tiny breasts. The head is larger than a normal human head. The ears are low-set. The eyes are bigger and each is covered by a black lens. She has two cusps instead of teeths. The neck is wide, surely because of the cranial size. The thorax is quite big, almost swollen (as a corpse should be). Later in the autopsy, it is clear such is her real anatomy. Both the hands and feet have six fingers.
Overall, the "alien" looks quite massively built, quite muscular. By noticing the size of the head, it's evident why: the neck and the body have to support its weight. It may be that the thorax has that shape to counterbalance the skull. Yet, while calling the being a humanoid, she lacks the facial expressiveness typical of the Homo sapiens. A genetic anomaly can justify some of her physical features, but definetly not all, not at once. The six fingers anomaly (polydactyly) can be found in humans, but mostly not in such harmonic way (there are exceptions) and not both in hands and feet at the same time. The Turner syndrome inhibits the secondary sexual features and typically features low-set ears, broad chest, sterility and excess skin folds around the neck. The Down syndrome features a big neck. Hydrocephaly can explain the size of the head. There could be 16 genetic anomalies involved in a corpse like the one shown in the alien autopsy. How likely would a similar coincidence occur?
Regarding the anatomy, it remains a mystery. Back in 1995, after working on the video for the Italian RAI TV, Prof. Pierluigi Baima Bollone, of University of Turin, has stated the creature was a biological nonsense. So human, yet so far away from us. Others have stated the corpse was made up with different parts, sceptics were convinced it was a dummy. Carlo Rambaldi, creator of E.T., ridiculed himself by declaring since the eyes are so big they must cross each other...
The autopsy
The autoptical procedure is something that has been criticized too. There are four people working on the alien body (one is a woman, Truman is not seen). They wear a kind of protective coveralls, plausible with the situation. The cameraman named two: Bronk and Williams. Dr. Detlev Bronk (1897-1975), biophysicist, and Dr. Robert Parvin Williams (1891-1967), Special Assistant to the Surgeon General of the Army at Fort Monroe, Virginia, did exist. Baima Bollone has declared very clearly that the the technique, the times and the tools, as seen in the alien autopsy, are not correct. No samples are being taken and the correct instruments are missing from the room: it's safe to conclude there are no pathologists performing the autopsy. This is quite a negative side of the alien autopsy case.
The cameraman & the film
Regarding the mysterious cameraman, his real identity is unknown. Jack Barnett was a nickname (he was 86 in 1995), yet it seems he knew what he was talking about. Santilli has stated:
"The cameraman was in his eighties and seemed a genuine enough person, he explained that from 1942 to 1952 he worked as a cameraman for the Army Air force and special forces, that during his time with the services he filmed many events including the tests that were part of the Manhattan Project (Atomic bomb testing White Sands).
He explained that on June 2nd 1947 he received an order directly from General McMullan stating there had been a crash. He was to go immediately to White Sands and film everything. The cameraman had authority over and above the on-site commander and reported back only to McMullan."
Source: http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/santstry.html
The one issue is the quality of the video. It is poor, has plenty of cuts, the image shakes and goes out of focus every time there is anything interesting to see! The cameraman, further investigations revealed, suffered from a poliomyelite that struck his legs. Additionally, he used a fixed lens camera (the film type was a Super XX-Panchromatic Safety Film). All this may explain the poor filming. The question is, if in 1947 such was common practice or not. Rick Garbutt, of the Society of Camera Operators, has stated it was not. On the contrary, with a unique occasion like an alien autopsy, the military would have requested the best film quality on the market...in colour! One more negative point.
The reason of such poor quality may also lay behind the fact that the cameraman was commissioned filming the autopsy. What Santilli had purchased could be the remaining parts Barnett discarded. Yet, it's not very credible the American government allowed footage of an alien autopsy to spread. He could've made a secret copy, but not kept some reels. Lastly, it's not true the film has been certified by Kodak to be from 1947: two frames not belonging to any autopsy have been certified. Judging by the code printed the film, the dates can be: 1927, 1947 or 1967. So: not just 1947.
The furniture
Everything in the room belongs to 1947. The telephone is an AT&T from 1946, the spiral cable was available since 1938. The microphone is a 1946 Sheer Bros. All tools were standard in 1947, as confirmed by Prof. Cyril Wecht, former President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. This means that:
- the scene was filmed in 1947 or
- the furniture has been purchased in the 1990s.
Both are credible hypothesis.
A final word?
During 2006 Ray Santilli and fellow producer Gary Shoefield stated that most sections of the alien autopsy footage, being the original footage too damaged, had been "restored". Quoting Philip Mantle:
"Tonight showed the SKY ONE TV show 'Eamon Investigates - Alien Autopsy. The show starts of with Santilli still claiming that he saw real film of aliens and that he purchased it from a former US military cameraman. However, there is now a change in the story. Santilli & his colleague Gary Shoefield claim that it took 2 years to buy the film & that when it finally arrived in London 95% of it had 'oxidised' and the remaining 5% was in very poor condition. They therefore decided to 'reconstruct' it based on Santilli's recollection and a few frames that were left."
Source: UFO Updates, April 7, 2006.
It seems Santilli's English is broken, as faking is not a restoring!
Nevertheless, the case is not clear at all. Why confessing 10 years after the alien autopsy? Maybe Santilli had this hot potato in his hands, maybe he desperately needed a way to throw it away?
In the end, after receiving great attention and hopes, the controverted end left many burned. That's why most think the alien autopsy is a hoax. The case remains open.
external links
Clinical Features of Turner Syndrome
Hydrocephaly definition - Medical Dictionary definitions of popular medical terms
Operating Cameraman: Alien Autopsy: Real or Un-reel?
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