They say truth is stranger than fiction. Well, in some cases, it can be a few other things as well. SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL ($30) is one of those instances, where the strange truth becomes both bizarre and hilarious. SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL is a lighthearted and humorous documentary from the folks that brought the world TREKKIES. For those who don’t know, Roswell, New Mexico is the place where many believe a UFO crash-landed in 1947. Many also believe that the U.S. government is hiding the evidence of that crashed alien ship, as well as alien remains. Fifty years after the supposed crash, Minnesota native Richard Kronfeld serves as the viewer guide to Roswell, with the documentary camera chronicling his six-day visit in July of 1997. SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL also paints an interesting portrait of Richard, showing him at home, at work and at play in Minnesota.

Richard's trip to Roswell is an odyssey unlike any other. Never having left Minnesota before, Richard is an innocent who finds himself confronted with fellow believers, many of whom are even stranger than Richard. Richard also faces the crassly commercial residents of Roswell, New Mexico- all of whom try to make a buck off the town's notoriety. Richard’s inability to find a hotel room anywhere in Roswell forces him to stay in a local’s camper. Of course, Richard rolls with the punches and his naïveté makes him the ideal consumer for all the Roswell's UFO inspired products. The cameras roll as Richard samples the alien salad bar, pizza and cookies, as well as getting a special UFO inspired haircut- this scene had me rolling on the floor.

Synapse Films has made SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL available on DVD in a good-looking full frame presentation. Since SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL was shot in 16mm, one can't expect it to look like a theatrical feature, however the image on the DVD is clean, sharp and provides a pretty solid level of detail. Film grain only becomes really noticeable in the darkest scenes, but since most of SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL was shot in bright daylight, there is very little grain during the bulk of the program. Colors are strongly saturated and the flesh tones completely realistic. There are no signs of chromatic distortion during the program. Blacks appear fairly accurate and the picture has smooth contrast. Digital compression artifacts remain in check throughout the program. Since SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL is a documentary with a soundtrack that was recorded live, it can't be evaluated in the same fashion as a typical motion picture entertainment. The Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack is crisp, free from distortion and delivers fully intelligible dialogue. Music is the only truly stereo element in the program and it is reproduced with good fidelity. The basic interactive menus provide access to individual scenes, as well as a very nice complement of supplemental materials. SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL features a running audio commentary with producer Roger Nygard, director Timothy B. Johnson and Richard Kronfeld that is both humorous and informative. Also included on the DVD is a 19-minute featurette entitled An Experiment in the Desert: The Making of Six Days in Roswell. The featurette gives some insight into the previous documentary TREKKIES, as well as how it lead to the production of SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL. There are eight deleted scenes included on the DVD, which run almost thirty-five minutes and serve as a nice extension of the documentary itself. There are another thirty-five minutes of supplements that are comprised of earlier works of the filmmakers. These short films and videos vary in entertainment value, but are fun in their own small way. Two SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL trailers are included, as is a TREKKIES trailer. A photo gallery, as well as reviewer quotes, production notes, UFO facts & trivia and filmmaker bios pretty much fills out the DVD's supplemental section.

SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL will appeal to UFO geeks who can laugh at themselves as well as anyone who watches The X-Files, Roswell, Star Trek or the Sci-Fi channel on a regular basis. The movie is fun and the Synapse DVD is a great way to experience this little gem.

For more information on SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL, check out www.Roswell6.com.

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Six Days in Roswell

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