Crop Circles: Quest for Truth (2002) Reviews

• Just relax and enjoy.

  goodellaa2002-09-10

  I can see how some people are annoyed by crop circles. Anything that seems difficult to explain could throw them into a panic of uncertainty or cause them to fear that too many people are losing their wits and too many others profiting from it. OK. There is no reason, though, for divisive arguing over movies. I found the Mel Gibson vehicle fun, even thought provoking, and let it go at that. This documentary is fun, too. Being a documentary, though, it tends to raise questions that are not that easy to answer, even questions that should be answered. For instance, is everybody in this movie lying? They would just about have to be, or there is something uncanny going on. Either way, it's nice to see the signs of strangeness presented graphically for a change. The aerial photography really helps, as do the pictures of oddly effected plant stalks. The characters we meet along the way are personable and more-or-less convincing. The director has said that this movie took about two years to make, so I trust he did not get on the band-wagon just for the money, or anything. Put it on the biggest screen you can find and just enjoy.

• A Skeptic No More

  jotomaya2003-02-28

  I challenge anyone with a skeptical opinion about crop circle phenomena to watch this film and, afterward, continue to hold onto their pre-film opinions. This film has the capacity to change even the most hardened skeptic's mind about crop circles. I, myself, without ever really researching the topic, had always suspected human involvement in these events. This film very convincingly discounted this theory and presented several other very sensible theories put forth by competent scientists across the full spectrum of scinetific discipline from physics to biochemistry. It inspired me to do further research into the matter to develop a more educated opinion on whether the world's population is handling this phenomena with the necessary amount of respect and openness. I never realized before watching this film that there are so many hundreds of these circles and designs appearing year after year all over the world, and my pre-film assumption (probably a common assumption) that there are only two prevailing theories - humans or aliens - was dead wrong. The director appeared for a post-film question/answer session at the screening I attended in Ann Arbor on the campus of the University of Michigan. He was very knowledgeable and exhibited professionalism while he explained why he was convinced that only some of the thousands of crop circles are man-made. The audience was largely U 0f M faculty, students, and alumni whose questions were extremely thoughtful and articulate and he responded very intelligently on their level. In fact, one of the biochemists cited (but not interviewed) in the movie as a proponent of one of the alternative theories (the most sensible one, in my opinion) was a top researcher at the U of Michigan. I think a lot of people left that theater with their minds changed about crop circles. A definite must-see.

• Worth the money

  fphinney2002-09-23

  Was hesitant to see this film. It got a "C" rating in the local paper. Was very glad I went. The professional review I read was by a person that I think was ASSIGNED to review it. Obviously, he had no enthusiasm for the film. I think this type of review is very unfair to the general public. This was a documentary. I thought it was very well done. The director interviewed on camera, a wide variety of experts in this field. It became rapidly obvious, that these people were very serious & most of them added a lot to the documentary. A good deal of them had impressive credentials. The documentary covered almost 20 years of crop circles. This amounts to maybe thousands of circles. For me, the story just kept on getting more & more interesting. Quite a few times, I uttered amazement out loud. I couldn't help myself. The director's film convinced me, that most (if not all) circles are NOT man-made. The circles he displayed became more & more intricate with each passing year. The circle near the end of the film should convince most that at least this particular one was not man-made. While his film didn't interview any human crop circle makers, he did show why most COULDN'T be man-made.

• The Best Crop Circle Documentary I have Seen!!!!!

  tovenaar-12005-03-10

  This is the definitive DVD on Crop Circles. For those with an open mind this excellent documentary will surely convince you of this magnificent phenomenon. Along with excellent images of the various circles, they give all the facts about what makes these circles so special, right down to the molecular structure of the plants. There is no WAY in this World that a couple of old men are creating the intricate images in the fields, without being caught after 30 or more years. Just look at the images and there sizes. I'm not sure about the US version DVD, but the Australian version has nearly 2 hours of extra interviews and images of Crop Circles. Highly recommended.

• May be the most important film you ever see

  howard.schumann2003-03-16

  Complex geometric linear and circular patterns in which vegetation is squeezed flat against the ground have appeared overnight in wheat and cornfields in 70 countries worldwide over the last 25 years. These designs, generically referred to as crop circles, seem to be created out of nothing and originate from nowhere. They are exquisite works of art but who is the artist? In his documentary, Crop Circles: Quest for Truth, Oscar nominee William Gazecki (WACO, The Rules of Engagement) interviews researchers, scientists, philosophers, and laymen in an attempt to unravel the mystery of their origin and nature. Gazecki does not approach his subject from a journalistic framework, presenting pros and cons in a conventional matter, but as a filmmaker who is telling a story with astounding implications. There are no easy answers. The formations seem to reflect a Sacred Geometry incorporating the Phi or Golden ratio that exists in ancient architecture and art and throughout terrestrial biology including human body structure. As one researcher states, "there is a force or energy at work that is governed by principles that are beyond the capacity of human beings". Crop Circles: Quest for Truth begins with archival footage of single circles from the 1980s, and then continues through the next decade, showing the deepening intricacy of the pictograms. The patterns have now evolved to the point where in August 2001 a formation appeared at Milk Hill, Wiltshire containing 409 circles making up a wheel design that is larger than two football fields. The film displays the largest collection of crop formations ever seen on screen and includes footage of strange balls of light hovering above the ground in areas where crop circles later appear. Though the documentary is a bit academic in places, tending toward the scientific and technical, the formations themselves are so breathtakingly beautiful that the film becomes an awesome experience. Gazecki interviews scientists who look at changes in the plants or soil that are both physical and molecular, characteristics that have yet to be reproduced by man-made designs. They also discuss germination anomalies, cellular anomalies, intricate and well-structured lengthening of the nodes, exploded nodes, burn marks, and even unnatural radioactivity, all of which cannot be the result of simple mechanical flattening. The documentary considers alternative theories such as plasma vortex, the circles as three-dimensional shadows of a four-dimensional object, and electromagnetic energy from the Earth but does not spend much time with them. Also mentioned but not probed is the possibility that the patterns are man-made. It would have been interesting to hear from those who openly create circles and see how and why they do what they do. One researcher mentions that if crop circles were to be hoaxed, they would all have to be done night after night without any mistakes or partial designs and completed in five hours. This is without being discovered, leaving footprints, or being detected in any way. Gazecki is not in doubt that some kind of conscious intelligence is at work, dancing with us, playing with us, allowing us to confront what is possible in the universe. The film, however, does not support oversimplified hypotheses like ETs or UFOs but prefers to view the phenomenon as simply an unknown. As one researcher explains, whether or not we ever succeed in unraveling the code, the very act of asking "why" allows us to expand our consciousness, and this may be the real purpose behind it. The crop circles may indeed be "mandalas of the mind", a term that Buddhists describe as "a representation of the universe, a consecrated area that serves as…a collection point of universal forces guiding man towards a state of enlightenment or awakening". Whatever its ultimate source, the appearance of the formations has made us aware that we live in a universe that is full of mystery and wonder, that science and conventional religion may not have all the answers, and that we all have a cosmic source that is now beckoning to us. Crop Circles: Quest for Truth is not a slick entertainment package and it does not flow smoothly, but it is an intelligent and probing look at one of the most intriguing mysteries facing our planet. If you see this film and I recommend that you do, please watch it with an open mind. It may be the most important film you ever see.