by revealing that his wish to be abducted is never granted. There are, of course, some
very funny moments, not only because of Rich’s close encoun­ ters with assorted eccentrics, but also because there’s a healthy dose of kitsch: we see everything from flying saucer pizzas to fly­ ing saucer haircuts, as well as the usual array of cheap souvenirs— ashtrays and the like. (ROSWELL: THE MUSICAL has to be seen to be believed.) While SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL actually documents the Roswell UFO phenomenon, much of the material concern­ ing Richard Kornfeld’s back­ ground is fictionalized. Richard Kornfeld is an actor—perhaps one who prefers off-beat com­ edy—but still an actor. He’s cer­ tainly fine in the role, bringing to it a sort of Buster Keaton-like deadpan expression that works well when juxtaposed against all the strangeness. Yet Rich’s averred wish to be abducted by aliens (putatively because he comes from Minnesota, where no one ever gets abducted) as the reason he goes to Roswell rings false, largely because it’s rather too obviously simply an excuse to get him there. Since the pur­ pose of the film is to expose the utter absurdity of the Roswell UFO phenomenon rather than actually prove the existence of UFOs, his averred wish to be abducted is at cross-purposes with the film’s actual goal, a con­ tradiction between effect and in­ tent. A quietly understated point of the film, which might be con­ sidered as the dark underside of the entire UFO phenomenon, is that Roswell is simply a tourist trap: the true subject here is American commerce. It’s re­ markable how often Rich is shown paying for something. (There’s a wonderful sequence soon after Rich arrives in Roswell in which a local tries to extort
Rich by demanding a ridiculously high price to allow Rich to spend a night in his camper.) From the perspective of the Chamber of Commerce, the UFO crash is the best thing that ever happened to Roswell. SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL is as painful as it is funny. Synapse’s DVD contains sev­
eral extras—none (except per­ haps the lively commentary track by producer Roger Nygard, di­ rector Timothy B. Johnson, and actor Richard Kronfeld) adding anything substantial to our appre­ ciation of the film. The commen­ tators add interesting information about the people and places in the film inappropriate for inclu­ sion in the film itself, but perhaps spend too much time discussing the technical aspects of the pro­ duction. The 19m AN EXPERI­ MENT IN THE DESERT: THE MAKING OF SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL, includes the requisite interviews with the filmmakers (an excerpt from one of Johnson’s early films is also included), but seems superfluous. One does learn, however, that SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL was actually shot over a period of two years, in 1997, with additional footage shot by a different crew in 1998. Eight deleted sequences, total­ ing 34m 48s, are also included. The disc also includes a rather self-indulgent supplement con­ sisting of the fimmakers’ early 8mm shorts, totaling about 33m, made during their adolescence and of limited interest. (If they were documentarians on order of Frederick Wiseman, such ma­ terial might be warranted.) A im 30s letterboxed trailer is in­ cluded, as is a longer, 3m 53s trailer, as well as a lm 58s trailer for TREKKIES. The full-frame transfer is excellent, presenting a crisp and colorful picture, with the DD-2.0 quite serviceable. Captioning is unavailable. —Rebecca & Sam Umland
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