Chariots of the Gods (1970) Review

Director: Harold Reinl
Genre: Documentary

Chariots of the Gods is a documentary based on a book of the same name by Erich von Daniken. I really only watched this because I saw the cover art on Netflix and I thought it looked awesome and saw that it was from 1970 so I quickly clicked play. I was slightly disappointed when I realized it was a documentary (yes, I clicked play very fast) but I ended up watching the whole thing.

The documentary, like the book, proposes a theory that aliens set foot on Earth in ancient times thus effecting the course in which our societal evolution took. So, yeah, it's like Ancient Aliens (in fact, Daniken was actually on Ancient Aliens once).

It's interesting to see an ancient astronaut theory from over forty years ago, one of the earliest I suspect. I've never really gotten into the ancient astronaut theory but it's definitely an interesting one. How much of what this documentary says is fact is something I can't comment on, being that I really don't care enough to do the necessary research, but some of the "facts" in here are obviously bullshit yet some are very stimulating. Plus, there's enough actual knowledge to be learned in here aside from that which deals with the theory, so it's won't be a complete waste.

One has to recognize going into this that it is indeed just a theory. Take it for what it is. Theories are great things and can be incredibly fun. They require both creativity and intelligence (most of them anyway) so again, take it for what it is: a theory.

The production values are pretty solid though there is a bit of late '60s aesthetic to it that slightly dates it. The stand-out part for me though is the soundtrack composed by Peter Thomas; it's oddly amazing. Check this out for the music alone if not for anything else.

You'll find some value in this one if you know what you're getting in to and accept it for what it is. Recommended for those interested in the ancient astronaut theory.

Purchase Chariots of the Gods on Amazon: DVD