Case file No. 10 · Secrets and hoaxes
The alien autopsy film
The claim
A 1995 black-and-white film, said to be from 1947, showed an autopsy on an alien body recovered at Roswell. It was presented as genuine military footage.
Hoax
The film was staged. Its makers have said so.
In 2006 Ray Santilli, who sold the film, said it was a reconstruction, and a sculptor said he built the bodies. Santilli has never produced the original footage he says inspired it.
Short answer
In 1995 the British businessman Ray Santilli released a black-and-white film that he said showed an autopsy on an alien killed in the 1947 Roswell crash. It was broadcast on Fox television and in many other countries [2]. In 2006, in a Sky television documentary, Santilli and his partner Gary Shoefield said that the film was a “reconstruction” containing only a few frames of the original footage that Santilli said he had seen in 1992, and the sculptor John Humphreys said he had built the bodies [1][3]. Santilli has never provided evidence of the original footage [1][3]. No independent evidence supports the claim that the film showed a real event.
What supporters can show
The seller said it came from a military cameraman
Santilli says the film was inspired by real footage
Claims that supporters often repeat and that we looked for but could not confirm in a reliable source.
- Authentic 1947 film stock. Santilli said the film stock was from 1947. We found no independent, published analysis that fixes the film to a date.
- Original footage in a vault. The original film has not been made available for independent examination.
What science found
The makers said it was a reconstruction
In 2006 Santilli and Shoefield said that the film shown in 1995 was a “reconstruction”, with only a few frames from the footage Santilli said he had seen in 1992 [1][3]. This is not the story he told in 1995, when the film was presented as genuine footage [2].
A sculptor said he made the bodies
John Humphreys, a sculptor, said he built the alien bodies, using materials that included animal parts [1][3].
The original has never been produced
Santilli has never provided evidence of the footage he says inspired the film, and the cameraman who supposedly filmed the autopsy was never independently identified [1][3].
No evidence of a real event
No document, military record or independent witness links the film to a recovery at Roswell. The Air Force explanation for Roswell is discussed in the case on secret bases and documents.
What is still open
Nothing about the film remains open to scientific study. The question of what happened at Roswell is dealt with in the case on secret bases and documents.
If this happens to you
Footage of a world-changing event should come with a named source, a chain of custody, an independent test of the film and other evidence. If any of these is missing, treat the footage as unverified.
Sources
Change log
15 November 2026: First publication. Verdict: Hoax.