''Chariots of the Gods'' (german: Erinnerungen an die Zukunft) is a 1970 West German

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

directed by

Harald Reinl Harald Reinl (8 July 1908 in Bad Ischl, Austria – 9 October 1986 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) was an Austrian film director. He is known for the films he made based on Edgar Wallace and Karl May books (see Karl May movies and Edgar Walla ...

. It is based on

Erich von Däniken Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (; ; born 14 April 1935) is a Swiss author of several books which make claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling ''Chariots of the Gods?'', published in 1968. Von D ...

's book ''

Chariots of the Gods? ''Chariots of the Gods? Unsolved Mysteries of the Past'' (german: Erinnerungen an die Zukunft: Ungelöste Rätsel der Vergangenheit, link=no; in English, ''Memories of the Future: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past'') is a book written in 1968 by ...

'', a

pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

book that theorizes extraterrestrials impacted early human life and

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. The film was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Documentary Feature.

Synopsis

The film begins by introducing the

cargo cults A cargo cult is an indigenist millenarian belief system, in which adherents perform rituals which they believe will cause a more technologically advanced society to deliver goods. Causes, beliefs, and practices Cargo cults are marked by a ...

established by South Pacific Natives after coming in contact with American planes in World War II. It claims that it is likely that all religions began in a similar fashion. The viewer is then presented with various ancient texts, architecture, and artwork. Some of these include the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, the

Pyramids A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilate ...

, the ''

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh ...

'', and the

Nazca Lines The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were created between 500 BCE and 500 CE by people making depressions or shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and le ...

Release

The film was re-edited and dubbed into English by

Sunn Classic Pictures Sunn Classic Pictures, also known as Sunn International Pictures, Schick Sunn Classic Pictures, and Taft International Pictures was an independent U.S.-based film distributor, founded in 1971. The company was notable for family films and document ...

for release in the United States in 1973.

Reception

The U.S. release of ''Chariots of Gods'' grossed $25,948,300. Film critic Phil Hall said "They don't make films like this any more, and we should be glad for that." The film was criticized for a lack of scientific evidence. Anthropologist

Robert Ardrey Robert Ardrey (October 16, 1908 – January 14, 1980) was an American playwright, screenwriter and science writer perhaps best known for ''The Territorial Imperative'' (1966). After a Broadway and Hollywood career, he returned to his academic tr ...

called it science Fiction.

Soundtrack charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chariots Of The Gods (Film) 1970 films 1970 documentary films German documentary films 1970s German-language films Films directed by Harald Reinl Films about extraterrestrial life Films based on non-fiction books Films shot in Egypt Films shot in Iraq Films shot in Peru Ancient astronaut speculation Pseudoscience documentary films 1970s German films