Aliens Among Us, the first disc in the box set Aliens: The Complete Truth, could easily have been subtitled “An Interview With Whitley Strieber.” But for some reason, Whitley's name is nowhere on the outside of the packaging, so the fact that this disc presents a nearly full length interview with Whitley is something of a secret.

The program begins with snippets of comments from David Jacobs and other researchers of alien encounters, and then the focus quickly shifts and stays with a highly charged interview with Whitley. The 40-minute interview appears to have been recorded in England behind the scenes of BUFORA's “A Day of Abductions” event in 1996, or possibly at the 1996 UFO Expo West held in southern California at which Whitley presented not one but four separate lectures and workshops. This was clearly a time in Whitley's life in which he had much to say; he had been in a self-imposed exile from the subject of alien encounters for nearly five years.

The interview is disturbing and provocative. Coming about a year after the release of Breakthrough, Whitley is quite vocal about his motivation for taking his life story to the public, the repercussions from doing so, and his thoughts on how the alien encounter experience may require mankind to take the next step in our evolution towards a consciousness free of hierarchy. People, Whitley says, are powerful and creative creatures, and the potential that people may become aware of this as they enter into relationship with the visitors threatens the status quo; Whitley condemns the shadow government – elements funded by but not answerable to the elected government, who in the past allowed such criminal and unethical experiments as MK Ultra to victimize innocent people – who may now be engaged a sinister effort to prevent an evolution in consciousness from occurring. During this part of the discussion, Whitley's left ear turns red and Whitley suggests that a small object that he says was placed within his ear by the shadow government (an episode described in Breakthrough) has “turned on” during their conversation, leading to speculation that the subject may have upset whoever was listening. (Whitley has subsequently mentioned this incident in other interviews).

The interview is presented largely without edits, which is to the program's credit and is most welcome, though the program is visually uninteresting (amateur quality). They seemed to know they had a good interview on their hands and they let it run. At the very end of the program, there is an additional couple minutes of comments recorded in a pipe-filled service area of the convention building, presumably a few moments before Whitley went on stage. I had seen a part of this “pipe” footage before (a few seconds of it appears on the BUFORA lecture tape) and it was nice to see it gathered here. In short, this is a nearly complete interview in a generally unobtrusive program, and for that reason is highly recommended.

Aliens: The Complete Truth is a thought provoking investigation into the existence of UFOs. It documents their landings and interventions around the world, from the USA, Mexico, Belgium, the UK, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, Russia, and many other regions. This program is packed full of incredible footage, fascinating interviews and eyewitness accounts taken from around the world.

Volume One: Aliens Among Us:

The leading experts in this field comprehensively deal with the evidence, both on film and in documented form. From Area 51, Aliens Among Us investigates the footage and the eyewitness accounts of alien activity, together with a government conspiracy to suppress the evidence. Recent sightings are reviewed and the footage is analyzed. Startling information relating to 'crop circles' is unearthed.

Volume Two: The Cover-Up:

Original material has been gathered from around the world to demonstrate the official cover up which has systemically taken place from Area 51 in the USA to Europe. Asian and Russian footage and testimony are examined. The leading experts in the field deal comprehensively with a hugh body of evidence.

Volume Three: Alien Interventions:

Alien Interventions takes us on a journey through time and space as we review the worldwide evidence of visitors from space. This film was made around the world; from the ruins of ancient Syria and the hills of the African heartland, to America, Asia, Egypt and Europe. The evidence is brought up to date with some of the most recent encounters, making this program a classic of its genre.

Volume Four: Startling New Evidence:

This film takes the lid off the official suppression of the sightings, the abductions and the evidence of interventions in our society. Shot around the world, the program questions the official stories and the haze of confusion thrown up by the authorities to mystify the public. We examine documents, photographs and footage from the key areas around the globe, and critically question eyewitnesses.

Volume Five: We Are Not Alone:

There have been many reported abductions where aliens have attempted the creation of another species of being. Aliens have supposedly tried cross-fertilization with humans and then kept the offspring to study the results.

Documents that have been declassified under the "Freedom of Information Act" will also prove that there may very well be aliens among us. Why is humankind sometimes viewed as psychotic? Is this a result of a subsequent abduction where the experience may have been wondrous, or at times horrifying?

Is there a big government cover-up? Is information being withheld from us under the government cloak of secrecy? We must be able to face the facts in a coherent, rational and effective manner, not dismiss the potential grave dangers of aliens being in our midst.

5 dvd set in Metal Case. Run Time: 258 minutes