Name: Area 51: The CIA's Secret Files
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2014-11-24
Duration: 52 min
Rating: 5.8
Cast: Eric Meyers, Peter Merlin

Another Disney Plus update pushes this National Geographic documentary onto my radar, as it's now quite high alphabetically. Despite being happy to use the more outlandish theories about Area 51 for the advertising, the documentary is strictly linked to facts and declassified truths about what has occurred at the secretive location.

Located in the Nevada Desert, protected by both remoteness and surrounding mountain ranges, Area 51 is a CIA and later Air Force base that has acquired a reputation for the secrecy of the work that has gone on there. Through interviews with former workers, and by looking at declassified CIA material, this documentary sticks to the facts about the site's involvement in the scientific development of high-altitude spy planes, as a training site for pilots and then in the creation of RADAR invisible spy planes.

I had a cursory knowledge about spy planes before this documentary, but I didn't know that so much of the development on them had taken place at Area 51. Despite wasting a bit of time in the pre-amble by flying towards the site and getting warned to turn away by the control tower, mostly the show is either CGI work, showing the developments at the site, historical footage or testimony from people who used to work there. There are interesting titbits, such as the CIA setting up dummy companies to export enough Titanium out of Russia in order to build planes to spy on them. There's also a bit of tragic stuff, with an interview with a former security guard who is dying of cancer that he believes was caused by the burning off of toxic material at the site but is unable to sue due to a Presidential decree.

It's not the most interesting documentary I've ever seen, but it was enough to keep me engaged for 50 minutes or so and I was glad that it stuck to the facts and not the more fanciful stuff.

The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

The history of Area 51 and the programs created there.

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Área 51: Los archivos secretos de la CIA

There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane (2011)

André René Roussimoff in Andre the Giant (2018)

Ian Diaz and Angela Diaz in A Toxic Love Story (2026)

Louis Theroux in The Most Hated Family in America (2007)

DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Their Time Is Now

DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Their Time Is Now (2016)

Area 51: The CIA's Secret Files

Photos3

Top Cast2

User reviews2

More like this

Related interests

Storyline

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed