Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers

**"Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers"** is a short musical video created by The Residents in 1985.

The only completed installment in the group's abandoned video project *Science Fiction's Greatest Hits*, "Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers" animates and colorizes selected stills and clips from Fred F. Sears' 1956 science fiction film *Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers*, and adds a newly created soundtrack by the group.

The video was debuted on the group's 13th Anniversary tour beginning in October 1985; its soundtrack was released as a single-sided 7" single accompanying the 1986 book *The Cryptic Guide To The Residents*. The video was released to the general public on the video compilations *Video Voodoo Volume I* in 1987 and *Twenty Twisted Questions* in 1992, but to date has not been reissued on DVD.

## History

In 1985, The Residents developed a concept for a series of music video releases to be titled *Science Fiction's Greatest Hits*. Each video was to be a two-to-four minute piece edited from classic 1950s and 1960s science fiction films. These clips would be computer enhanced and colored by the group, with a new score recorded specifically for each one.

As a demonstration of this concept, The Residents created *Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers* using scenes from Fred F. Sears's 1956 film of the same name. Unfortunately, negotiations for any further installments in the series fell through due to the expense in securing the rights to the films. *Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers* remains the only completed installment in the series.

## Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers

### Producer

The Residents

 The video was debuted as part of the group's 13th Anniversary Show, lasting from October 1985 to January 1987. It was shown as part of a compilation of the band's music videos before the performance, which itself featured a shortened rendition of the video's score, in a mash-up with "Where Is She?".

The video's soundtrack would be released on June 1st, 1986, on a single sided green 7" single included with copies of the book *The Cryptic Guide to The Residents*. A shortened edit of the soundtrack was later issued on the 1997 box set *Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses*; this shortened version would appear on two other compilations; *Documentation - Tunes In Danger Of Becoming Lost* in 2009, and *80 Aching Orphans* in 2017.

The video has received only two home video releases; first the 1987 *Video Voodoo* VHS compilation, and then as part of the *Twenty Twisted Questions* laserdisc in 1992. It was not included in the 2001 *Icky Flix* DVD video collection (although this did include a video for the song's live mash-up with "Where Is She?"*,* which in turn was re-recorded for the DVD's alternative soundtrack, and then performed on the subsequent tour). To date, it has not been reissued on DVD or uploaded to online streaming platforms.

## List of releases

* *The Cryptic Guide To The Residents* (1986)
* *Video Voodoo Volume I* (1987)
* *Twenty Twisted Questions* (1992)
* *Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses* (1997, shortened version)
* *Documentation - Tunes In Danger Of Becoming Lost* (2009, shortened version)
* *80 Aching Orphans* (2017, shortened version)

## See also

* The Ugly Grey Theater
* *Science Fiction's Greatest Hits*

## External links and references

* *Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers* on Discogs
* *Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers* single on RZWeb