The Invisible Pilot

Otherwise it will seem like a complete waste of time. Note to timeline: everybody in the south during the 70s had a story like this. My cousin disappeared in the gulf and the rumor was, for years, he was killed because he was working for the cia. The truth was more likely he went on a fishing trip, got drunk and fell off the boat. See, it only took a few secs to sum up his life, not 3 hrs. Honestly, I only made it thru half of the first episode before throwing in. First, the worst doc I've ever watched with the exception of the 'search for big foot in east la'. Just a whole lot of nothing and when they turned the camera on the childhood friend/so-called film maker that was it for me.

Second, the quick edits of a whole lot of artsy dramatic effects like a bad acid trip gave me a headache. But hey, what do I know, I don't like manga either. Third, as I said, it was a flashback to the 70s. And all the rumors swirling around; sometimes about family, sometimes about other people long forgotten. Personally, I think the heat and humidity of arkansas summers causes the brain to jellify. But hey, for those who are drinking the koolaid here, go watch clash of the ozarks, another hillbilly exploitation produced on gopro with mashups from the web.

The 1st episode introduces this guys life, and the characters in his life. Can't give away spoilers but its absolutely worth seeing the 2nd + 3rd episodes (the entire series is 3 episodes)...as he was involved in quite the scandal. Reviews based on only the first episode make 0 sense, as they haven't even seen 1/3rd of the story. It was really interesting, and anyone under a certain age probably doesn't know much about these incidences so it was very fascinating to see. The relationship to his family is also interesting and is the undercurrent to the series, but the stuff he is involved with is more in episodes 2+3 so they should be watched. Incomplete otherwise.

Seriously? They've released ONE episode. And these chuckleheads have the whole series pegged already. Are we REALLY in that place now in society that we cast aspersions on a whole miniseries based on what literally could have been a teaser of a first episode??? Come down off your mountains guys...

Waiting till the end to post a real review. Was good enough for Siskel & Ebert. It's good enough for me.

The Guy was a drug dealer who ran from the law numerous times and worse off he misused his family. What he did was all in his own best interest! Period. Then complains about the punishments. By the way, his family are all nuts and burnouts too. None of them are productive citizens. All this show proves is that drugs are dangerous and people like these are useless public drains on society after using and dealing drugs for years. None of these people could be trusted to actually make any truthful statements!

As Episode 1 of "The Invisible Pilot " (2022 release; 3 episodes of about 55 min each) opens, we are on "Hazen , Arkansas", and the voice -over reminds is that 'truth is stranger than fiction". We are introduced to Gary Betzner, who loves to fly small planes. We then go to "September 18, 1977" as Gary and his wife Sally and their 2 kids go for a drive. Gary stops the car on a tall bridge, and much to the shock of Sally, he jumps off the bridge to his certain death. Why did Gary do this? Was the Dixie mafia somehow involved? At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this documentary is the brainchild of Phil Lott ("Murder In the Heartland") and Ari Mark. Here they look back, 45 years after the facts, what happened on that fateful day in 1977 and, more importantly, why. While the film makers were able to unearth a lot of 8mm and other video footage from half a century ago, and get the apparent cooperation of Sally and the kids, now well into their forties, I nevertheless got the feeling that this story doesn't seem to merit 3 hours, and probably would've benefited from a tighter edit. Certainly Episode 1 feels a little thin. Not a lot of ground is covered. Am i intrigued enough to seek out the remaining 2 episodes? I'll probably give Episode 2 a shot and see where we go from here.

"The Invisible Pilot" premiered earlier this week on HBO Max, wit Episodes 2 and 3 coming in the next 2 weeks. If you are into documentaries where "the truth is stranger than fiction", I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.