The X Files (1998)

Mulder and Scully must fight the government in a conspiracy and find the truth about an alien colonization of Earth.

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Chris Carter (story), Frank Spotnitz (story)

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, John Neville

7 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Duchovny	...	Agent Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Agent Dana Scully
John Neville	...	The Well-Manicured Man
William B. Davis	...	The Cigarette-Smoking Man
Martin Landau	...	Kurtzweil
Mitch Pileggi	...	Assistant Director Walter Skinner
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Bronschweig (as Jeffrey De Munn)
Blythe Danner	...	Cassidy
Terry O'Quinn	...	Michaud
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Strughold
Lucas Black	...	Stevie
Christopher Fennell	...	2nd Boy (as Chris Fennell)
Cody Newton	...	3rd Boy
Blake Stokes	...	4th Boy
Dean Haglund	...	Langly

Storyline

With problems appearing between FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, a dangerous conspiracy is starting to appear. A deadly virus, which appears to be of extraterrestrial origin has appeared, which could destroy all life on Earth. With the help of a paranoid doctor, Alvin Kurtzweil, Mulder and Scully must act fast in order to save everyone on the planet.

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Plot Keywords:

agent | bomb | government | alien | conspiracy | 

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Taglines:

Take Your Greatest Fear And Multiply It By X

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense violence and gore

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

19 June 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blackwood

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$66,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,138,758, 21 June 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$83,898,313

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$105,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Ten Thirteen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the end of the scene with the chasing of the white trucks, Mulder and Scully have a talk. The cuts showing Mulder talking by the roadside had lights in the background that needed to be removed in post production. 24 frames per second, at about $1000 per frame. Director Chris Carter on the commentary admits this $25k/second mistake in filming.

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Goofs

When Mulder and Scully run out of the domes to escape the bees, Scully takes off her jacket to pull it up over her head twice.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Conrad Strughold: Oh, you look hot and miserable. Why have you traveled all this way?
Cigarette Smoking Man: We have business to discuss.
Conrad Strughold: You have regular channels.
Cigarette Smoking Man: This involves Mulder.
Conrad Strughold: Ah, that name. Again and again.
Cigarette Smoking Man: He's seen more than he should.
Conrad Strughold: What has he seen? Of the whole, he has seen but pieces.
Cigarette Smoking Man: He's determined now, reinvested.
Conrad Strughold: He's but one man. One man alone cannot fight the future.
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The video release has additional footage not shown in the theatrical release:

• In the opening scene you now see more of the alien. In the theatrical release we see it fight off one of the cavemen, killing it, and the other caveman gets up to see it lying on the ground draining out the black blood (or what fans know as black oil). In the video release, we see it run off after it kills one of the cavemen, and when the other caveman gets up, he tracks it down and then kills it using the broken end of his torch.
• In the scene with Mulder talking to the Well Manicured Man in the car, he reveals to Mulder that Samantha, Mulder's sister, was abducted by aliens at the request of her father, William Mulder, so she could be part of the colonization project, thus ensuring her survival in the colonization of Earth by the visitors. Also revealed is that when plans went awry, Mulder was intended, by his father, to seek the truth and reveal what had been done.
• There is also an added scene in the video release with Mulder running down the street after the hospital scene.

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Connections

Referenced in Spaced: Battles (1999)

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Soundtracks

Red Right Hand
Written and performed by Nick Cave

User Reviews

A 2-hour episode...but so what?

I've met a LOT of people who whine that this is just a two-hour episode with a big budget. I don't see how that's a complaint. I mean, if one of the best-written, best-directed, most atmospheric shows on television makes a movie-length episode that can stand on its own...what's the problem? That still makes it more intelligent than 90% of the movies put out this summer.