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The X Files

  • 19981998
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 1m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
105K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X Files (1998)
Trailer
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Drama
  • Mystery
  • Sci-Fi
Mulder and Scully must fight the government in a conspiracy and find the truth about an alien colonization of Earth.Mulder and Scully must fight the government in a conspiracy and find the truth about an alien colonization of Earth.Mulder and Scully must fight the government in a conspiracy and find the truth about an alien colonization of Earth.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
105K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Rob Bowman
  • Writers
    • Chris Carter(story)
    • Frank Spotnitz(story)
  • Stars
    • David Duchovny
    • Gillian Anderson
    • John Neville
Top credits
  • Director
    • Rob Bowman
  • Writers
    • Chris Carter(story)
    • Frank Spotnitz(story)
  • Stars
    • David Duchovny
    • Gillian Anderson
    • John Neville
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 331User reviews
    • 143Critic reviews
    • 60Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 7 wins & 11 nominations

    Videos1

    The X-Files: Fight The Future
    Trailer 0:31
    The X-Files: Fight The Future

    Photos121

    Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X Files (1998)
    Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X Files (1998)
    Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X Files (1998)
    The X Files (1998)
    The X Files (1998)
    Armin Mueller-Stahl, William B. Davis, and John Neville in The X Files (1998)
    David Duchovny and Martin Landau in The X Files (1998)
    Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X Files (1998)
    Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X Files (1998)
    Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X Files (1998)
    Rob Bowman in The X Files (1998)
    Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, and Chris Carter in The X Files (1998)

    Top cast

    Edit
    David Duchovny
    David Duchovny
    • Agent Fox Mulderas Agent Fox Mulder
    Gillian Anderson
    Gillian Anderson
    • Agent Dana Scullyas Agent Dana Scully
    John Neville
    John Neville
    • The Well-Manicured Manas The Well-Manicured Man
    William B. Davis
    William B. Davis
    • The Cigarette-Smoking Manas The Cigarette-Smoking Man
    Martin Landau
    Martin Landau
    • Kurtzweilas Kurtzweil
    Mitch Pileggi
    Mitch Pileggi
    • Assistant Director Walter Skinneras Assistant Director Walter Skinner
    Jeffrey DeMunn
    Jeffrey DeMunn
    • Bronschweigas Bronschweig
    • (as Jeffrey De Munn)
    Blythe Danner
    Blythe Danner
    • Cassidyas Cassidy
    Terry O'Quinn
    Terry O'Quinn
    • Michaudas Michaud
    Armin Mueller-Stahl
    Armin Mueller-Stahl
    • Strugholdas Strughold
    Lucas Black
    Lucas Black
    • Stevieas Stevie
    Christopher Fennell
    Christopher Fennell
    • 2nd Boyas 2nd Boy
    • (as Chris Fennell)
    Cody Newton
    • 3rd Boyas 3rd Boy
    Blake Stokes
    • 4th Boyas 4th Boy
    Dean Haglund
    Dean Haglund
    • Langlyas Langly
    Bruce Harwood
    Bruce Harwood
    • Byersas Byers
    Tom Braidwood
    Tom Braidwood
    • Frohikeas Frohike
    Don S. Williams
    Don S. Williams
    • Group Elderas Group Elder
    • Director
      • Rob Bowman
    • Writers
      • Chris Carter(story) (screenplay)
      • Frank Spotnitz(story)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    More like this

    The X Files: I Want to Believe
    5.9
    The X Files: I Want to Believe
    The X-Files
    8.6
    The X-Files
    Season X
    8.2
    Season X
    The X-Files: Re-Opened
    7.8
    The X-Files: Re-Opened
    The X Files - Fight the Future: Blooper Reel
    7.7
    The X Files - Fight the Future: Blooper Reel
    The Lone Gunmen
    7.4
    The Lone Gunmen
    The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Gag Reel
    7.7
    The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Gag Reel
    Millennium
    8.0
    Millennium
    Rifftrax: X-Files Fight the Future
    Rifftrax: X-Files Fight the Future
    The X-Files: Albuquerque
    The Making of 'the X Files: Fight the Future'
    7.3
    The Making of 'the X Files: Fight the Future'
    Evolution
    6.1
    Evolution

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Chris Carter originally wanted to end the television series after the fifth season, and continue the show mythology with a series of films, beginning with this one. The Fox Network, however, saw the series as too profitable, and forced Carter to write this film as a tie-in between two seasons of the show, a task which he found very daunting.
    • Goofs
      As Mulder and Scully are climbing down the rocks above the corn field, she is wearing flat-soled shoes. When they enter the beehive, she has high heels. (And not a scratch on them either!)
    • Quotes

      Special Agent Dana Scully: I need this building evacuated and cleared out in ten minutes! I want you to call the fire department and have them block off the city center in a one mile radius around the building.

      Security Guard: Ten minutes?

      Special Agent Dana Scully: DON'T THINK! JUST PICK UP THAT PHONE AND MAKE IT HAPPEN.

    • 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Six Days, Seven Nights/Can't Hardly Wait/Cousin Bette/Mr. Jealousy/High Art (1998)
    • Soundtracks
      Crystal Ship
      Written by Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore and Robby Krieger

      Performed by X

      Produced by Ray Manzarek

      [plays in the background while Mulder is sitting at the bar complaining about his life to the female barista]

    User reviews331

    Review
    Top review
    Surprisingly good -- even for someone who hasn't seen the show before...
    There are two types of people in this world: Those that watch "X-Files," and those that do not. I, like many other critics who walked into "The X-Files" movie, fall into the latter category. But it doesn't matter, because I don't believe that there are any real twists in the plot or "revelations" like the extended title implies there may be. In fact, I think that even the strict fans of the television show may be a bit in the dark by the time the credits start to roll. I got lost about 2/3 of the way through, but I still had a fun time.

    Scully and Mulder, the two FBI Agents (I think) from the famous television show of the same name, make their big-screen debut in a feature-length, theatrical film release that plays much more like a clever science fiction film than a stupid one. I do not claim to be a huge fan of the science-fiction genre -- I like softer sci-fi such as "The Terminator" -- but I admire the hard sci-fi films that make an effort to reach those of us who many not be the most enthusastic sci-fi geeks. "The X-Files" has a harder task -- it has to reach those who not only have never seen the show, but also those who may not love sci-fi too much, and it does a good job. I admire it above all else for being able to do this.

    It strikes a chord that good sci-fi films have struck in the past. It gets down to the meaty bits, although sometimes the plot left me in the dark and the ending started to get a bit crazy, which lowered my overall pleasure regarding the film. It's like a mystery set in the world of UFOs and alien encounters. It is, at times, quite chilling in a subtle way, and at other times quite humorous and fun and thrilling.

    It starts off with a boy falling into a pit and being attacked by hundreds of small, slug-like creatures that crawl into his eye sockets and over his eyes (don't bring the kids to this one). More people enter into the pit in an ill-fated attempt to rescue the boy, and they wind up being knocked unconscious (or put into a deep sleep) like the boy. The bodies are all transported to a hospital, and that same hospital later blows up after Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder (David Duchovny) are unable to stop an implanted terrorist bomb from detonating inside a coke maching.

    But then Mulder is told by a mysterious man outside a bar (Martin Landau) that the bomb was never attempted to be defused. It was all an elaborate cover-up to hide the bodies of the pit victims. Mulder shrugs off the old man at first before he realizes that the man used to be a friend of his father's, and that he has some interesting true stories to tell.

    "The X-Files" intrigued me, kept me interested for the most part, and gave me a few good chill sequences, and yet I haven't seen a single full-length episode of the FOX TV show (only little tidbits here and there). From what I can tell from my short experiences with the television show, this film carries a much more "mainstream" feel to it. I don't really take an interest in TV shows because I find them pretty corny. But "The X-Files" movie wasn't that corny.

    The sight of the aliens themselves is only touched lightly, and the secret promised to be revealed by the trailers and ads isn't. (I assume most people thought it would be in regards to Mulder's alien-abducted sister from his childhood.) But Duchovny is very interesting and often humorous in his role, and I would like to see him in more films than he is in. Gillian Anderson is a bit weak in her role -- in fact, my mother saw her on stage in London and reported back to me that she was so bored by her dull, lifeless performance that she nearly left the theater. But Duchovny carries along the film by himself, and the film has some good sequences. Overall, even people who have never laid eyes on the TV show will be able to appreciate this.

    3.5/5 stars.

    • John Ulmer
    helpful•37
    15
    • MovieAddict2016
    • Oct 25, 2003

    FAQ2

    • Where does the movie fit in the series?
    • What are the differences between the Theatrical Version and the Extended Version?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 19, 1998 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Arabic
    • Also known as
      • X-Files: The Movie
    • Filming locations
      • Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Twentieth Century Fox
      • Ten Thirteen Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $66,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $83,898,313
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $30,138,758
      • Jun 21, 1998
    • Gross worldwide
      • $189,176,423
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 1 minute
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

    Related news

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