X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

86% of critics liked it
(21 reviews)
60% of users liked it
(2,997 ratings)

Dr. James Xavier (Ray Milland) is a brilliant but unorthodox researcher whose work with human sight has yielded an experimental chemical that may vastly increase the range of what we can see. Despite the misgivings and warnings of the two people closest to him, Dr. Diane Fairfax (Diana Van Der Vlis)… More Dr. James Xavier (Ray Milland) is a brilliant but unorthodox researcher whose work with human sight has yielded an experimental chemical that may vastly increase the range of what we can see. Despite the misgivings and warnings of the two people closest to him, Dr. Diane Fairfax (Diana Van Der Vlis) and Dr. Sam Brant (Harold J. Stone), he uses it on himself and finds that he is able to look inside the human body in real-time. This gives him the ability to save the life of a patient in surgery, but in the process, he offends a top physician and calls his own judgement into question. He won't stop or even slow his experiments, however, and when Sam is accidentally killed trying to stop him, he is forced to flee. Soon he is living the life of a hunted man, and is protected and exploited by Crane (Don Rickles), a larcenous carny-man who sets him up as a "healer" on skid row, taking peoples' pennies while Xavier makes his diagnoses. After getting away from Crane, Xavier is found by Diane, who joins him on the run, and by now his own worst nature is coming to the surface. They head to Las Vegas, where his ability to see through objects allows him to win at most of the games in front of him, but he is discovered because of the attention that his "streak" draws to him. Pursued out of town, he heads out to the desert, and by now his ability to see transcends the boundaries of earthly space, leading him to a terrible quandry and a hideous solution to his plight, inspired by an encounter with a preacher. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 16 min.
Directed By: Roger Corman
Genres: Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Cult Movies

In Theaters: Sep 18, 1963 Wide
On DVD: Jun 5, 2001
Studio: Orion Home Video

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Director Roger Corman keeps this moving and Ray Milland is competent as the doomed man. Special effects on his prism-eye world, called Spectarama, are good if sometimes repetitive.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
This queasy 1963 SF parable was directed--quickly and cheaply--by Roger Corman for American-International, drawing some of its strength from its tawdry drive-in overtones.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
Surprisingly level-headed and persuasive in its restraint and succinct dialogue.
Ian Berriman, SFX Magazine
A Venn diagram intersection of three different brands of exploitation... Refreshingly zesty pulp, with a sprinkling of poetry.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Ray Milland in low budget Roger Corman horror-fest.
, Film4
Glorious low-budget fun, imaginative, eerie and sometimes even a little scary.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Memorable, viscerally disturbing sci-fi/horror.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Embora a premissa não seja desenvolvida de maneira particularmente imaginativa, Milland encarna a situação angustiante de seu personagem com talento (e o plano final é arrepiante).
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Intelligent sci-fi movie has a powerful performance from Milland.
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com
Science fiction's much-vaunted 'sense of wonder' gets flipped to reveal the horrific back side of that coin.
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com
MGM's 'Midnite Movies' edition offers a stunningly clean transfer (1.85:1 anamorphic) in crisp DD 2.0 monaural audio. Features include another fine scene-by-scene commentary from Corman.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
One of the better sci-fi cult films.

Read all 12 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

This is an okay movie from Corman, it's not one of the best, but it's not one of the worst either. It has a familiar sci-fi horror theme, but with a man who actually has X-ray eyes, which is the coolest part of the movie.
Randy T

All hail Roger Corman! A cult classic with all the trappings you'd expect from uber-cool low-budget 60's science fiction. It wasn't enough that the mad scientist could see through paper, clothes and skin. He kept pushing, kept experimenting until he saw things no… More
All hail Roger Corman! A cult classic with all the trappings you'd expect from uber-cool low-budget 60's science fiction. It wasn't enough that the mad scientist could see through paper, clothes and skin. He kept pushing, kept experimenting until he saw things no man was ever intended to see, things no man should ever see [insert creepy music here].
John M

An interesting movie with a very original plot about a scientist who gets x-ray vision when he gives himself eyes medicine. It delivers a fair amount of suspense, unsettling atmosphere and enough ingenious plot twists to maintain your interest throughout. The ending of the movie was… More
An interesting movie with a very original plot about a scientist who gets x-ray vision when he gives himself eyes medicine. It delivers a fair amount of suspense, unsettling atmosphere and enough ingenious plot twists to maintain your interest throughout. The ending of the movie was haunting and even quite surprising. It's defiantly worth watching if you like good science fiction movies.
Eduardo C

Corman's take on Prometheus/Frankenstein is little more than a poorly written genre cheapie which never once deals with any of the surprisingly interesting subjects it accidentally manages to raise. For reasons beyond me this is highly regarded in some circles. It is far, far… More
Corman's take on Prometheus/Frankenstein is little more than a poorly written genre cheapie which never once deals with any of the surprisingly interesting subjects it accidentally manages to raise. For reasons beyond me this is highly regarded in some circles. It is far, far from Corman's best (though equally far from his worst) and it would have been very interesting to see what a real writer from the period (Rod Serling, perhaps? Definitely Ray Bradbury) would have done with the premise.