Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:
Total Movies Watched: 28
Total First Time Views: 14
Amount raised for BOXVILLE: $2,349.76
X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes (1963) d. Roger Corman (USA) (79 min) (5th viewing)
When the brilliant Dr. Xavier (Ray Milland) concocts a serum to improve human sight, he stumbles upon a formula for X-ray vision. Inspired by its awesome medical potential, but shunned by his short-sighted colleagues, the doctor tests the potion on himself, only to discover that a side effect of his enhanced vision is the insatiable desire to look further and deeper, perhaps more than any mortal can bear.
In the midst of his Gothic heyday, producer/director Corman unveiled one of his strongest and strangest films, one that continues to hold up nearly six decades later, in spite of minimal effects and other budgetary woes. Singularly compelling, the Robert Dillion/Ray Russell script unfolds an allegorical plot that revolves around Milland’s dogged researcher whose invention allows him to gaze through walls, surgery patients’ chest cavities, and (involuntarily, of course) ladies’ clothing.
Forced to flee following a tragic accident, he falls in with a carnival con-man huckster (played with delicious unctuousness by comedian Don Rickles), then heads off to break the banks in Vegas. But as he zealously pursues his, ahem, vision, Xavier becomes increasingly fixated with exploring the full extent of his powers, eventually leading to the heart of the universe and an utterly unforgettable climax.
While there’s no denying the film still has the ability to pack a wallop, with the technological advances made over the past half-century, it might be interesting to see what a modern, sensitive director would do with the material – examining and expanding upon the moral and emotional implications as well as showing viewers what lies beneath the epidermis.
BONUS FEATURES:
Audio Commentary by Producer/Director Roger Corman
Audio Commentary by Film Historian Time Lucas
“Buried Alive!” Legendary director Joe Dante on X (6 min)
Rare Prologue (5 min)
“Trailers from Hell” with Mick Garris (3 min)
Original Theatrical trailer
X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes is available now on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber and can be ordered HERE:
https://www.kinolorber.com/product/x-the-man-with-the-x-ray-eyes-blu-ray
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