Other Titles • The Ninth Gate • Die Neun Pforten (1999)
Synopses for The Ninth Gate (1999)
1.
The horror of Roman Polanski is not about spectacle and shock but a goose-pimply sense of evil lurking just outside the frame and hidden behind the faces of slightly unsettling characters. For a while it looks like The Ninth Gate, adapted from the novel The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, might recapture the beautiful uneasiness of such masterpieces as Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. A calm, almost sleepy Johnny Depp plays cynical, unscrupulous rare-book hunter Dean Corso, who's hired by demonologist Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) to authenticate a rare volume that, legend has it, was cowritten by Lucifer himself. Dean leaves a Gothic looking New York (re-created in Europe by Polanski as a sinister city of shadows) for Portugal and Paris to compare Balkan's volume with the two copies known to be in existence and uncovers a mystery with unholy ramifications. He also finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that involves Balkan, a widow who will stop at nothing to retrieve Balkan's book (Lena Olin, who gleefully bites and claws her way through the part), and a mysterious guardian "angel" (Polanski's wife, Emmanuelle Seigner) who shadows his every step. The Ninth Gate is full of rumbling menace and deliciously unsettling imagery, but Polanski's languorous direction and purposefully vague story render a film that's eerie without every becoming thrilling. It's perpetually on the verge of becoming interesting--right up to its obscure final image. --Sean Axmaker
(19 votes)
2.
Based on a novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte (THE CLUB DUMAS) and coscripted by director Roman Polanski, THE NINTH GATE was Polanski’s first feature after a long break following the release of 1995’s DEATH AND THE MAIDEN--in between, there was an aborted project that faltered when designated star John Travolta opted out. Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) is a cynical rare books dealer hired by Boris Balkan (Frank Langella), a scholar specializing in books on Satanism, to recover the only two remaining copies (in addition to the one owned by Balkan) of THE NINE GATES OF THE KINGDOM OF SHADOWS, a 17th-century text with cryptic illustrations supposedly contributed by Lucifer himself. Corso's investigation takes him to Europe, where he is pursued by a strange girl (Emmanuelle Seigner) who seemes to assume the role of his guardian angel: Bizarre deaths inspired by the book’s morbid illustrations befall all those who come into contact with the book--except himself. This occult mystery should satisfy fans of subtly creepy, stylish tales of the supernatural along the lines of Polanski’s own ROSEMARY’S BABY.
(21 votes)
3.
Johnny Depp unlocks the gates to hell in Roman Polanski's newest thriller. Depp stars as Dean Corso, an unscrupulous rare book dealer who is hired to locate the last remaining copies of The Nine Gates, a demonic manuscript that can summon the Devil. Corso becomes embroiled in a conspiracy involving murder, theft and satanic ritual, and ultimately finds himself confronting the devil incarnate.
(19 votes)
4.
For a while it looks like Roman Polanski's The Ninth Gate, adapted from the novel The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, might recapture the beautiful uneasiness of such masterpieces as Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. The horror of a Roman Polanski picture is not about spectacle and shock but a goose-pimply sense of evil lurking just outside the frame and hidden behind the faces of slightly unsettling characters. Here, a calm, almost sleepy Johnny Depp plays cynical, unscrupulous rare-book hunter Dean Corso, who's hired by demonologist Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) to authenticate a rare volume that, legend has it, was co-written by Lucifer himself. Dean leaves a Gothic looking New York (re-created in Europe by Polanski as a sinister city of shadows) for Portugal and Paris to compare Balkan's volume with the two copies known to be in existence and uncovers a mystery with unholy ramifications. He also finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy that involves Balkan, a widow who will stop at nothing to retrieve Balkan's book (Lena Olin, who gleefully bites and claws her way through the part), and a mysterious guardian "angel" (Polanski's wife, Emmanuelle Seigner) who shadows his every step. The Ninth Gate is full of rumbling menace and deliciously unsettling imagery, but Polanski's languorous direction and purposefully vague story render a film that's eerie without every becoming thrilling. It's perpetually on the verge of becoming interesting--right up to its obscure final image.-Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
On the DVD: Roman Polanski provides us with his first ever DVD commentary here, and makes his eye for detail and atmosphere very apparent in talking about design and his use of the camera. He also announces his love for the quality of DVD since he's always hated VHS. You also see him briefly amongst other interviewees in a two-minute featurette. There's also a trailer, 10 pages of production notes, and generous cast and crew information. One novelty is a gallery of The Nine Gates books' spot-the-difference satanic drawings. Best of all is an isolated track of Wojciech Kilar's excellent score, which is as well preserved by this transfer as the rich palette of earthy browns used by Polanski to paint the screen. --Paul Tonks
(10 votes)
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
<>
Movie Database
In Theaters
