The Ninth Gate (1999)
Genre: Thriller / Mystery
Duration: 133 minuten
Country:
United States / France / Spain
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Stars: Johnny Depp, Emmanuelle Seigner and Lena Olin
IMDb score:
6,7 (209.152)
Releasedate: 25 August 1999
The Ninth Gate plot
"Every book has a life of its own."
Dean Corso, a book detective, goes in search of rare books. One day he is commissioned by a certain Boris Balkan to check the authenticity of the 17th-century book "The 9 Gates" of the Empire of Shadows. Only three copies of this satanic book have survived worldwide, but only one of them is said to be authentic. Whoever uses it right would be able to summon the Devil in his very person. To compare the three books - and in particular, the nine mysterious engravings - Corso travels from New York to Toledo, Paris and Sintra in Portugal. Murder and death appear to haunt him, as do two enigmatic women. The one, Mrs. Telfer, also hunts for the book. The other is a very strange woman, who always seems to protect him.
Actors and actresses
Dean Corso
Boris Balkan
Liana Telfer
The Girl
Baroness Kessler
Victor Fargas
Pablo & Pedro Ceniza/1st & 2nd Workmen
Bernie
Andrew Telfer
Witkin
Reviews & comments
SmackItUp
-
- 3505 messages
- 2648 votes
My eighth Polanski.
Not once has this man disappointed me. All previous videos ended in a 3.5* or higher, which raises expectations a bit.
Before I went to see this movie I was like, if there must be a movie by Roman that wouldn't interest me too much, it's The Ninth Gate. To be honest, I'm not much into books -I never read- so I was afraid that the story wouldn't hold my attention for 133 minutes.
But he always amazes me. His films have an oppressive form of mysticism that I really like. I liked this one at Repulsion, at Le Locataire, and especially at Bitter Moon. The last 2 have a well deserved place in my top 10.
The Ninth Gate doesn't reach that level, but I'm not disappointed in the least. This is just another amazingly ingenious film that does a lot of things right. The typical dark atmosphere is present again, although it could have been a little more mysterious. You can guess where it is going after 20 minutes. Yet the film never bores. Depp and protégé Seigner play excellent roles, and a few shots in combination with the typical Polanski music make you both shudder and frighten. In particular, the shot of Depp and Seigner near the end near the castle gave me shivers. This man is so incredibly good at creating atmosphere that I wonder what goes on in that blunt head of his all day. Atmosphere creator number 1, and my favorite director. Big 4* for now.
Translated from Dutch · View original
lpjdamen
-
- 38 messages
- 930 votes
I was sitting at home on Saturday night and was bored to death, so I thought I'd watch a movie. I had scoured Netflix looking for a horror movie, and this movie by Roman Polanski was on the list.
Okay, Roman Polanski, famous director...
Johnny Depp, famous actor, known a lot about...
The Ninth Gate, why not?
And Jesus what a boring shit movie I thought. It all started interesting. Dean Corso who has to investigate whether a copy of a devil's book is authentic. But as the story unfolded and Dean Corso got more and more drawn to it, I got more and more bored. There was no suspense at any point in the film, and many of the dialogues and "action" scenes came across as clunky and dry, sinking me deeper into the couch.
Johnny Depp acts woodenly and Emmanuelle Seigner also acts like a dreamy sack of potatoes. In my opinion, she was trying to appear beautiful in the camera rather than actually presenting anything as her role as "guardian angel" over Dean Corso. The film is way too long for a story that didn't really get interesting anywhere. Unfortunately.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Corporate & Media
Realtimes Network
Innovatieweg 20C
7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31(315)-764002
