The Ninth Configuration (1980)

Director:

William Peter Blatty

Writers:

William Peter Blatty (novel)
William Peter Blatty (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 February 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

How Do You Fight A War Called Madness?

Plot:

A new commanding officer arrives at a remote castle serving as an insane asylum for crazy and AWOL U.S...

Plot Keywords:

Castle | Army | Insane Asylum | Jet Pack | Mental Illness

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Stacy Keach	...	Col. Vincent Kane
Scott Wilson	...	Capt. Billy Cutshaw
Jason Miller	...	Lt. Frankie Reno
Ed Flanders	...	Col. Richard Fell
Neville Brand	...	Maj. Marvin Groper
George DiCenzo	...	Capt. Fairbanks
Moses Gunn	...	Maj. Nammack
Robert Loggia	...	Lt. Bennish
Joe Spinell	...	Lt. Spinell
Alejandro Rey	...	Lt. Gomez
Tom Atkins	...	Sgt. Krebs
Steve Sandor	...	1st Cyclist (Stanley)
Richard Lynch	...	2nd Cyclist (Richard)
Gordon Mark	...	Sgt. Gilman
William Lucking	...	Highway Patrolman
Stephen Powers	...	Sgt. Christian
David Healy	...	1st General
William Paul	...	2nd General
Tom Shaw	...	Priest
Gordon K. Kee	...	1st Inmate
Bruce Boa	...	Sergeant in Combat Shack
Linda Blatty	...	Waitress
Hobby Gilman	...	Marine Corporal
Marilyn Raymon	...	Girl Cyclist
Bobby Bass	...	Driver
Billy Blatty	...	Young Kane
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Peter Blatty	...	Dr. Fromme (uncredited)

Directed by
William Peter Blatty

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
William Peter Blatty		novel "Twinkle Twinkle Killer Kane"
William Peter Blatty		screenplay

Produced by
William Peter Blatty	....	producer
William Paul	....	executive producer
Tom Shaw	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Barry De Vorzon

Cinematography by
Gerry Fisher

Film Editing by
Battle Davis		(as T. Battle Davis)
Tony de Zarraga
Peter Lee-Thompson
Roberto Silvi

Production Design by
Bill Malley		(as William Malley)

Art Direction by
J. Dennis Washington

Set Decoration by
Sydney Ann Smith-Kee		(as Sydney Ann Kee)

Costume Design by
Tom Bronson

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Shaw	....	assistant director

Art Department
Tom Shaw Jr.	....	property master

Sound Department
Lon Bender	....	assistant sound editor
Colin Charles	....	sound
Jim Cook	....	sound re-recording mixer (as James Cook)
Gordon Ecker	....	supervising sound editor (as Gordon Ecker Jr.)
Stan Gilbert	....	dialogue editor
Charles Grenzbach	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Bud Grenzbach)
Robert L. Harman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Joseph Holsen	....	sound editor
Andrew London	....	sound editor
David Pettijohn	....	sound editor
Marvin Walowitz	....	sound editor
Samuel C. Crutcher	....	sound editor/design (uncredited)
John Roesch	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Willard Flanagin	....	special effects

Stunts
Bobby Bass	....	stunt coordinator
Gary Epper	....	stunts
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts
Gábor Piroch	....	stunts
Tim Rossovich	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Egon Endrényi	....	still photographer
Mike Rutter	....	assistant camera
Laurie Shane	....	gaffer
Steve Stafford	....	camera operator
Jimmy Waters	....	key grip

Casting Department
Jack Baur	....	casting consultant

Editorial Department
Peter Taylor	....	supervising editor

Music Department
John Caper Jr.	....	music editor

Other crew
John Franco	....	script supervisor
Gordon K. Kee	....	production auditor
Frank McKevitt	....	production consultant
Anne Shaw	....	production coordinator (as Anne M. Shaw)
Timea Veress	....	interpreter (1980)

Production Companies

• Ninth Configuration

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• Adams Filmi (1982) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Blue Dolphin Film Distribution (198?) (UK) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (laserdisc)
• New World Home Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Pacific Title and Art Studio (optical effects)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

118 min | USA:99 min (re-issue version) | USA:140 min (combined extended version) | Finland:109 min (1982)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | 70 mm 6-Track | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | Norway:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Ninth Configuration

Trivia:

The film was partially financed by Pepsico, the makers of soft drinks such as Pepsi. The company had leftover funds that couldn't leave the country of Hungary and to use them, they decided to co-finance the film. Both Pepsi and the director had clauses: Pepsi's was to shoot the film in Budapest; Blatty's was to not have any product placement by the company. Both agreed to the terms.

Quotes:

Col. Vincent Kane:In order for life to have appeared spontaneously on earth, there first had to be hundreds of millions of protein molecules of the ninth configuration. But given the size of the planet Earth, do you know how long it would have taken for just one of these protein molecules to appear entirely by chance? Roughly ten to the two hundred and forty-third power billions of years. And I find that far, far more fantastic than simply believing in God.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Dead End (1985)

Soundtrack:

There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder

Fascinating

WARNING: SPOILERS

This is one film you'll never forget. A rare occurrence when a movie is better than the novel it's based on, director William Peter Blatty struck gold with this one. Nice to see it's finally getting the recognition it deserves. The whole story just draws you into another world. Not once was I bored, and this is a long movie. Save for that wicked bar fight, there's no action anywhere else in the film. What we get is bizarre yet intriguing dialogue and chilling flashbacks that'll leave you speechless. One scene midway through the film had me close to being hypnotized: Kane takes the astronaut to church and during the service, he stares at the altar boy who looks Oriental. That scene had me thinking maybe the Colonel was having a flashback to the Korean or Vietnam War. The cast is all-star and top-notch, with Stacy Keach giving an unforgettable portrait as Colonel Hudson Kane. Nice to see Joe Spinell in a bit role. I don't know where they filmed that castle they keep showing throughout the movie, but my guess would be West Germany, Switzerland or Austria. You won't find any castles like that in America, even though the story takes place in Washington State.

Score, 10 out of 10 Stars