The Ninth Gate (1999)

A rare book dealer, while seeking out the last two copies of a demon text, gets drawn into a conspiracy with supernatural overtones.

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Arturo Pérez-Reverte (novel), John Brownjohn (screenplay),

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Depp	...	Dean Corso
Frank Langella	...	Boris Balkan
Lena Olin	...	Liana Telfer
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	The Girl
Barbara Jefford	...	Baroness Kessler
Jack Taylor	...	Victor Fargas
José López Rodero	...	Pablo & Pedro Ceniza / 1st & 2nd Workmen (as Jose Lopez Rodero)
Tony Amoni	...	Liana's Bodyguard
James Russo	...	Bernie
Willy Holt	...	Andrew Telfer
Allen Garfield	...	Witkin
Jacques Dacqmine	...	Old Man
Joe Sheridan	...	Old Man's Son
Rebecca Pauly	...	Daughter-In-Law
Catherine Benguigui	...	Concierge

Storyline

In New York, the money-driven dealer Dean Corso is a rare-books expert and partner of Bernie, who owns a bookstore. He is contacted by the renowned collector of books about the devil Boris Balkan, who has just acquired the rare The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows from the collector Andrew Telfer, to verify whether his book is authentic or a forgery. Balkan explains that the book was written by the writer Aristide Torchia, in 1666, with Lucifer and he was burned at the stake with his entire work. There are only three exemplars of The Nine Gates and in accordance with the legend, its nine engravings form a riddle to conjure the devil. The skeptical Corso accepts the assignment and has to flight to Sintra, Portugal, and Paris, France, to contact the owners Victor Fargas and Baroness Kessler and find the genuine exemplar for Balkan. Meanwhile, he asks Bernie to hide the rare book. Before traveling to Europe, the widow Liana Telfer wants to retrieve the book and has sex with Corso, ...

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Plot Keywords:

book | gate | rare book | collector | supernatural | 

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Taglines:

Basada en la novela de Arturo Pérez Reverte: El Club Dumas.

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and sexuality

Details

Country:

Spain France USA

Language:

English French Latin Portuguese Spanish

Release Date:

10 March 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die neun Pforten

Filming Locations:

Challet Biester, Rampa da Pena, Sintra, Lisbon, Portugal

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£102,431 (UK) (2 June 2000)

Gross:

SGD 90,000 (Singapore) (8 December 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artisan Entertainment, R.P. Productions, Orly Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The keypad combination to Boris Balkan's penthouse office and to his private library is "666".

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Goofs

As Corso asks the cab driver to wait while he goes to the bookstore, we see a motorcycle drive down Bleeker street. The license plate on the motorcycle are French, but Corso is in New York.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dean Corso: It's an impressive collection. You have some very rare editions here. Are you sure you want to sell them all?
Old Man's Son: They're of no use to father. Not anymore. Not since he's been this way. His library was his whole world. Now it's just a painful memory.

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Connections

References Chinatown (1974)

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Soundtracks

"Sete saias"
Performed by Santinho
Arranged by Wolfgang Gerhard
Courtesy of LaserLight Digital by Arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

A Great Film - Highly Underrated

The Ninth Gate is a great film and one of Roman Polanski's most underrated films. Twenty years from now people will give this film the respect it deserves and hail it to be the great film that it is.

Fist of all The Ninth Gate is not an action film. It's a slow-paced psychological thriller very similar in tone and style to Polanski's earlier films Chinatown and Frantic. Johnny Depp and Frank Langella both give great performances. Darius Khondji's photography is amazing and it has an even more amazing score by Kilar. The majority of the film was shot on location and is like a guided tour through Europe.

Ignore the negative reviews and comments from people who've been brainwashed and blinded by the current Hollywood fast-food style of film making with the intention of only appealing to the lowest common denominator. A review doesn't make a good film better or a bad film worse. A superb film. Rating 10 out of 10.