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 | |
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José López Rodero | ... | Pablo & Pedro Ceniza / 1st & 2nd Workmen (as Jose Lopez Rodero) |
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Tony Amoni | ... | Liana's Bodyguard |
James Russo | ... | Bernie | |
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Willy Holt | ... | Andrew Telfer |
Allen Garfield | ... | Witkin | |
Jacques Dacqmine | ... | Old Man | |
Joe Sheridan | ... | Old Man's Son | |
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Rebecca Pauly | ... | Daughter-In-Law |
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Catherine Benguigui | ... | Concierge |
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 fly 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, but ... Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
I watched this brilliant movie two nights ago, and desperately want to see it again as soon as possible. I cannot for the life of me understand why so many people don't like this movie - personally, I'd have to say it's one of the best movies I've seen.
I wouldn't want to go too much in detail about it, suffice it to say I think it's good there are still movies made where use of one's brain is actually required when watching it, and everything is not over-explained. And finally, I'm astonished to see that so many didn't understand who Seigner's character actually was. To me, it was clear as day, _especially_ after seeing that last engraving. And I normally am not a very observant person;-)
Final words: Brilliant movie. Just brilliant.