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) (as Arturo Perez-Reverte), John Brownjohn (screenplay)

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin

1 win & 4 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 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

rare book | satanic | book detective | bibliophilia | unholy book | 

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Taglines:

Leave the Unknown Alone.

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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:

La última puerta

Filming Locations:

Portugal

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,622,518, 12 March 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$18,661,336

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$58,401,898

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

At the beginning of the movie when Dean Corso is travelling to the airport, the number shown on the top of the taxi is 6X67 (1667) the year Torchia was burned at the stake for writing the Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows.

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Goofs

While showing off his collection to Corso, Fargas presents a "Dictionaire Infernal" by Jacques Collin de Plancy, which he says is a first edition from 1844. The first edition of this influential encyclopedia on superstition appeared in 1818, but its sixth edition, published in 1863, is prized for its illustrations, including 72 drawings of demons. The copy Fargas holds has a title page that is from the 1863 edition.

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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

Referenced in The Wizard Hunter: The Hunt for Evangelion Crowley (2018)

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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

See this one more than once

I just got finished reading some of the other threads that discuss this movie. They ranged from the angst ridden youth spouting off about how there was no action, to those who truly loved this movie. I know that this movie is practically 5 years old, but this is one of my favorite movies of all time. I am an avid horror fan. I love everything from slasher movies to the silent films from the 1920's. I admit, when I saw this movie in the theater, I was very disappointed. I think I was expecting some whiz-bang battle with the devil at the end, and for those of you who've seen this flick you know that this is not how it ends. Now, almost 5 years later, I own and watch this film very frequently. Now that I have seen this movie numerous times, I can appreciate the creepy atmosphere and the deep storyline. I have even said to myself "How could they have ended this movie differently in a way that I would be completely satisfied (other than the way they did)?" I couldn't answer that question. For those who have only seen this once, take the time to watch it again with different expectations. I know that there are some who will never like this movie, To each his/her own, but I am very glad that I took the time to see this one again because as it stands now, it will have a locked spot in my top 10.