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:

The Ninth Gate

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

The car that Corso and The Girl drive in France, is a Dodge Viper. The model name is Viper (a venomous serpent) as Lucifer in Genesis was depicted, and the car itself is painted red, a fitting color for the devil. Coincidentally, Johnny Depp was a part owner of a nightclub located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, CA from 1993-2004 called "The Viper Room."

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Goofs

Any time The Girl floats down to save the day, the wires supporting her are very visible in the shots.

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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 (2019)

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Soundtracks

Havanaire
by Camille Saint-Saëns
Published by The Boston Music Company - Boston Mass.

User Reviews

Proves You Don't Need A Ton Of Action To Make A Good Thriller

What makes this movie rather unique in this day-and-age is to see a horror- occult movie that has very little action. That may turn off a lot of modern-day viewers and critics but I thought it was refreshing.....as long as the story could still keep one's attention, which it did. It also did it with a pretty long movie: 133 minutes. I have played this movie several times for friends and no one has gotten bored.

The attraction is (1) decent acting; (2) some great sets; (3) an involving story; (4) interesting characters and (5) low profanity.

What keeps most viewers interested is simply wondering what is going to happen next in "Dean Corso's" (Johnny Depp) quest to figure out the hidden message. Without giving anything away, this is a classy, solid thriller.....and more importantly, fun to watch.