Starring: Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin, Emmanuelle Seigner, Barbara Jefford Directed By: Roman Polanski Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: July 18, 2000 Running Time: 133 minutes Studio: Lions Gate Theatrical Release Date: March 10, 2000
Good movie - until it ended... ^ Listen, I liked this movie as much as everyone else below. Johnny Depp is an amazing actor - the characters were well defined - good story - the movie was soooo good - and then it ended and you're like "What?" - I did of course figure out what happened but it did not fit the pace of the rest of the movie. It could've been soooo much better. The whole pace of the movie builds you up for some spectacular ending that never happens. The ending was a disgrace to the entire movie and made me hate the whole thing. Whats the point of a great story line if it doesn't carry you through to the end? If they had made a sequel that picked up from the end, I may have reconsidered my position on this movie - but since the sequel never came this movie is a disgrace to good movies. Needless to say, I was very offended. This movie would've easily been one of my favorite movies but now I will never watch it again. Great story line, great acting, great directing, TERRIBLE ending.
One of the best occult movies....EVER ^ This is not a scary movie, unless everyday evil being easy to miss is scary to you.
What this movie does have is depth. Polanski moved it along at a great pace, unfolding the tale bit by bit, but the thing is, there is much more than one story here. I suspect a lot of people will GET the surface but miss what lies at the depth.
There's a lot of thought in this story, and it draws from a rich occult background. If you've a background in Crowley, Hermeticism, OTO or such, you will get much more out of this movie than the person that is not familiar with these things. Careful detail was taken to weave hermetic occultism into the storyline, and if you are familiar with the AE WAITE tarot deck, you will recognize a lot of the symbols on the 'plates' of the book.
If you are looking for monsters, spells, things that go BOO and make you jump, blood, gore...this movie isn't for you. If you are very well read, and like intellectual horror, you just might find you want to own this one.
EYE-ROLLING STUPIDITY 4 OUT OF 10 ^ You'd think a film about finding the gateway to Hell might be interesting, but no. The Ninth Gate is a disastrous film and is a film I'm sure Johnny Depp would rather forget. This is probably one of the dumbest (And most boring) religious thrillers ever made. It's inconsistent, jumbled, confused, and not quite sure what it wants to be. Here's my opinion for why I think you should keep this gate closed. WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) is a man who is hired by avid book collectors to track down rare books and investigate their authenticity. He is then hired by a man named Boris Balkan who wants him to investigate the authenticity of a book he recently acquired that supposedly can conjure the devil and open the gateway to Hell. So he gives Dean Corso the book and sends him to Portugal and France to compare it with two other copies that are about the same topic, but have different things about them such as differences in pictures. But then people start dropping dead around Corso, and someone is out to kill him and get the book. Along his journey to finding out the mystery to the Ninth Gate, he meets a mysterious woman who seems to have powers (I couldn't help but shake my head when there were scenes in which she glides down to Corso). Together they are taken on a dangerous journey full of mystery, deceit, and devil worship. The story doesn't go anywhere interesting and you're left bored senseless at the ridiculous plot. MUSIC: This is one of the only areas of the film that actually worked. The musical score was decent and it seemed to fit the mood for the most part, but it was kind of dreary and dull at times. ACTION: This film is very dull. This film can't seem to decide what it wants to be. Sometimes it tries to be a thriller. Sometimes a horror film. Sometimes a mystery. Sometimes it tries to be action. Sometimes it tries to be suspense. The problem here is the fact that none of these areas work. This in turn, turns the film into a garbled and inconsistent mess. It doesn't work as a thriller because well, there is nothing thrilling about it. It's not horror because it just isn't scary at all. It's not mystery because it's a cliched mess in which it doesn't take all that much time to figure out whose behind it. It's not action because it's badly done and full of terrible fight scenes. Then it doesn't work as suspense because you're never afraid (Not to mention excited) about what comes next because you already know what's going to happen. Let's also not forget this film features some of the most pointless sex/nude scenes I've ever seen. They are not done tastefully and they are laughable. Sadly, you can't pull a "so bad it's good" value out of this film, so don't even try. ACTING: Johnny Depp is a good actor in most of his films, but he clearly dropped the ball in this film. He looked and sounded bored through the entire film as if wondering to himself, "Why the hell am I even here? I was in Sleepy Hollow and Edward Scissorhands, dammit! Is this what I've reduced myself to?" The other actors don't fare any better and are actually worse. Many of the actors seem comatose in their roles and display no emotion or believability. Then when the villains get into worshiping Satan you can't help but mock them because it's completely ridiculous and certainly in no way terrifying. When the actors do try and display emotion, they come off as a complete joke. Casting mishaps are aplenty in this film. But then again, I don't know whether I should blame the actors or the script, or maybe both. Still, this area is a complete mess. OVERALL: While it may have a few interesting scenes and decent music, that will never excuse how bad of a mess this film is. It tries to be too many things at one, and it doesn't succeed at any of the genres it tries to be. It's a dreadfully dull film with no mystery or intrigue because you can always guess what happens next thanks to the terrible, cliched script. It has no good acting and you won't care about what happens to any of these people. A dull and thoroughly un-thrilling religious thriller that's also emotionally removed. Skip it. THE GOOD: A few interesting scenes and decent music. THE BAD: Terrible script, bad acting, it's dull and slow-moving, no scares, no mystery, no thrills, no cool action moments, and it's definitely not suspenseful.
Definitely NOT for Bibliophiles ^ The plot looked good, the cast was promissing and Polanski (despite his self-made problems) is an excellent director. So what could go wrong? Well, I'm probably too practical for my own good but I could never accept the maaner in which the book trader handled the rare books he came into contact with (and that was happening throughout the movie). It was like they were cheap paperback editions of last year's bestsellers. My first shock was his associate's Rare Book Store that was below street level. What would happen in case of a lengthy downpore?!!? No one would place such valued tomes in such fragile confines. Next I noticed that he didn't use gloves when handling the books or when turning the pages (he didn't even wash his hands). He carries around one of three existing 18th Century (or was it older) books in a canvas satchel. I noticed in the pouring rain he still had the satchel nonchalantly swinging by his side. As the movie contined, he would smoke cigarettes while leafing through the pages and studying the various etchings. It was too much for me. ARGGHH! Oh, by the way, the devil MAY have made him do it but that's still no excuse.
OK, OK! Too many silly details blot out an "exciting" movie. Maybe so but I've always appreciated the attention to detail that the better films can claim credit for. Such sloppiness isn't Roman Polanski; it's Ed Wood.
A creepy movie ^ I've seen this movies so many times it never gets old. The blue ray version is really clear and crisp.
As for the movie, the story and the pace of the film will suck you in and make you wonder what will happen next and who is the good/bad guy.
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