The Ninth Gate (1999)

Depp is good, but it's Frank Langella's movie in my opinion. His acting in the final ritual really creeped me out and gave the stakes the weight that they deserved.

Underrated movie.

Yeah, it's been a years since I saw this one, as I think the only time I watched it was in the theater, but I remember really liking it quite a bit. Just creepy and weird in the best way possible, and I like that the movie took its time. That really helped to increase the tension, as far as I'm concerned. Booth is right...this is really underrated, and it's high time I revisited it.

I like it too, sort of a nifty mix of Angel Heart and Eyes Wide Shut. I do recall the score not quite fitting, but Depp and Langella both seem to be having a grand time.

It's a pretty good movie. Liked the ending.

I like it more with each viewing -- great buildup of tension and excellent performances from Langella and Depp.

Loved that there was very little overt "intervention" (e.g., The Prophecy [tho' I like that movie too]).

It's solid. I like how Langella starts channeling Skeletor at the end of the film.

I like the mentions made of the movie's deliberate pace. They actually cut a great deal from the book, including further detail on medieval pacts with the devil, a great deal of exposition on the history of French pulp fiction and a huge red herring subplot that gave the book its name. I'm a big fan of both versions, but even the film strikes me as so dense that it barely fits into its allotted running time.

Very underrated movie, a rare modern suspense thriller with an actual atmosphere of dread.

Great, slow burn pacing with lots of ambiguous shit. And to me Depp's in it is the best big-screen John Constantine we've seen.

I saw it as Polanski's supernatural version of his own FRANTIC.

And both clue-following male protagonists are helped in their respective unraveling mysteries (rabbit holes) by the same French girl, Emmanuelle Seigner.

I rented it on vhs when it was released back during the summer of 2000 after wanting to catch it in the theater, but not being able to, since I was 15, and they were now IDing everyone at the theaters after the Columbine incident.

I actually thought it was pretty good. Really slow moving, but Langella and Depp were great. I remember watching it again before I returned it with my friend, and we both joked about how Depp never seems to eat at all during the movie, and he just chainsmokes. We both pointed it out when he finally has a meal towards the end of the movie.

I haven't seen Frantic in ages but Depp was certainly channeling a young Mickey Rourke.

I remember it came out on my birthday and I asked my dad to take me and a few of my friends. All I remember from it was an awkward fight scene, a plot that made no sense and most of all, the embarrassment of watching Seigner grind away on Depp with my dad there.
But with all the praise it's getting around here, I guess another viewing is in order.

I love how, after each revelation, Depp just takes his time, finds the nearest bar, and lights one up. Doesn't matter who's after him or how much danger there is. Head straight to the bar and smoke a few dozen.

Just rewatched it last night...beautifully filmed. Every scene seems to have a coziness to it.

Huh? You mean Ford or am I missing something here?

Anyway I too haven´t seen this one in ages but I rember it having a catchy moody atmosphere but being very dull at the same time as well. The ending seemed very aprupt but at the same time very old school. Something I normally apreciate. Maybe it was a letdown because I expected another Rosemary´s Baby.

But it has Seigner in the climax (harr, harr - see what I did there). so there is that.

I still don't think I understand wtf happens at the end of the movie.

Lena Olin is sex on legs in this film.

Jan, Darkmite compared it to Frantic. I compared it to Angel Heart. Sorry for any confusion.

Jan, Darkmite compared it to Frantic. I compared it to Angel Heart. Sorry for any confusion.

Seigner grinding away on Depp was pretty uncomfortable looking. I just remember Depp having an "this is UNBELIEVABLE" look on his face.

I really love this film but can't really explain why. It's technically well made, the acting is really good by Depp and Langella, but the film is just kind of there. I just knew Depp was never in danger because his demonic (or angelic?) hottie would pop out of nowhere and protect him.

Maybe because of my favorite scene: The Devil Worshipers are getting ready to go full all Eyes Wide Shut and Langella bursts into the room shouting "Mumbo Jumbo!" then strangled Lena Olin's character! And all these Satan worshipers panic and run away! Hilarious!

All this talk in the thread made me order it off Ebay. It's already been shipped, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again after almost a decade since I first saw it.

I only saw it the once, about 5 or 6 years ago on late night TV and I was surprised at how solid it was and how far it took its concept. I seem to remember it getting pretty trashed over here when it came out theatrically (a reaction to Polanski rather than the film, perhaps?) and being bowled over at how much I enjoyed it. I kind of want to see it again now. Thanks, Chudites!

Just saw this for the first time tonight and enjoyed the hell out of it. Picked up the Blu-ray for 10 bucks at walmart in case anyone wants it. Actually got a full DTS-HDMA 7.1 soundtrack which feels odd to me considering the lack of shit blowing up.

Solid minor genre work from Polanski, and yes, Lena Olin. I also love the contempt for Satanists, and Polanski's sense of humor, which permeates.

Hi All,

For me "The Ninth Gate" its a movie that gets better after each viewing and to say i was disappointed the first time i saw it in theaters, like many said its an underrated movie.

This movie is tragically underrated. Unlike Polanski's last horror, or 'psychological terror' movies, the point of The Ninth Gate is its brooding atmosphere, and mysteries that can never really be resolved or understood...and if they were, well, the answer would invariably be disappointing. It's The Da Vinci Code if Dan Brown realized how preposterous his stories are, and therefore he cut them down to the bone. Minimalistic.

I will give this another try, as well. I can't remember hardly anything about it, in fact the only thing I remember is Siegner flying down to Johnny, that's it. I thought it was boring and think I even fell asleep. I will try again.

I watched this again a few weeks ago and like Public Enemies, was reminded that Depp can indeed do other shit outside of affected performances, but Dean Corso isn't terribly interesting, and I think Polanski needed an older, sleazier, and perhaps less attractive actor to really help it pop.

I do love Langella, and the piss-take on the occult, Polanksi is always good for that.

Ok, so, not only did I watch this last night but something unreasonably creepy (supernatural??) happened to me less than 24 hours after I viewed it. The story that I will now relate to you is entirely truthful and happened to me no more than 2.5 hours ago

So, I got in my job today and almost as soon as I walked in there was a wizened old man who can only be described as "dusty looking" (as in he had dust on his clothes) just standing there. I walked over and asked if he needed help, and he immediately began just talking at me. We were engaging in idle chit chat, as I tend to do to pass the time, and I don't even remember how it came up but he said something about how he was was in town today because he was in the process of tracking down a book. I wasn't really paying much attention because he was just kind of rambling on, as oldsters are prone to do. He said that ironically the book he was trying to find was a book by the same author of a book that reminded him of a Johnny Depp movie. I wondered why that would be ironic and he then said that in the movie Depp like himself had an interest in rare book collecting.. Having just watched the Ninth Gate for the first time in my life the previous evening, that made me sit up straight and pay attention. Then, as if reading my mind, he asked "Have you seen the Ninth Gate?". My eyes must have gone wide at that. I mean, what are the odds? I instantly looked him over, having previously paid him little mind. He had a kind of weird energy about him, an unwholesome mirth behind his flinty eyes. I could only reply, astonished, that yes, in fact I *had* seen that film.. indeed, I'd seen it just last night. Without another word he held up a single bony finger, as if to say "wait just a moment", and pulled a book out of his satchel and asked if I'd read it. I could make out the title "The Club Dumas". I said that no, I'd never read it. I prefer non fiction and sci fi for the most part.

This is the super creepy part, because old people are not usually this mysterious:

He says "Well maybe you should", winked, and *laughed*

I was more than a little confused and not entirely unshaken. Why had a random old person just handed me a random book after specifically asking about a movie I'd just witnessed the night before?

When I cracked open the book it took all my efforts to maintain my composure and not recoil in horror... the "THE CLUB DUMAS" book had all the Lucifer illustrations from the NINTH GATE OF THE SHADOW KINGDOM!


THIS ILLUSTRATION APPEARS IN THE 'DUMAS CLUB'

I told him as much and he only replied "Oh, I know they are! It's a good read you would enjoy it I think" I tried to return the book to him and he simply replied "Keep it, I have loads more", and just walked away and out the door. That was it! I am still not even clear why he came in at all, as it seems that all he did here was engage me in conversation and hand me a book. With that done, he left as if he'd accomplished what he set out to do

I am actually still a bit disconcerted by that encounter. It left me with a real case of the creeping willies.

What kind of person has "loads" of some satanic book? What on earth was all that about? I'm not entirely unconvinced at this moment that I did not have a personal visit from Satan earlier today.

I really don't know what to make of what happened. I mean, yes, perhaps it's just another 'coincidence', but it seems like an absurdly unlikely coincidence. Never before has someone just handed me a book (a rather expensive hard cover one at that) and told me to keep it as a gift. Why would you give a book to a stranger??

Anyway, as for the movie, it was ok. I really liked the atmosphere and photography (someone else called it "cozy" and I'd have to agree,), and the kind of leisurely pace of the story. It was a slow burn, much like Mr Depp with his cigarettes. I thought Langellas final scene was indeed very dramatic and nightmarish (burning to death has been one of my greatest fears since childhood and the way he relishes the growing flames only to realize in shock that he is mortal had me grinding my teeth), as many other Chewers have mentioned, but I thought the whole the movie was hurt by some of the silliness. Why does the witch float around on wires like a refuge from the PETER PAN stage play? Why the morphing? And trying to make Satanists into something kitchy and pathetic instead of frightening? That can't have been a good idea.

All in all though it was good fun, I just wish satanist book experience had ended when I ejected the DVD

PS Re: Morphing

That scene would have been creepier without it (the other hand coming in to light his cigarette made me jump!)

*at least no one that I'm not on a first name basis with

"The Club Dumas" has the same illustrations because it's the novel this movie was based on.

Sharing a copy of a novel you liked isn't the most nefarious thing a stranger could do. You should have recommended this to him. It actually makes a nice companion piece with Perez-Reverte's novel and Polanski's film.

Well that does explain alot but in a way it is nice to think that your life involves mystery and supernatural encounters. Sometimes the down to earth explanations for such events can be a bit of a let down. I thought the book had to do with Alexander Dumas, but if it's the book that hte movie is based on (and it's not a personal gift from satan) then maybe I'll give it a try

I don't want to spoil the book, but this is a theme in the movie too: the cultists, including Langella, are essentially posers guilty of trying too hard. The Devil considers Corso a worthwhile companion because he doesn't cater to anyone's ego but his own.

Ah ok, well that is interesting. I just felt that how that strangulation scene in the movie was handled was entirely goofy and kind of defused alot of the tension. Those satanist types are serious business*. I can understand and appreciate that theme in the film, I just felt that the way it was handled detracted from the mood (especially since it came right after another goofy wire-fu move from the witch, and immediately proceeded the goofy morphing)

*I once knew a person who said he worshiped Satan.. to me --an agnostic-- it seems equally as dumb as worshiping god

I'll have to re-watch this movie sometime soon. It was widely was panned upon release, which always puzzled me. It's no masterpiece but it's a fun little genre flick.

I'll always have the Ninth Gate and Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut tied together in my memory. On the same day I happened to see both the Ninth Gate in the theater and Eyes Wide Shut on video. Obviously they're both very, very different films, but the cult/mystery aspects of their stories made for a neat double feature.

If you like the Ninth Gate you should read the book that it's based on, Club Dumas. The movie changes a lot from the book (mainly by dropping the titular Dumas plot thread altogether) but remains strangely faithful in a lot of ways.

Little does PK know that that "Dusty Old Man" was none other than...Frank Langella!

LOL. This is the only thing I remember about the film. That, and that it was boring. Then later I realized it's a Polanski film. But I don't get excited about Satanic cult films anyways. It always seems to be a very Catholic horror genre, and I'm not Catholic. I've actually never seen THE EXORCIST, and it took years before I finally sat down for ROSEMARY'S BABY.

He must have been out of button units: P

The Ninth Gate is Polanski working in his safe zone. He's a master of the paranoia thriller and shows it with this film. One of his lesser films for sure, but good non the less.