La neuvième porte

Unscrupulous book dealer Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) is drawn into a dangerous world of witchcraft, magic, and mystery after he is hired by collector Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) to seek out the only remaining copies of Satanic textbook 'The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows', a work reputed to have the power to summon the Devil.

After several viewings, I still don't fully comprehend everything about The Ninth Gate: it's one of those film that is deliberately ambiguous. Despite my frustration at my lack of understanding, I still have a fun time trying to further unravel the riddle, spot as-yet undiscovered clues and diabolical references, and work out the answers to questions posed by the plot.

While the film's inconclusive narrative does little to diminish my enjoyment of this wonderfully complex supernatural thriller, which benefits from excellent direction from Polanski, a great leading performance from Depp, and a suitably ominous score, I do struggle with the way in which the bibliophiles portrayed treat their treasured tomes, smoking fags and slurping alcohol as they study the text, handling the books sans protective gloves, and leaving vital pages to gather dust on top of old bookshelves—I treat second-hand paperbacks better than that!

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

I loved this film, the opulence and wonderful European locations. A film that is truly atmospheric and very special. A cast of excellent actors, Depp, Langella and Olin to name just three, certainly not a mainstream film that was going to break any box office records but a good psychologically addictive film exploring the occult. If history, books and the darker side of human nature interest you then you will find this film fascinating. Depp plays the part of a very focused, self serving and amoral loner hired by the owner of a book said to be co written by the Devil himself. Depp is to trace the authenticity of the only two remaining books thought to possibly be copies, held in private book collections in France and Portugal. Well worth watching

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.

Never seen it and today was the day to finally watch this whodunit flick. Some say it's a gothic horror but for me it doesn't come close to a horror.

But it wasn't that bad at all. Even clocking in over 2 hours it never had a dull or boring moment. If you are into a good thriller then you are at the correct place with this flick. Okay it' do has some supernatural elements but even that won't bother you as watching this.

Pure entertaining, a good Roman Polanski flick.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5.

Congratulations and thanks to Polanski & Co. for making a truly enjoyable film.(and that's something considering the kind of drivel that is available for our entertainment these days!) For those who keep moaning about being left-out of the ending or the meaning of the film-stick to your Disney's Classics or else grow up, read more books and be more imaginative! These people probably need a on-line walkthrough to go to their own toilet and cant appreciate a little mystery or enigma! Let's face it-the world's a mysterious place and you cant expect neat and convenient signposts! The film as I understood it: Unknown ages ago Satan had given mankind a "manual" describing how to acquire godly powers, in the form of "Delomelanicon", a legendary scroll written by no other than "Louis Cyphre" himself! A Venetian demonologist, Aristide Torchia, acquired a copy of this work and adapted its text and engravings to a book he called "The nine gates to the kingdom of shadows". Torchia deliberately hid the true knowledge of the "Delomelanicon" in three variations of his book-a measure to weed out the lamebrains who read the book "just for a Sunday evening". Only three copies survived his torture and eventual burning at a stake.It is of these volumes that Balkan speaks of in the film. Corso is a cynic and only realize the true significance of the "Nine gates" as he research for Balkan's assignment. In the end it becomes an obsession for him, too. As for the ending ... seeing the last engraving Corso finally realises the true meaning of his quest and he is magically transported to the Devil's castle for an audience with Satan himself. From the choice of actors and the musical score to the locations, the use of SFX, visual metaphors ... "The ninth gate" excels. Polanski's vision is unique, to put it mildly, and the acting by Depp,Lagella and Jafford adds realism to the the quirky characters. Films of such delectable european flavour are indeed rare in these days of uninspired, talentless films. Please dont give us a sequel("Return to the ninth gate", "The ninth gate-part 2") ! For those who found the film to be "heavy" - give up on the original story "The Club Dumas" by Arturo Peres-Reverte ... you will be confused some more. As for the rest, please find a copy and enjoy since it is much more detailed than the story and have those cool engravings!!!!