The Ninth Gate | | Cast : | Johnny Depp, Frank Langella | | Director : | Roman Polanski | | Studio : | Artisan Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | March 10, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | August 20, 2002 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 11, 2005 | | Summary | Watch it again! | Content
 | Wow. What a ride. The ending will only be disappointing to you if you don't pay close enough attention. It was a brilliant chiller of an ending. All the signs are there, although individually quite subtle. I almost missed it. Watch the movie again and look at the engraved plates with an open mind, every time they show them!
This film left me with tons of food for thought, and oh yes, it's beautiful eye candy. Gorgeous actors, luxurious sets, and if antique books turn you on... oh, baby. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 29, 2005 | | Summary | Starts out good slowly beings to slide downhill | Content
| Let me first start off by saying that this movie was a complete disappointment. I had seen about the first 35-45-mins or so a loong time ago and I loved what I saw. It was a little creepy, theyre was a mystery, rare books that contained a puzzle... my cup of tea. Well yesterday I finally saw the WHOLE movie. Again, the first part of the movie is intreaguing, creepy, and all that. But then I dont know, the movie begins to become way to predictable and you have most things figured out before Johnny Depp does. I had the whole main plot figured out and it was only the middle of the movie. Still, I expected for something more to happen since the movie started out so good... sadly nothing does and then when the ending finally comes, it is EXTREAMLY anti-climactic. Now I wasnt expecting a big special effect extravaganza or anything but at least some information or something. THe movie just ends. You can kind of guess what happens next but there are still MANY unanswered questions and no amount of information that the audiance is waiting for. It just stops.
It could have been a much better movie. It started out well... slides and then just drops off the edge of a cliff. I love mysteries, I love puzzles, detectives, books that have a history... this movie had alot of the right elements but ultimatly does not deliver. Oh well. Maybe the book is better. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 29, 2005 | | Summary | Old fashioned horror at its best | Content
| The first time I watched this movie, I was literally spellbound, unable to so much as glance away from the screen for a moment. The slow and insidious suggestion of evil that increases progressively throughout the film is much more terrifying than any gory modern horror fest or slasher flick could be.
Shot in the style of the best Hitchcocks and reminiscent of Rosemary's Baby, this is one movie I don't suggest watching all alone late at night. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 28, 2005 | | Summary | Mediocre melodrama with only Depp for spice | Content
| The ninth gate could have been a classic thriller, if only it didn't give us cause to laugh hysterically through the whole thing.
First of all the acting. To call that acting is to say that Roman Polanski can actually make a good film. Its not possible, frankly, the acting was horrendious. Its been said that you cannot have a terrible Johnny Depp flick, and I whole-heartedly agree. But you can have a very meodiocre one. Even Johnny Depp seemed lost with his lines, as all the actors fumbled through the story, trying desperatly to fulfill their characters actions, and failing dreadful.
And don't get me started on the ending. There's nothing too it, we know that Johnny has found the ninth gate, but whats behind it? Where does it go? Only he knows because all the audience is allowed to see is light shining from the doorway, and his figure heading into it. Also, we gather that his guardien angel could or could not be lucifer incarnate. Even the pictures from The book of nine gates isn't very clear on this.
Scenes that could have been scary become rather mundane as the film wears on, and actions seem ludacris as women fly, and men punch each other out without seeming to hit each other. Good for movies from the fifty's, but something from nowaday just doesn't cut it.
Johnny Depp is interesting to watch however, as the suave indifferent Indiana-Jones type, who is not only sexy but scholery to boot. His complete indifference to what goes on is what makes him unique for everyone else seems to full of melodrama to be of any real help to the script. Such as the Madam Telfar (Lena Olin) who seems to whole-heartedly delight in scratching and clawing every available guy that comes around. Enough was enough when she tried it on Johnny after sleeping with the guy. But second helpings get old.
On the whole I thought this could have made a decent thriller, but fell short, however it is good as a rather light-hearted romp of (evil?) proportions. Just don't get your expectations too high. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 07, 2005 | | Summary | Watch it more than once | Content
| It was a very enjoyable underrated movie, but the ending left me confused and without a sense of closure, a 'huh-what?' feeling? So she was the devil? A demon? Why'd she choose him?
An interesting feature to the DVD was being able to watch the picture with no dialogue, accompanied only by the intermittent score. Roman Polanski's commentary was also interesting.
A second viewing offered up details that I missed before like the picture on Balkan's vault mirorring the postcard to the Baroness and yes, the girl really did 'fly' down the stone stairway and from the second story.
Watch the scene with the 'twin' booksellers in Spain. Roman Polanski explains how the scene was done with one actor playing both parts. Watch it again, noticing the cigarette smoke never drifts to the right side of the screen where the second 'brother' stands. A nice touch is where he waves away non-existent 'smoke'.
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