An unscrupulous dealer of rare books finds himself at the heart of a string of paranormal events when he is hired to find the last two copies of a text capable of summoning the devil.An unscrupulous dealer of rare books finds himself at the heart of a string of paranormal events when he is hired to find the last two copies of a text capable of summoning the devil.An unscrupulous dealer of rare books finds himself at the heart of a string of paranormal events when he is hired to find the last two copies of a text capable of summoning the devil.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 5 nominations total
José López Rodero
- Pablo & Pedro Ceniza
- (as Jose Lopez Rodero)
- …
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Featured reviews
At last, something interesting ...
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!!!!
6.66 out of 10?
Right now, the average grade of this movie, here on IMDb is 6.6 A coincidence?
"Ninth Gate" is another, after cult classic 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968), example of critically acclaimed and controversial director's Roman Polanski... fascination with evil.
The story looks simple. A rare book dealer Dean Corso (Johny Depp) gets an assignment to compare - by first finding the missing ones - the three last copies of a medieval "Ninth Gate of the Kingdom of Shadows". Of course the hunt for the book, gets more and more complicated as strange things begin to happen and Corso gets himself involved in something beyond imagination...
"Ninth Gate" brings out of memory the "Devil's Advocate" with Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino but in many ways it's totally different. First - Roman Polanski proves he is such acclaimed director for a reason. In every scene, you feel his existence, you feel that almost every scene has its powerful significance. Part of that is great, cold and suspenseful Cinematography. Great Score by Wojciech Kilar adds to the climate of the movie.
Johny Depp is great as always, and in the seconds plan actors you won't find a bad one. The screenplay is witty, there is unexpected humour in a lot of situations which makes it an easy, fun watch until... the ending. The ending turns the movie into a dark thriller leaving lot of things open, unsaid. We can almost FEEL the evil, in the end.
7/10
"Ninth Gate" is another, after cult classic 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968), example of critically acclaimed and controversial director's Roman Polanski... fascination with evil.
The story looks simple. A rare book dealer Dean Corso (Johny Depp) gets an assignment to compare - by first finding the missing ones - the three last copies of a medieval "Ninth Gate of the Kingdom of Shadows". Of course the hunt for the book, gets more and more complicated as strange things begin to happen and Corso gets himself involved in something beyond imagination...
"Ninth Gate" brings out of memory the "Devil's Advocate" with Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino but in many ways it's totally different. First - Roman Polanski proves he is such acclaimed director for a reason. In every scene, you feel his existence, you feel that almost every scene has its powerful significance. Part of that is great, cold and suspenseful Cinematography. Great Score by Wojciech Kilar adds to the climate of the movie.
Johny Depp is great as always, and in the seconds plan actors you won't find a bad one. The screenplay is witty, there is unexpected humour in a lot of situations which makes it an easy, fun watch until... the ending. The ending turns the movie into a dark thriller leaving lot of things open, unsaid. We can almost FEEL the evil, in the end.
7/10
No rare books were harmed in the making of this film.
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.
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.
The only movie I've seen that makes books scary
Tall order to make books scary, but this baby does it! Also it has by FAAAARRRR the best and coolest 'meet the devil' scene EVER! And no it's not some pointy guy with horns saying hello. Watch the movie and you'll see... (damn I just got chills thinking about it). OK OK I'll let you in on a secret - devil lives in the burning fire of destruction and is embodied in your lover (ok still doesn't make sense till you see the movie).
Well Johnny Depp is a quite good actor I must say, and shooting this thingy all around Europe gives it a fresh 'travel channel' vibe while you go about chasing down demon relics and whatnot - even makes me long for a stay in some of those funky little hotels! :) I must visit! Maybe I shal meet El Diablo...
This is a very VERY elegant horror movie. NO bloody gutsy to speak of - but lots of good plot things happening and just all around very 'cool'.
Well Johnny Depp is a quite good actor I must say, and shooting this thingy all around Europe gives it a fresh 'travel channel' vibe while you go about chasing down demon relics and whatnot - even makes me long for a stay in some of those funky little hotels! :) I must visit! Maybe I shal meet El Diablo...
This is a very VERY elegant horror movie. NO bloody gutsy to speak of - but lots of good plot things happening and just all around very 'cool'.
Brilliant, just brilliant
I watched this brilliant movie two nights ago, and desperately want to see it again as soon as possible. I cannot for the life of me understand why so many people don't like this movie - personally, I'd have to say it's one of the best movies I've seen.
I wouldn't want to go too much in detail about it, suffice it to say I think it's good there are still movies made where use of one's brain is actually required when watching it, and everything is not over-explained. And finally, I'm astonished to see that so many didn't understand who Seigner's character actually was. To me, it was clear as day, _especially_ after seeing that last engraving. And I normally am not a very observant person;-)
Final words: Brilliant movie. Just brilliant.
I wouldn't want to go too much in detail about it, suffice it to say I think it's good there are still movies made where use of one's brain is actually required when watching it, and everything is not over-explained. And finally, I'm astonished to see that so many didn't understand who Seigner's character actually was. To me, it was clear as day, _especially_ after seeing that last engraving. And I normally am not a very observant person;-)
Final words: Brilliant movie. Just brilliant.
Did you know
- TriviaAll of the engravings appearing in "The Nine Gates" were commissioned for the novel (and not the movie) by author Arturo Pérez-Reverte himself. The only exception is the one showing the woman riding a dragon, which was altered to make her face similar to the The Girl and the burning castle to match the location used.
- GoofsReal collectors and dealers wouldn't handle books worth $1,000,000 without gloves, and they surely wouldn't smoke or drink wine directly over them. Also, a book that old (not to mention the XVIII century Don Quixote volumes he takes at the beginning) would not resist the way Corso keeps chucking it in his bag or the fact everybody seems to be handling around. Furthermore, no dealer in his right mind would try to photocopy a four centuries old book by placing it in a commercial machine face down and pressing it as depicted in the movie: such actions would inflict severe damage to the printing and binding, drastically affecting its worth. Regardless those characters who see the book as a tool rather than a priceless collectible, Corso and the brothers Ceniza are experts in the matter, and would never treat such rare and priceless books that way.
- Quotes
Boris Balkan: There's nothing more reliable than a man whose loyalty can be bought for hard cash.
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits are displayed as if they were hidden in a bookshelf, deeper and deeper into the nine gates of the title.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- La última puerta
- Filming locations
- Challet Biester, Rampa da Pena, Sintra, Lisbon, Portugal(Victor Fargas' house)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $38,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $18,661,336
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,622,518
- Mar 12, 2000
- Gross worldwide
- $58,401,898
- Runtime
- 2h 13m(133 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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