The Ninth Gate (1999)

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Arturo Pérez-Reverte (novel)
John Brownjohn (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 March 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Every book has a life of its own...

Plot:

A rare book dealer, while seeking out the last two copies of a demon text, gets drawn into a conspiracy with supernatural overtones.

Plot Keywords:

Book | Rare Book | Supernatural | Occult | Satan

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Johnny Depp	...	Dean Corso
Frank Langella	...	Boris Balkan
Lena Olin	...	Liana Telfer
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	The Girl
Barbara Jefford	...	Baroness Kessler
Jack Taylor	...	Victor Fargas
José López Rodero	...	Pablo & Pedro Ceniza / 1st & 2nd Workmen (as Jose Lopez Rodero)
Tony Amoni	...	Liana's Bodyguard
James Russo	...	Bernie
Willy Holt	...	Andrew Telfer
Allen Garfield	...	Witkin
Jacques Dacqmine	...	Old Man
Joe Sheridan	...	Old Man's Son
Rebecca Pauly	...	Daughter-In-Law
Catherine Benguigui	...	Concierge

Also Known As:

La neuvième porte (France)
La novena puerta (Spain)
Die neun Pforten (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Девятые врата (Russia) [ru]
9. kapi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
A Nona Porta (Portugal) [pt]
A kilencedik kapu (Hungary) [hu]
Den niende porten (Norway) [no]
Deveta vrata (Croatia) [hr]
Dziewiate wrota (Poland) [pl]
I enati pyli (Greece) [el]
La última puerta (Argentina) [es]
La neuvième porte (Canada: French title) [fr]
La nona porta (Italy) [it]
Nionde porten (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
O Último Portal (Brazil) [pt]
The Ninth Gate (Denmark) [da]
Yhdeksäs portti (Finland) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

Spain | France | USA

Language:

English | French | Latin | Portuguese | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KT | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Challet Biester, Rampa da Pena, Sintra, Lisbon, Portugal

Company:

Artisan Entertainment

Trivia:

The two booksellers Corso encounters in Toledo are actually the same actor, José López Rodero. Writer/director/producer Roman Polanski used a motion capture rig to use the same actor twice. The same man appears again later, playing two workmen cleaning out the bookstore. Rodero was an assistant director and production manager, not a professional actor. He was hesitant to accept these multiple parts.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Corso goes to the New York City Library for research, he pulls a copy of Books in Print from the shelf. All major libraries have used CDs of this reference guide for years. Also, he finds an illustration from the book he is researching. Books in Print never printed an illustration.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dean Corso: It's an impressive collection. You have some very rare editions here. Are you sure you want to sell them all?
Old Man's Son: They're of no use to father. Not anymore. Not since he's been this way. His library was his whole world. Now it's just a feeble memory.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Masters of Horror: John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns (#1.8)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Sete saias

See this one more than once

I just got finished reading some of the other threads that discuss this movie. They ranged from the angst ridden youth spouting off about how there was no action, to those who truly loved this movie. I know that this movie is practically 5 years old, but this is one of my favorite movies of all time. I am an avid horror fan. I love everything from slasher movies to the silent films from the 1920's. I admit, when I saw this movie in the theater, I was very disappointed. I think I was expecting some whiz-bang battle with the devil at the end, and for those of you who've seen this flick you know that this is not how it ends. Now, almost 5 years later, I own and watch this film very frequently. Now that I have seen this movie numerous times, I can appreciate the creepy atmosphere and the deep storyline. I have even said to myself "How could they have ended this movie differently in a way that I would be completely satisfied (other than the way they did)?" I couldn't answer that question. For those who have only seen this once, take the time to watch it again with different expectations. I know that there are some who will never like this movie, To each his/her own, but I am very glad that I took the time to see this one again because as it stands now, it will have a locked spot in my top 10.