Ninth Gate

Theatrical Release Date: 2000 03 10 (USA)

UPC: 012236104353

Studio: Lionsgate

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Not For Children, Sexual Situations]

Summary: An authority on rare books is drawn into a confrontation with the forces of darkness in this thriller directed by Roman Polanski. Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) is a rare book broker who makes his living tracking down valuable items for rich bibliophiles. Corso is hired by Boris Balkan (Frank Langella), a millionaire New Yorker with a vast collection of occult literature and a keen interest in "The Nine Gates to the Kingdom of Shadows." Legend has it that the book was co-written by Satan in the 17th century, and only three copies are known to exist; the owner of one recently sold the book to Balkan a few days before killing himself. Balkan wants Corso to find the other two copies (one owned by a Mr. Fargas in Portugal and the other by a French collector named Kessler) and examine them to determine if they are forgeries. Corso is told to be thorough and spare no expense. He begins by visiting Liana Telfer (Lena Olin), the widow of the man who once owned Balkan's copy of the book, who has an unusually strong desire to get the book back, and confers with his friend Bernie (James Russo), who soon turns up dead, in a manner much like an illustration from the book. Corso learns that the book contains clues to a puzzle that will allow people to call up the devil, and certain people will stop at nothing to find the missing parts of the formula. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Thriller

Features: Commentary with director Roman Polanski
Featurette
Storyboard selections
Gallery of satanic drawings
Original theatrical trailers

Ninth Gate

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 08/11/2009

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DHMA null

Runtime: 93 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Karl Williams

Returning to the horror genre that spawned his great artistic triumph Rosemary's Baby (1968), writer/producer/director Roman Polanski provides great visual flourish but little depth to the standard "Satan among us" plot line of this occult thriller based on the novel El Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Actor Johnny Depp convincingly portrays a greedy rare-book dealer and the director ably captures the film's eclectic European settings; however, The Ninth Gate fails to deliver much in the way of genuine chills, relying instead on atmosphere and implied violence to convey the sense of menace that his script doesn't deliver. The turn of the millennium inspired Hollywood financiers to produce several horror films that shared similar themes -- among them End of Days (1999), Stigmata (1999), and Lost Souls (2000) -- but the anticipated doomsday fever of the public did not materialize; neither these films nor The Ninth Gate sparked much fire at the box office. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Cast and Crew: John Brownjohn  Screenwriter 
Wojciech Kilar  Composer (Music Score) 
Roman Polanski  Director 
Roman Polanski  Producer 
Roman Polanski  Screenwriter 
Wolfgang Glattes  Executive Producer 
Michel Cheyko  Executive Producer 
Enrique Urbizu  Screenwriter 
Johnny Depp  Actor 
Frank Langella  Actor 
Lena Olin  Actor 
Emmanuelle Seigner  Actor 
Barbara Jefford  Actor 
Jack Taylor  Actor 
Tony Amoni  Actor 
James Russo  Actor 
Jose Lopez  Actor 
Willy Holt  Actor 

Country: France,Spain,USA