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Overall Rating : 5.5/10
Directed By : Roman Polansky
Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Frank Langella (Brainscan)
Lena Olin (Queen Of The Damned)
James Russo (Donnie Brasco)
Supplied By : Lionsgate Films
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : May. 31, 2007
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| PLOT Dean Corso, an unscrupulous rare-book dealer who is hired to locate the last remaining copies of a demonic manuscript with the power to summon the Devil- Corso must overcome both physical and supernatural obstacles as he finds himself embroiled in a deadly conspiracy and, ultimately, a confrontation with the devil incarnate. |
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| THE REVIEW In Director Roman Polanski's THE NINTH GATE, Dean Corso is a rare book dealer and enthusiast. Corso is considered an expert in the collecting world, but what he really only cares about is a profit, even if it means scamming over a client then so be it. Dean has many prestigious clients, but none are likely more prestigious than Boris Balkan. Balkan is a renowned book collector in the eyes of his peers possessing only literature written about the Devil. No matter how big his extensive collection of books may be, Balkan sees his collection to be incomplete, as it is missing the work that he calls a masterpiece - a book by the name of "The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows". Balkan already has in his possession, a copy of the book but explains that it is one of three copies, and that the other two copies reside in France and Portugal. He hires the book dealer to then go there and retrieve the said books in order to authenticate his copy. Corso locates the books eventually, but finds that each book has striking variations between each of them he also finds that the book owners are none too willing to relinquish the books to him. But getting the other two remaining books wouldn't be Corso's only problem as everywhere he would carry Balkan's copy, all sorts of trouble would follow such as many incidents resulting in his near death. As all of the book owners and all whom come in contact with one of the books, Corso sees it as more than just a mere coincidence, someone else is after all three books as well. This is actually the very first film I have ever seen by somewhat renown Director Roman Polanski, whom is probably more famous for his life away from the camera than behind it. I am mostly aware of Polanski due to the fact that he was married and with child with Sharon Tate at the time of her death at the hands of the Manson family. There is also the fact that he is still facing charges here in the states for statutory rape and hasn't returned stateside since 1979. But enough of that let's get to the matter at hand and that is his film, THE NINTH GATE, starring a then, "pre-Pirate" Johnny Depp. Shot entirely in Europe, THE NINTH GATE could hardly only be justified as being one type of film. Honestly, having never seen this before I did expect a melodramatic religious shocker, but truly I got more than that. What I found in THE NINTH GATE was a rather nice blend of mystery, suspense and even a little bit of a Slasher film presence. The film is paced rather fluidly moving from one scene to another without veering off into the wrong direction, I was quite surprised that I was as interested as I was in this film. The plot leaves no room for predictability as we follow Corso on his spiritualistic journey it filled with suspense and even a little dry humor, there are enough twists and turns introduced leaving the audience not knowing what would come next. Near the film's end however the solidly moving pace begins to lose steam a bit as it becomes a bit confusing but only briefly, just enough to remind us that no film is perfect. Also some of the film's elements may leave one scratching hid or her her head(I know I am). Throughout the film Dean Corso is followed by a mysterious young woman with beautiful green eyes, she would show up wherever he went, know his every move, but just who was she exactly. It is never fully explained as to what her identity, some say she is a gatekeeper of Hell and that the world in which Corso lives(the one we see all through the film) actually is Hell and at the end he is released. Whatever the case, I never got that impression, I just know that THE NINTH GATE is a fairly well told story that was an entertaining watch, and was not the overbearing religious film I expected. This DVD edition is nothing more than a repackaged version of the older release of the film. Nothing is different between the too, even the special features are the same.... all you get is a shiny new gold O-Ring box, Sure it's not worth double-dipping if you own the previous version but it is priced at the reasonable price of $9.99 if you must. |
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| GORE
METER 1/10 No real gore to speak of, a few hangings, a strangulation, and bodies lit on fire is all. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 4.5/10 At times the score is up beat, and then later suspenseful, I thought the score was balanced well for the different scenes they accompanied. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Before seeing THE NINTH GATE, to be honest, I did not think I would like it. I am not a fan of most films dealing with matters of a religious nature, however there are a few, such as THE EXORCIST and even THE MANITOU if that counts. I actually did like THE NINTH GATE after all, it had a rather interesting story that had endless possibilities and also a great performance by Depp. THE NINTH GATE probably won't be a film that would warrant multiple views, but it is at least worth checking out once. |
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