The Ninth Gate

re-acquire her book. Meanwhile, Corsos business partner, Bernie, with whom Corso had hidden the book, is
murdered; his corpse is posed in imitation of an engraving in The Nine Gates.
Corso travels to Toledo, Spain, where the Ceniza brothers, book restorers, show him that three of the books engravings are signed LCF, which Corso understands to
mean that Lucifer himself designed and cut them. Corso
goes by train to Sintra, Portugal, to compare Victor Fargas copy of The Nine Gates to Balkans. To his surprise,
Corso discovers that the signature LCF is found in three
dierent engravings in the Fargas copy, which vary in detail from their counterparts in the Balkan copy. The next
morning a mysterious young woman (aka., the Girl) who
appears to have been shadowing Corso since Balkan hired
him, awakens Corso and leads him to Fargas house where
he nds the old man murdered and the engravings ripped
out of his copy of The Nine Gates.

Balkan shows his 17th-century copy of The Nine Gates to Corso.

The Ninth Gate is a 1999 French-Spanish-American

thriller lm directed, produced, and co-written by Roman
Polanski. The lm is loosely based upon Arturo PrezReverte's 1993 novel The Club Dumas. The plot involves
the search for a rare, ancient book that purportedly contains the secret to magically summoning the Devil. The
premiere showing was at San Sebastin, Spain, on 25 August 1999, a month before the 47th San Sebastian International Film Festival. It failed critically and commercially in North America; reviewers claimed it was a lesser
eort than Rosemarys Baby (1968), Polanskis most well
known supernatural lm. Nonetheless, The Ninth Gate
earned a worldwide gross of $58.4 million against a $38
million budget.

In Paris, Corso visits the Baroness Kessler, the owner of

the third copy of the book. The Baroness initially refuses
any contact with Corso once she realizes who his employer is, but Corso returns and intrigues Kessler with evidence that the engravings dier among the three copies.
Gaining access to Kesslers copy, he nds the LCF on
three dierent engravings, which are also slightly dierent from their counterparts in the two other copies. Later,
Kessler is killed, and the Girl rescues Corso from Lianas
bodyguard. Corso believes that each copy of The Nine
Gates is genuine but that each contains deliberately falsied images, requiring possession of all three copies to
make sense of the ritual. Liana steals Balkans copy from
1 Plot
Corsos hotel room. He follows her to a mansion and witDean Corso is a New York City rare book dealer mo- nesses her using the book in a Satanist ceremony. Balkan
tivated solely by nancial gain. Wealthy book collector suddenly interrupts the ceremony, kills Liana, takes the
Boris Balkan has recently acquired a copy of The Nine engraving pages and his own intact copy, and then ees.
Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows by seventeenth-century Corso pursues Balkan to a remote castle, which was deauthor Aristide Torchia, one of only three copies known picted in one of the engravings, and in a postcard that
to exist. According to legend, the book is Torchias adap- Corso found in Kesslers copy, and nds Balkan prepartation of an older book written by the Devil himself and ing to open the Nine Gates. After a struggle, Balkan traps
purportedly contains the means to ritualistically summon Corso in a hole in the oor, immobilizing him and allowthe Devil and, through him, acquire invincibility and im- ing Balkan to perform his summoning ritual unmolested
mortality. Balkan believes two of the copies are forgeries. but with Corso as a 'witness. After arranging the enHe hires Corso to authenticate all three copies, and ac- gravings on an makeshift altar, in a mixed order, Balkan
quire the legitimate copy by any means necessary.
begins reciting a series of phrases related to each of the
Balkans copy of The Nine Gates had previously belonged nine engravings. The phrases refer, poetically, to certain
to bibliophile Andrew Telfer, who committed suicide characters actions throughout the lm which make up the
soon after selling the book to Balkan. Telfers widow summoning ritual. Balkan then douses the oor and himLiana wants the book back, as Telfer originally bought self with gasoline and sets it alight, believing himself to
the book for her. Liana seduces Corso, but she fails to be immune to the ames. Balkans invocation appears to
1

PRODUCTION

fail, and Balkan begins screaming in agony as his body of an original manuscript of a chapter of The Three Musburns. Corso frees himself and spares Balkan an agoniz- keteers and concentrated upon Dean Corsos pursuing the
ing death by shooting him. He then escapes the re.
authentic copy of The Nine Gates.[1]
Outside the building, the Girl appears to Corso and then
has sex with him by the light of the burning castle. She
tells him that Balkan failed because the ninth engraving
he had used, despite being signed LCF, was a forgery.
Corso, following her directions, returns to the Ceniza
brothers shop. Upon arriving, he nds the store gone and
the last piece of furniture being removed, from the top of
which falls the authentic ninth engraving with a very different image than the forgery. On it, there is a likeness of
the mystery girl. With the last engraving in hand, Corso
returns to the castle it depicts and, having apparently performed all the ritual requirements, crosses the threshold
of the Ninth Gate.

Cast
Johnny Depp as Dean Corso
Lena Olin as Liana Telfer
Frank Langella as Boris Balkan
Emmanuelle Seigner as The Girl
James Russo as Bernie Rothstein
Jack Taylor as Victor Fargas
Jos Lpez Rodero as Pablo & Pedro Ceniza/1st &
2nd Workmen
Allen Gareld as Witkin
Barbara Jeord as Baroness Frida Kessler
Willy Holt as Andrew Telfer
Tony Amoni as Lianas Bodyguard
Maria Ducceshi as The Secretary

Production

Polanski approached the subject skeptically, saying, I

don't believe in the occult. I don't believe. Period";[2]
yet he enjoyed the genre, There [are] a great number
of clichs of this type in The Ninth Gate, which I tried
to turn around a bit. You can make them appear serious
on the surface, but you cannot help but laugh at them.[2]
The appeal of the lm was that it featured a mystery in
which a book is the leading character and its engravings
are also essential clues.[3]
In reading El Club Dumas, Polanski pictured Johnny
Depp as Dean Corso, who joined the production as
early as 1997, when he met Polanski at the Cannes Film
Festival, while promoting The Brave, his directorial debut, then in festival competition.[4] Initially, he did not
think Depp right as Corso, because the character was
forty years old (Depp at the time was only 34). He considered an older actor, but Depp persisted; he wanted to
work with Roman Polanski.[5]
The lm press reported, around the time of the North
American release of The Ninth Gate, creative friction between Depp and Polanski. Depp said, Its the directors
job to push, to provoke things out of an actor.[5] Polanski said of Depp, He decided to play it rather at, which
wasn't how I envisioned it; and I didn't tell him it wasn't
how I saw it. Visually, in the neo-noir genre style, rarebook dealer Dean Corsos disheveled grooming derives
from Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler's quintessential literary private investigator.[2]
Polanski cast Frank Langella as Boris Balkan based upon
his performance as Clare Quilty in Lolita (1997), directed
by Adrian Lyne. Barbara Jeord was a last-minute replacement for the German actress originally cast as the
Baroness Frida Kessler, who fell sick with pneumonia,
and after a second actress proved unable to learn the
characters dialogue; with only days notice, Barbara Jefford learned her part, spoken with a German accent.[1]
Depp met his long-time partner Vanessa Paradis during
the shooting.

3.1 Filming locations

Roman Polanski read the screenplay by Enrique Urbizu, The Ninth Gate was lmed in France, Portugal, and Spain
an adaptation of the Spanish novel El Club Dumas (The in the summer of 1998. Selected prominent buildings in
Club Dumas, 1993), by Arturo Prez-Reverte. Impressed the lm are:
with the script, Polanski read the novel, liking it be Challet Biester, Rampa da Pena, Sintra, Lisbon,
cause he saw so many elements that seemed good for
Portugal (Mansion of Victor Fargas).
a movie. It was suspenseful, funny, and there were a
great number of secondary characters that are tremen Chteau de Ferrires, Seine-et-Marne, France
dously cinematic.[1] Prez-Revertes novel, El Club Du Chteau de Puivert, Aude, France
mas features intertwined plots, so Polanski wrote his own
adaptation with his usual partner, John Brownjohn (Tess,
Chteau des Cathares, Arige, France
Pirates and Bitter Moon). They deleted the novels literary references and a sub-plot about Corsos investigation
Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain [6]

5 Reception
5.1 Release
The premiere screening of The Ninth Gate was in San
Sebastin, Spain, on 25 August 1999; in North America, it appeared in 1,586 cinemas during the March 10th,
2000 weekend, earning a gross income of $6.6 million,
and $18.6 million in total. Worldwide, it earned $58.4
million against a $38 million production budget.[11]

5.2 Critical response

Chteau de Ferrires, Ferrires-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, France

The lm received mixed reviews. The Ninth Gate holds a

41% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and a metascore of 44 on
4 Soundtrack
Metacritic. Most movie reviewers said that the suspense
in The Ninth Gate was less than that of Rosemarys Baby
The main theme of The Ninth Gate is loosely based upon (1968), director Polanskis famous supernatural-themed
Havanaise, for violin and orchestra, by Camille Saint- lm. Roger Ebert said the ending was lackluster, while
Sans;[9] some of the score is a vocalise by Korean so- at the end, I didn't yearn for spectacular special eects, I
something aweprano Sumi Jo.[10] The record was released on November did wish for spectacular information
[12]
some,
not
just
a
fade-to-white.
In
his review for The
16, 1999 via Silva Screen label.
New York Times, Elvis Mitchell said the movie was about
as scary as a sock-puppet re-enactment of The Blair
1. Vocalise: Theme from the Ninth Gate 3:56
Witch Project, and not nearly as funny.[13] Entertainment
Weekly rated the lm D+", and Lisa Schwarzbaum said
2. Opening Titles 3:31
it had an aroma of middle-brow, art-house Euro-rot, a
whi of decay and hauteur in a lm not even a star as
3. Corso 3:24
foxed, and foxy, as Johnny Depp, himself, could save.[14]
In the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan said the lm
was too laid-back, and unconcerned about the pacing
4. Bernie is Dead 4:31
of its story to be satisfying, because a thriller thats
not high-powered, is an intriguing concept, in reality it
5. Liana 3:03
can hold our attention for only so long.[15] In the Village
Voice, J. Hoberman said the lm was barely releasable
6. Plane to Spain 4:48
hokum, stued with cheesy blah-blah.[16] European reviews were generally more attentive and praised the lms
7. The Motorbike 1:18
ne pace and irony.[17][18]
8. Missing Books - 4:41
9. Blood on His Face 1:13
10. Chateau Saint Martin 4:05
11. Lianas Death 2:38
12. Boo! / The Chase 4:29
13. Balkans Death 3:52

In Sight and Sound magazine, Phillip Strick said it was

not particularly liked at rst outing partly because
Johnny Depp, in fake grey temples, personies the odious Corso of the book a little too accurately the lm is
intricately well-made, deserves a second chance, despite
its disintegrations, and, in time, will undoubtedly acquire
its own coven of heretical fans.[19]
In Time magazine, Richard Corliss said that The Ninth
Gate was Polanskis most accessible eort since eeing
the U.S. soon after Chinatown".[20]

15. Corso and the Girl 3:20

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Graham said that

Depp is the best reason to see Polanskis satanic thriller
and Polanskis sly sense of lm-noir conventions pokes
fun at the genre, while, at the same time, honoring it.[21]

16. Vocalise: Theme from the Ninth Gate (Reprise)

3:56

On his website Groucho Reviews, web critic Peter

Canavese called the lm an insinuating trip into devilish
darkness and a sorely underrated occult mystery.[22]

14. The Ninth Gate 1:13

EXTERNAL LINKS

After the release of The Ninth Gate, Artisan sued Polan- [22] http://www.grouchoreviews.com/reviews/3537
ski for taking more than $1 million from the budget, refunds of Frances value-added tax that he did not give to [23] Shprintz, Janet (July 18, 2000). Artisan Sues Polanski,
Alleges He Took Money. Variety. Retrieved 2007-05the completion bond company guaranteeing Artisan En22.
tertainment a completed lm.[23]

References

[1] Hartl, John (March 5, 2000). "The Ninth Gate Marks Return for Polanski. Seattle Times.
[2] Howell, Peter (March 3, 2000). Polanskis Demons.
Toronto Star.
[3] Arnold, Gary (March 11, 2000). Polanskis Dark Side.
Washington Times.

7 External links
The Ninth Gate at the Internet Movie Database
The Ninth Gate at AllMovie
The Ninth Gate at Box Oce Mojo
The Ninth Gate at Rotten Tomatoes
The Ninth Gate at Metacritic

[4] Archerd, Army (February 10, 1998). Polanski opens

Gate". Variety.

Texts, engravings and formatting of the book at the

Wayback Machine (archived September 5, 2004)

[5] Schaefer, Stephen (March 10, 2000). The Devil and Roman Polanski. Boston Herald.

Satanic Verses article from American Cinematographer magazine

[6] www.imdb.com Filming locations for The Ninth Gate.

Retrieved 2013-01-18.
[7] Phares, Heather. The Ninth Gate at AllMusic
[8] Filmtracks review
[9] The Ninth Gate (1999) - Soundtracks. Retrieved May
2013.
[10] Phares, Heather. "The Ninth Gate". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
[11] "The Ninth Gate". Box Oce Mojo. May 18, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
[12] Ebert, Roger (March 10, 2000). "The Ninth Gate".
Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
[13] Mitchell, Elvis (March 10, 2000). O to Hell in a Handbasket, Trusty Book in Hand. The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
[14] Schwarzbaum, Lisa (March 17, 2000). "The Ninth Gate".
Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
[15] Turan, Kenneth (March 10, 2000). "The Ninth Gate". Los
Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
[16] Hoberman, J (March 14, 2000). Missions Impossible.
Village Voice. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
[17] cinema.de
[18] kino.de
[19] Strick, Philip (September 2000). "The Ninth Gate". Sight
and Sound. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
[20] Corliss, Richard (March 27, 2000). "The Ninth Gate".
Time. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
[21] Graham, Bob (March 10, 2000). Summoning Silliness.
San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-04-09.

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

The Ninth Gate Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20Ninth%20Gate?oldid=641152548 Contributors: SimonP, Gabbe, Tregoweth, Maximus Rex, Northgrove, Pigsonthewing, RedWolf, ZimZalaBim, Netizen, Xanzzibar, Falstaft, Jonabbey, Shane Lin, Geni,
LucasVB, Master Of Ninja, Crimmer, Xezbeth, Mwng, Bender235, CanisRufus, Laurascudder, Bobo192, Viriditas, Mrbicrevise, Ziggurat, Gambit32, V2Blast, Fortinbras, R Calvete, Svartalf, Mad Hatter, AN(Ger), Kusma, Versageek, Berserker79, Kbolino, RyanGerbil10,
Mhazard9, Dr Gangrene, Firsfron, Jackel, The Belgain, Scriberius, Philodox-ohki, Sjakkalle, Koavf, Jake Wartenberg, Commando303,
Bryan H Bell, FlaBot, Eldamorie, Lady Aleena, Tphinney, Str1977, Krun, Tlitic, JiVE, Gregorik, YurikBot, 999, Hede2000, Wiki alf,
Seegoon, Passive, Bobak, Zwobot, Nescio, Whobot, Entheta, Attilios, SmackBot, Aim Here, BiT, Finduilas 09, Amstar147, MalafayaBot,
Moshe Constantine Hassan Al-Silverburg, Neo139, MJBurrage, Amoammo, DMacks, Terrasidius, Will Beback, Spiritia, LUCPOL, Notmicro, Count Ringworm, Grandpafootsoldier, Kiwipat, Gonzograti, CmdrObot, Matthaeus123, Amalas, Musikxpert, Neelix, Cydebot,
J.D., Jainituos, Dsine, Otto4711, DavidRF, NorthernThunder, PKT, Thijs!bot, Davidf2, Octopod, Jimhoward72, MachoCarioca, Cesarm,
Zibitron, Andrzejbanas, Frog Splash, .anacondabot, Easchi, Charlyz, JamesBWatson, Tobogganoggin, Ali'i, Dvalerio, FMAFan1990,
A.J.Cliord, SCOCSOOCSOSC, Donmike10, Farhadz, Jade Andersen, VolkovBot, Tesscass, Starlight1, Bovineboy2008, TXiKiBoT,
Classic69, Shredder 187, Ninghui48, Silver40596, DruidODurham, Lamro, SISLEY, AlleborgoBot, Demoman87, Tomalak geretkal,
Mungo Kitsch, Flavius Belisarius, Viskonsas, Fred Birchmore, Sings-With-Spirits, Polbot, Xx.Simplicity, Weyd, Suputamadre, Jphession,
Martarius, Geosapiens, ArdClose, 100percentrecord, Mezigue, Dylan620, Mallfox68, Wordwright, Chaosdruid, Graham1973, CSOCSOCSO, Cdl obelix, SilvonenBot, Mr. IP, Kbdankbot, Addbot, Mortense, C6541, MysticMaze, Favonian, Aacugna, Tassedethe, DinoBot2,
Tide rolls, Lightbot, Tardis216, Luckas-bot, Ptbotgourou, J Milburn Bot, Jessi1989, AnomieBOT, Pellejuanner, ArthurBot, Egracia, LilHelpa, Xqbot, Millahnna, XZeroBot, Tiller54, Martin Gazdk, Borowskki, Asfarer, FrescoBot, Skyerise, Full-date unlinking bot, Praghmatic, SatansHelper666, Jaunda, Sandsower, AgentPiltdown, EmausBot, John of Reading, Dristin, Marek Koudelka, Jg2904, Vladwin,
ZroBot, Gilberto Train, H3llBot, SporkBot, SallyLooLee, AbsoluteGleek92, EdoBot, ClueBot NG, CactusBot, Diogenes2000, Widr,
St.HocusPocus, Strike Eagle, BG19bot, AlexLevyTwo, FollowGuard, Apmontgo, North911, Midwaysd, Kanghuitari, The Nuke, Bbsjp,
Matt 20123, Gothicdarkladyanime13, 5utfjyjuyfjyvy and Anonymous: 164

8.2

Images

File:Chteau_de_Ferrires_(Ferrires-en-Brie)_-_Arrire.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Ch%

C3%A2teau_de_Ferri%C3%A8res_%28Ferri%C3%A8res-en-Brie%29_-_Arri%C3%A8re.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors:
Own work Original artist: Thibault Taillandier
File:Ninth_gate_ver3.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/03/Ninth_gate_ver3.jpg License: ? Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Ninthgatepic.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e5/Ninthgatepic.jpg License: ? Contributors: ? Original artist:
?
File:Star_empty.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Star_empty.svg License: CC BY-SA 2.5 Contributors: Made with Inkscape from Stars615.svg <a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stars615.svg' class='image'><img
alt='Stars615.svg'
src='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Stars615.svg/96px-Stars615.svg.png'
width='96'
height='17'
srcset='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Stars615.svg/144px-Stars615.svg.png
1.5x,
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Stars615.svg/192px-Stars615.svg.png 2x' data-le-width='640' data-leheight='110' /></a>. Original artist: This vector image was created with Inkscape by Conti from the original images by RedHotHeat, and
then manually edited.
File:Star_full.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Star_full.svg License: Public domain Contributors:
Made with Inkscape from Image:Stars615.svg. Original artist: User:Conti from the original images by User:RedHotHeat

8.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0