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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL 60.33)
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  Subtitles
    English - Hearing Impaired
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Audio commentary - Roman Polanski
  • Cast/crew biographies
  • Featurette
  • Isolated music score
  • Production notes
  • Photo gallery
  • Animated menus
  • Booklet
  • Filmographies

The Ninth Gate

Artisan/Universal . R4 . COLOR . 128 mins . MA15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Despite his earlier success and acclaim for films like Rosemary’s Baby, Fearless Vampire Killers and Chinatown - and a more recent commercial hit with Frantic - Roman Polanski has never been a particular favourite with the wider public, and his films routinely polarise the critics, many of whom insist that the man has not done anything worthwhile in the past two decades. But Polanski, whose turbulent history has a tendency to colour peoples’ opinions of him, is a unique and innovative craftsman, and those who click with his particular brand of moviemaking look forward to his increasingly rare forays into cinema with keen anticipation.

The Ninth Gate, based on the little-known novel El Club Dumas by Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte, goes for an unconventional approach to what could otherwise have been yet another Satan-is-imminent story destined to sit quietly alongside the apocalyptic collection of demonic thrillers and dramas of the past few years. But Pérez-Reverte’s book is more concerned with mystery and puzzles than it is with the ritual and violence of Satanism, and Polanski heavily emphasises this by creating a dark, almost disconcerting mood that’s a combination of film noir homage and visual poetry. Indeed, the visuals are so striking during much of this movie that they speak louder than the characters in terms of telling this slowly unfolding story.

And that story is deceptively straightforward. Dean Corso (Depp) is a cynical but successful dealer in rare books, a man who’s respected by many but is still perfectly happy to rip a client off if that means financial reward for himself. He’s the perfect choice for rich collector Boris Balkan (Langella), who has just purchased one of the three known copies in existence of an ancient satanic text called The Nine Gates Of The Kingdom Of Shadows. He asks Corso to track down the other two copies to verify whether or not they are authentic, handing him a large cheque and pointing out, almost as an aside, that the assignment may involve some illegalities. As he goes about tracking down the volumes in places like Portugal and France, though, Corso realises that there’s more going on than meets the eye, and as he begins to unravel the intrigue that’s being played out around him, it becomes clear that someone has a very, very sinister agenda that is placing Corso in extreme danger.

To give away any more of the plot would be unfair - part of this film’s appeal is in the fact that the viewer makes the same journey as Corso, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together - but rest assured that while there are indeed plot twists aplenty here, they’re handled very differently from your average American mystery-thriller. Polanski wants to create atmosphere and let the narrative take care of itself, and it’s that as well as the film’s very European style that distinguishes The Ninth Gate from its recent company in the genre. Right from the opening credits - unconventional and quite literally in-your-face - there’s a strong sense of unreality oozing from the screen, and this tone is maintained throughout. Like he did in Bitter Moon - another film either loathed or loved by those who saw it - Polanski also incorporates humour regularly, taking what seems to be great pleasure in changing the tone of the movie from one minute to the next simply by having a character do something unexpected and decidedly eccentric. A lot of the humour here is very subtle, and, like it was in Bitter Moon, seems to have been missed by many critics that saw this one at the time of its cinema release.

Johnny Depp is predictably excellent as Corso; he’s spent much of his career carving out a solid reputation as a leading man in unconventional (and often unflattering) roles, and here he is perfectly convincing as Corso. The supporting cast all seem to be having a great time with their parts, particularly Frank Langella as Balkan and Polanski’s wife Emmanuelle Seigner (also seen in Bitter Moon and Frantic) as the mysterious Girl that keeps crossing Corso’s path.

The Ninth Gate is not, it must be said, for all tastes, and those expecting satanic violence and histrionics would be advised to look elsewhere. But if Polanski’s brand of filmmaking clicks with you (and if you saw Bitter Moon and “got” it, you’ll be right at home here) then The Ninth Gate will effortlessly draw you in to it’s strange, menacing and quirkily evil world.

  Video
Contract

Stunningly photographed with anamorphic lenses (in Technovision, Euro-cinema fans!) by Darius Khondji (who lensed visual feasts like City Of Lost Children, Stealing Beauty, Se7en and even Alien Resurrection), The Ninth Gate is a film that has to be seen in its full 2.35:1 aspect ratio for the cinematography and Dean Tavoularis’s lush production design to be properly appreciated. Such marvellous cinematography deserves a superlative transfer on DVD - and this one very nearly is, marred only by one serious flaw. The image on screen is beautifully colour-balanced (many scenes are deliberately shot with low colour saturation but with the main object of attention standing out in warm red tones, for example - a familiar tactic in Polanski movies) and Khondji uses the wide frame to great effect, with digital effects often subtly enhancing the imagery without ever being distracting or obnoxious.

Some care has obviously been taken to ensure that this movie looks right on video, so it’s massively disappointing to discover that there’s a large amount of aliasing and moire patterning throughout the length of the film, but especially during the first hour. Any shot that features any kind of combination of fine detail and sharp diagonal lines is a candidate for these artefacts, and while they’re not so omnipresent as to be totally distracting, they’re an unwelcome intrusion in what would otherwise have been a very fine transfer. What looks like the use of subtle digital edge enhancement certainly wouldn’t have helped in this department.

If you can live with the aliasing problems, though, the bulk of this transfer is fine, and the print used is almost spotlessly clean and free of scratches, marks and other distractions.

  Audio
Contract

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track provided for The Ninth Gate doesn’t quite live up to the spectacular surround thrill policy of many American movies, but it does a perfectly capable job for a film such as this, where the dialogue is the all-important element. Mastered at a slightly higher level than usual, the track features clear, sharp dialogue that’s been very well recorded (and well matched, EQ-wise, between location sound and ADR’d speech) and mixed as the prominent feature of the soundtrack.

Behind this is another truly magnificent orchestral score from Wojciech Kilar, a veteran of some 50 years who mostly works on European films, and who is best known to most people as the composer of the striking score for Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Kilar’s music goes a long way towards creating and enhancing the mood of The Ninth Gate, and while it is mixed relatively quietly during the movie itself, fans of this composer’s work are in for a treat - see the Extra Features list below!

  Extras
Contract

A good collection of extra features make the DVD version of The Ninth Gate excellent value, and while not everything here is worthwhile, a couple of things are essential.

Audio Commentary: Yes, Roman Polanski himself doing an audio commentary, something that will greatly please fans of the man and his work. And what a commentary it is! Polanski starts off almost nervously, pointing out that he does not usually go back and watch his films again after he has completed them; later in the commentary he explains that this is because he tends to second-guess himself and starts wishing he’d done things differently. He soon settles in and relaxes, and wastes not a second in offering interesting information about his movie and the various challenges that arose while shooting it. He talks enthusiastically and unpretentiously, even stopping to note, at the 58 minute mark, just how long his film actually is. He then lights a cigar and jumps straight back into things. By the end credits he’s espousing the goodness of the DVD format and hoping that he hasn’t been too boring. Fear not, Mr Polanski, you give excellent commentary.

Isolated Music Score: Wojciech Kilar’s marvellously dark score, freed from the dialogue and effects and sounding magnificent, if mastered a bit too quietly for our liking. One of those rare occasions where having a music-only track is more than just a curiosity - this is terrific music to put on in the background, and though there are frequent long silent passages on this track, it’s great to be able to hear the musical craftsmanship that’s going on here properly. The soprano soloist used in this score, by the way, is Sumi Jo, a remarkable singer who is very highly regarded in the classical music world. This audio track is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, matching the format in which it was recorded.

Trailer: Artisan’s US trailer for the film, which makes The Ninth Gate out to be a fast-paced thriller when it is, in fact, not. Such are the vagaries of advertising a European film in America, we guess. Fairly short, this is presented full-frame and gives a good indication of how claustrophobic this film would look on VHS. Be warned that this trailer contains serious plot spoilers.

Featurette: With emphasis on the “ette”. This is the shortest “featurette” we’ve seen so far on a DVD - with a run time of a mere two minutes! Needless to say there’s not a lot of useful information here, and it’s done in the usual EPK media-promo style of these shorter offerings. Presented full-frame with partially letterboxed film excerpts, this also gives away major plot spoilers.

Cast & Crew: 15 lengthy biographies and filmographies for the key cast and crew. A very welcome addition to a film such as this (where many of the cast and crew will be unfamiliar to viewers), it’s how a bio section on a DVD should be done. All companies should do this on their DVDs - and the material is usually already there for them to use, too, in the media kits sent to reviewers.

Production Notes: Ten pages of blurb about the making of the film, probably lifted from the media kit. Nothing astonishing, but good for a browse after you’ve seen the movie; Polanski is much more informative during his commentary than these notes could ever hope to be.

Gallery Of Satanic Drawings: All of the illustrations from The Nine Gates Of The Kingdom Of Shadows that are used in the movie so that you can play spot-the-difference, presented at a fairly decent size. A really nice addition, though do not look at these before viewing the film lest you discover too much.

Animated Menus: The main menu is extensively animated with audio (and annoyingly, the first time you see it you cannot skip the lengthy full-motion video that precedes it) as is the scene selection menu and the transitions between menus. Very nicely done, and very much in keeping with the mood of the film.

  Overall  
Contract

While certainly not for everyone - and definitely not for those cynical about Polanski’s work - The Ninth Gate is a stylish, visually rich film that is refreshingly non-Hollywood in mood and tone, and that’s a lot less po-faced than many would suspect. Quirky to the last frame and full of memorable scenes and dialogue, it’s sure to please anyone who’s been looking for something different. Universal’s DVD offers a great set of extra features, but is marred slightly by the aliasing problems during the movie itself. Still, it’s unlikely we’ll see another version of this on DVD any time soon, and The Ninth Gate is simply too enjoyable a film to pass up on that basis alone.


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      And I quote...
    "...if Polanski’s brand of filmmaking clicks with you... The Ninth Gate will effortlessly draw you in to its strange, menacing and quirkily evil world."
    - Anthony Horan
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Rom:
          Pioneer 103(s)
    • MPEG Card:
          RealMagic Hollywood Plus
    • TV:
          Panasonic - The One
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-AV1020
    • Speakers:
          Klipsch Tangent 500
    • Surrounds:
          Jamo
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          Monster s-video
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