Rating: 
Summary: I'm glad Polanski is back!
Review: The most original movie I've seen in a few years. I love the subtlety that Polanski uses. Far superior to Eyes Wide Shut and Stigmata. This is one of those films that you can watch over and over and catch something new each time you rewatch it.This one will stay with you after you watch it for a few days. As others have said, beautiful cinematography. Great characters. Great settings and mood. Just enough quirkyness, but not too much. Like a journey through a darker looking glass.
Rating: 
Summary: This gateway to hell is ultimately disappointing.
Review: There seems to be an over-abundance of movies that start out good and end up disappointing at the finale. This technique of labeling movies has become mainstream nowadays, as is with films like "The Astronaut's Wife" and "Hackers." Roman Polanski's latest thriller, "The Ninth Gate," is a prime example of this, and despite a talented cast and gorgeous settings, it takes too long to deliver a less-than-satisfying ending that leaves viewers with more questions than answers. This is a shame, however, because up until the end, the plot builds up an intense amount of suspense that ultimately fizzles out. The movie opens with a man by the name of Andrew Telfer killing himself in his rather elaborate library of antique texts, and a single book is missing from the shelves. Enter Boris Balkan (Frank Langella), who purchased the missing volume from Telfer and has hired Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) to compare it to others out there in order to be assured of its authenticity. Corso is told that the book is believed to be written by Satan himself, and that there are two copies in different places in Europe. Corso sets out to find them, first stopping by the Telfer estate to question Liana Telfer (Lena Olin) about the circumstances surrounding her husband's death. This leads to attempts by Telfer to retreive the book from Corso, and he flees with the book to Portugal, and then France, in search of the other two books. When he does get his hands on them, he learns that each one is different, but that they each hold a special part of the overall key to hell. Accompany to the plot the menacing Liana Telfer, who is constantly following him, and a mysterious woman who appears out of nowhere at random points to help out Corso. All of this makes for two hours of splendid visuals, and a sense that there is always something spooky going on, even when there should not be. Unlike "End of Days," this Satanic spoof does not rely on gore and blatant special effects to tell its story. Instead, it uses the viewer's uneasiness to make them feel right at home. However, some might suggest that the film is a bit too long to be enjoyable. I myself found it to be a bit tedious in certain places, but when you think you're about to drop off into a slumber, something will happen to keep you in the story once again. It is the ending, and what comes to pass to Corso because of his work, that will come as a shocking letdown. It will leave you with more questions than answers. Acting talent is terrific. Depp seems perfectly cast as the sleepy Dean Corso, always on his feet without a break. Frank Langella is a good Boris Balkan, the man who becomes so insatiably obsessed with Satanic ritual. Olin gives a good performance as Telfer, who keeps Corso on his feet while she attempts to recover the book. And the guardian "angel" is played with mystery and sinister integrity by Emmanuelle Seigner. Roman Polanski has done a fine job of bringing this very macabre picture of the doorway to hell to the screen, but trust me on this: you'll find yourself wanting to close it.
Rating:
Summary: Mysterious Delightful odyssey into evil
Review: The Ninth Gate is one of my favorite movies that came out this year for the following reasons. First of all, the cinematography of this film is absolutely brilliant and establishes a heavy dark mood throughout fitting for an investigation of this nature. The boundaries of reality seem sketchy and blurred. Secondly, I always love the acting of Johnny Depp, and cannot say enough great things about the mysterious woman who shows up frequently throughout the film. Thirdly, Like The Blair Witch, this film does not spell everything out but rather lets you draw your own conclusions. In this film, unlike "Eyes Wide Shut" the technique really works well. Also, the artwork incorporated into this rare book is so cool looking and awesome. Yes, the pace is slower than the current trash Hollywood pumps out, but if you surrender your preconceptions, the Ninth Gate will move you.
Rating:
Summary: A thrilling experience
Review: A superb supernatural thriller, true feast for the audience with imagination, "The Ninth Gate" Polanski's come-back to the "Rosemary territory", with the search for the roots of evil... there is nothing that I didn't love about this film. The constant atmosphere of fear and "something-wicked's-gonna-happen" I haven't experienced while watching a movie in years! One of the reasons is surely the music: Roman Polanski asked Wojciech Kilar, the famous composer from his homeland, to score the movie, and hit the jackpot! One warning, though: this movie requires the viewer to have *imagination*. And this is why I love it so much. Obviously, it's not for the MTV-"educated" people who expect a lot of noise and special effects, and want everything explained in little details, with the boring old crystal clear heroes and idiotic happy endings to conclude. "The Ninth Gate" is definitely the best movie of 2000, and one of the best I've seen in years. And Roman Polanski rightfully deserves his place among the best directors of the century - he proves it once again with this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad ending
Review: While the concept of this movie started out to be an interesting one, in the end this movie fell short. I enjoy movies that deal with doomsday and devils possesing people and stuff like that but I was truly disappointed at the end of this movie. It just drops down and leaves you feeling like you missed something. Johnny Depp as always is wonderful. He seems to be making a career comeback these days, but unfortunately this movie left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Rating:
Summary: CARELESS AMBIGUITY HAUNTS POLANSKI'S DEMONIC "THRILLER"
Review: The quest of the Unholy Grail has pushed many a devlish Hollywood movie. Now, Roman Polanski , erstwhile crown prince of the grotesque thriller, has tried his hand at the genre; falling short of respectable filmmaking. This turkey is a VERY far cry from Polanksi's "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown." Johnny Depp, playing Dean Corso, did the best he could in the role of a hardboiled agent trafficking in ancient books for wealthy cleints. His client, named Balkan (reasonably well acted by an aging Frank Langella), hires Coro to get for him [at "all costs"] a complete set of ancient demonic books for summoning ... guess what? The Devil's power. The film makes good on its early threat to feed the audience witchy clichés. As Corso leaves a trail of dead bodies all over Europe in search of Balkan's book, he is stalked by two gorgeous, devil-worshiping femme fatales -- Lena Olin and Emannuelle Seigner (Polanski's wife). And guess what #2? Corso dsicovers that some parts of the books in question were maybe even written by bad old Lucifer himself. The action (so to speak) evolves so slowly that I found myself looking at the movie like a travelogue ... since many of the scenes were filmed at eye catching locations. But there never was enough tension or suspense to make this movie scary. It was boring, improbable, filled with clichés, and it went nowhere from beginning to end. The real mysteries in this movie are: What ever happened to Polanski as a filmmaker; and what compelled him to make this turkey?
Rating:
Summary: Good for the first hour, starts to fall apart after that.
Review: My review of The Ninth Gate would be more of 2.5 star rating. Roman Polanski's devilish thriller doesn't really offer anything in the thrills department. It moves at a slow pace, but it's a very intriguing film, and certainly better than the similarly plotted Angel Heart. The problem with The Ninth Gate is that it really ends up going nowhere. After a very well-done first hour, everything unravels, as we begin to realize that Polanski is just filling the running time up as much as possible. The final scenes are also a cheat, it's easily one of the most disappointing endings in a long while, not only because of its abruptness, but also because of its contradictions, as the white light interferes with the film's dark tone. If you ever watch the film, you'll know what I mean.
Rating: 
Summary: AWFUL, if I could give ZERO I would!
Review: This movie has all the feel and cinematography of a "B" movie. The acting is awful. The story line is rediculous! The character played by Johnny Depp is a rare book dealer of questionable morals. He is hired by Frank Langella's character -- he owns a rare book called "The Nineth Gate" which was supposedly written in union with the devil. Read through properly this book is supposed to summon the devil himself. He wants Johnny Depp's character to find the other three books remaining in existence. Through the entire movie you see him searching for the books, dead people are left in his wake TEDious I hope to save you from wasting your time and money!
Rating:
Summary: One of the most elegant movie I've ever seen.
Review: I'm sorry about one thing only - there is not enough stars to rate this movie correctly. I think it should nine of them....minimum.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed!!!
Review: Really very disappointed!!! I know it's not fair to say so since much effort has been devoted to producing the film... I think i have been cheated!!! In fact, I has been laughing from the beginning to the end since I found the plot really boring... very often,when you expected something thrilling was going to happen, the results were unexpectedly poor... Apart from feeling bored, I find the content very amusing. Variations are lacked and the events are not exciting at all. Corso is not really professional I think. It seems that it's very easy to realise the differences of the pictures in the three mysterious books and the character of Corso is not so attractive. The scenes of the film are not linked fluently as well. Some scenes take place so suddenly... I wonder why... The plot is also too boring to tolerate. For example, the same technique is used by the black man - driving the car attempting to kill/frighten Corso; the sequence of the death of the three/four book owners... It's more like a comedy...I can still remember Balkan' s silly reaction to the audience (the prayers) in the house... My God, the girl's superpower is represented by her eyes or her ability to 'fly'... It's so... This is the worst film I've ever seen anyway.
| 
