Rating: 
Summary: Watch it before you buy it
Review: Based on the previews for this movie I was fairly eager to see this movie in the theater. I would like to tell you that this movie is definitely not for everyone. It is not a horror movie. It is not really suspenseful. It is not at all what I was hoping for. Depp's character was interesting and played well but I never really felt any connection with him. I personally did not like the movie and could not wait for it to be over. Not only was the story fairly cliche'd and weak but the ending gave no real sense of a conclusion and left me wondering why what just happened actually happened. People into odd, artsy movies that aren't based on good writing or production will probably like it.
Rating:
Summary: The Johnny Depp Midas touch is no more
Review: I'm afraid this recent addition to the apocolyptic genre was to its detriment. The movie moved at a glacial pace, leading me to watch the clock every 10 minutes. The script was bad, the scenery was good...if you're looking for another "Sleepy Hollow", keep looking.
Rating: 
Summary: good,but...
Review: I was thrilled when I found out that Arturo Perez-Reverte's novel The Club Dumas was being made into a film....even happier that Polanski was directing it. This is (unfortunately) one of those cases where you should read the book rather than see the film. It's another example of the film industry thinking that the audience doesn't want to use it's brain and don't want to be challenged. Another example of the dumbing down of America. So many crucial elements were missing from the film that it is unforgivable. I'm not going to go into them as they will spoil one of the best and most inteligent novels I have ever read. Still, it is a decent movie which I will watch again. Polanski remains as one of my favorite directors...although, I wonder if he even read The Club Dumas?
Rating: 
Summary: Illogical and much too long
Review: I thought a Roman Polanski movie starring Johnny Depp would be great, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Depp is a rare-book expert who is sent on a trip to Europe to find a (you guessed it) rare book. The first 90 min or so are interesting and creepy but the movie completely falls apart in the last half hour. The actress whose character follows and protects Depp gives a terrible performance. Another problem with this film is that all the characters in the film see Hell as a place everyone wants to go to!
Rating:
Summary: Do yourself a favour: Rent this movie before you buy it.
Review: If you're considering buying this movie because you are interested in Roman polanski, go ahead and buy it. You will get the usual slow moving (not counting CHINATOWN) story and while watching it you'll have plenty of time to find out what you'll say to your friends when you explain to them this is really ART and not just a 1 hour movie plus a lot of transport scenes. If, on the other hand, your interested in a good horror story. Rent it first ! Chances are you'll choose to buy one more copy of THE OMEN.
Rating: 
Summary: Polanski's funniest since The Fearless Vampire Killers
Review: As Polanski has become increasingly reclusive and eccentric, I've often wondered exactly what goes through his head when he decides to film something. I've been wondering it more and more over the last two decades or so, as what little output Polanski has released has become increasingly humorless, bitter, and savage, culminating in the brilliantly unstable Death and the Maiden in 1994. Something seems to have happened in the past six years, however. Polanski has given us his finest, and funniest, film since The Fealress Vampire Killers-- and for much the same reasons. There is a subgenre of film, mostly horror film (but a good number of what can only be termed "men's adventure" flicks also fall into this category), that can best be described as "fuzzy." Everything about them is fuzzy. The focus is just a tad off. The soundtrack sounds as if it has been recorded through a wad of cotton. The color is a little off. You know the genre. Karen Black is probably its most enduring star, and Dario Argento has directed about eight hundred fuzzy flicks. Many people see fuzzy and translate to low-quality, thus dismissing a whole subgenre of often brilliant filmmaking-- Argento, Lucio Fulci, Carpenter's early work, Wes Craven, early David Lynch, etc. But we often forget where the original fuzzy came from. Coppola and Corman got together for the classic Dementia 13 (1963), right in the middle of Polanski's trilogy of distressing imagery (Knife in the Water, The Beautiful Swindlers, and Repulsion). It is probably from these four films, and their styles of production and direction, that this whole subgenre came about, and its first true champion recognized by a wider audience was yet another Polanski all-star extravaganza, Rosemary's Baby (1968). In The Ninth Gate, Polanski, who has a lot more money now, has given us the epitome of what makes fuzzy filmmaking great, but he's ramped up the budget, attracted fantastic starpower and the highest quality of production, and essentially made a great seventies satan-worshipper film (remember Ernest Borgnine in The Devil's Rain? Heh...) in the new century. Johnny Depp plays Dean Corso, a rare book mercenary of sorts, hired by the shifty-eyed Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) to track down the two other remaining copies of a book Balkan now owns. Balkan is convinced that, of these three books, one is an authentic copy and two are forgeries, and Corso's job is to discover which is the actual tome in question (and, one can assume from Balkan's persona, to switch the fake with the authentic one, assuming Balkan has a fake). The truth, of course, is nowhere near as simple as this, and as Corso goes on his journey, attended by the breathtakingly beautiful nameless stranger (Polanski's present spouse, Emmanuelle Seigner) and a few people seemingly less concerned with Corso's welfare (Lena Olin, as the widow of the original owner of Balkan's copy of the book in question, and her bodyguard/hired hand/whatever, an unnamed character played by a chap I've never seen before). The Ninth Gate also falls into another subgenre of film, and it doesn't have a name, but when you see the film, it immediately bears comparison to others of its type-- films that there are two kinds of viewers for, those who will willingly suspend all possible belief and enjoy the hell out of it, and those who just won't get it. The film that springs immediately to mind, of course, is The Blair Witch Project, but that's only because of recency; Cronenberg's masterpiece of twisted illusion, Videodrome, is a much better comparison when all is said and done. Similarly to Videodrome, the viewer is always given the sensation that something is a little off, and that perhaps the real action is always going on somewhere just off camera; Depp is embroiled in the same kind of seemingly-predestined confusion as Woods (and it helps that both have this odd woman following them around and showing up in the oddest places-- in Woods' case, Debbie Harry was the vixen in question). If you thought Videodrome was a fantastic piece of work, and that James Woods turned in the performance of his career, you'll probably walk out of The Ninth Gate feeling exactly the same way I did about it--"wow." There's been a lot made, in the press, of the pace of the movie. "Johnny Depp runs around Europe looking for old books." Sure. If you go into a Roman Polanski flick expecting something that could have been cut from the same cloth as the Friday the Thirteenth movies, you're bound to be disappointed. Polanski is a master of the atmospheric horror film, where the horror is more suggested than splattered, as Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion, and Death and the Maiden are tribute to. Nothing less should be expected from The Ninth Gate, and Polanski delivers on all counts. This isn't a scary film so much as it is a disturbing one, suspenseful at times (only one car chase, thankfully!), and laugh-out-loud funny at others. Special consideration, come this time next year, should probably be given to sound and sound effects editing (the ambient soundtrack to the film is one of the better ones of recent years-- if The Haunting had had this music, it would have been almost watchable) and Best Supporting Actor for a person who usually stays behind the camera, Jose Lopez Rodero, in a double role as the Brothers Ceniza. He-- they-- are one of the film's many highlights, despite their small role. Cinematography here is wide and brilliant, as well; Polanski takes us on a whirlwind trip through some of Europe's most picturesque spots, including the backstreets of Portugal (where the Cenizas' shop lies) and a stunning collapsing villa that is the home of Victor Fargas, one of the other owners of the book in question (played handily by Jack Taylor, best known for acting in those aforementioned men's adventure titles in Italy). Depp probably still won't get his well-deserved Best Actor nomination, and his role doesn't really warrant it, though the panache and humor he brings to it make it that much the finer; it wouldn't be too much of a surprise to see Polanski up for either Director or Adapted Screenplay, however. It's probably not for everyone....
Rating: 
Summary: searching for the book of his life
Review: First of all,i would like to say that i was very impressed when i first saw this film.It had someway difference than any other films i've ever seen.Maybe this film creates its own catagory.It has a hard to catch good topic,maybe thats why nobody likes it very much or gets bored of the film.If you wanna taste the pure excitement,watch it carefully,dont miss any items....cause the film is all about small important items.Last thing to say: 'some books can be more powerful than you could ever imagine'.I believe in that,and you can have this idea easily after seeing this film.I strongly recommend to everyone searching for something...
Rating:
Summary: Slow Paced and Unprovocative!
Review: This mundane film does not succeed as a thriller, it's hard to believe it was made by the same genius that made 'Chinatown'. The plot is intriguing but isn't handled in an exciting way. Some scenes are just plain badly acted and ridiculous. Polanski was up to something with this movie, but his message got lost to the general public. May please fans of Polanski or Johnny Depp. Some nice imagery, intriguing plot and a sense of eeriness that is kept throughout the beginning of the film are its only qualities. Terribly overlong and some bad attempts at comedy fall flat. Could of been much better. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 4!
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: When I saw this movie 1 and a half year ago, in Antwerp-Belgium, I was completely surprised. Expecting nothing, I was stunned! What kept me from giving it 5 stars, is the ending. I'm not saying it sucked, but it's kinda over before you expect it, though the whole movie was kinda long and seemed to take its time.. Depp was great! Enjoy! Can't wait for the DVD to arrive.
Rating:
Summary: Spannender Film
Review: Einer der besten Filme, die ich in letzter Zeit gesehen habe. Am Anfang ein wenig eigenartig, aber je mehr man sieht, desto spannender wird er. Das Ende ist ein wenig komisch aber sonst ein toller Film.
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