Rating: 
Summary: Horribly Disappointing!
Review: This is the worst kind of movie. The movie starts out with an interesting concept, then speeds up a little, then slows down, then speeds up just enough to keep you watching, then slows down, over and over again. I was quite interested in the movie (though a bit confused), until almost 2 1/2 hours into it the movie ended and NOTHING made sense! It was the worst ending I've EVER seen! I've never wasted 2 1/2 hours like I did with this movie! It was like they just got as tired of the movie as I did and just ended it with a short scene that meant absolutely NOTHING! Sorry, this is more of a rant than a review, but it's been a long time since I was this disappointed. I'm glad I only saw it on cable and didn't waste money on rental or movie ticket or I would ask for double my money back!
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time or money
Review: If you were able to stay awake through this movie, then congratulations. I did too....barely. I really had high hopes for this movie. I love a good story, even if there isn't a lot of action, but this is ridiculous. In all, there was about 20 minutes worth of interesting scenes. The rest is Johnny Depp bumbling around Europe.
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed but fun
Review: With "The Ninth Gate", Polanksi and his co-writers wisely do not attempt a faithful adaptation of Arturo Perez-Reverte's amazing novel which, by its nature, cannot be anything other than a book. Instead, they choose the most exciting strand of the story and take it in a new direction. Unfortunately, the resulting film starts much better than it ends, with the gripping eeriness of the first half disintegrating into unintentional comedy towards the end. What saves it are its style and the performances. Johnny Depp is typically wonderful as the unscrupulous book hunter, Dean Corso, and Frank Langella proves he can still be incredibly menacing - even when he's just a voice on the other end of the telephone. Polanski manages to inject his tale with enough tension and style to keep you interested, Wojciech Kilar's music is a perfect match, and Darius Khondji's cinematography, as always, is simply astonishing: every shot is exquisite. Why this man doesn't have a shelf full of Oscars is beyond me.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful as well as confusing
Review: I really do think that while this movie is not Roman Polanski's best films, it certainly is his most beautifully made. I think he really has a keener eye these days.Johnny Depp gives his usual dark intensive performance. If he smokes as much in real life as in this movie, he should be dead from lung cancer within five years. There is something extremely sexy about this character. His character is believable as one could be as a book collector/dealer, that does not mind having very little scruples. Who here would not suspect Frank Langella as an avid book collector "only wanting Depp's character to compare pictures from three volumes of the same satanic book"? I enjoyed the comparisons in the mysteries of the three books, as well as finding the "girl" intriguing. I also admit that the deaths of three collectors of the same devilish book, to be extremely comical. The look on the face of the strangled wheelchair bound collector brought some humor to a very dark suspensful story. I enjoyed every moment of this movie, mostly because I like movies that delve into the dark closets of the mind. I did find that the ending left me thinking I had missed something. So I watched it again, and nope, I didn't miss a thing. I then created in my own mind, what I thought it all meant. Watch the movie and enjoy being totally confused. I loved Johnny Depp and all of his steps in becoming "all knowing".
Rating: 
Summary: Kind of Creepy
Review: This is indeed a very intriguing piece of a bigger intriguing puzzle. Just like the movie, where three copies of one book must be found for the message of the books to make any sense, one must know the story of Polanski and his dance with the devil for this movie to make the mind boggling amount of sense it ultimately does make. I loved the romance with books that the character of Johnny Depp has, being one who tracks down valuable editions and traveling in the circles of readers who value such things. The scenes of wall to wall rare books made my heart race the way some people are excited by football, or pornography, or chocolate. For me, it's books. Depp must track down three copies of one volume to determine their authenticity, for each one is a little different -- only to discover, with his brilliant mind, that all three books work together to manifest the message of the books: the ability to conjure up the devil! You can imagine the imagery that can be lent to such a thesis, and it exists as only Polanski can do it -- Polanski, of course, being the producer of Rosemary's baby and the former husband of the former actress Sharon Tate, and everything that goes along with that. Polanski is not naive when it comes to the oddities of Lucifer, of that I am quite sure. What his relationship is, exactly, is not for me to discern. I will say, though, that there were parts of this movie that reminded me, with discomfort, of Eyes Wide Shut. This movie is not for everyone. It is definitely not for children. But it is worth taking a scholarly look at what is currently expressing our American culture. It's kind of creepy...
Rating: 
Summary: Do you really wanna own this on DVD?
Review: OK as far as im concerned there are two types of DVDs out there:
DVDs that you purchase to watch over and over again cos the movie or content is really THAT good, and DVDs you only RENT because you missed out on the movie's release on the big screen. Now Nineth Gate is an entertaining movie dont get me wrong...i enjoyed it...a bit. But are you really willing to purchase a flick on DVD that you;re only going to watch once. Believe me once is more than enough. Unless youre like me; slow and have this urge to watch a movie a second time sometimes to pick bits of the story i missed out on the first time around. Nineth Gate falls under the "Rent Only DVD" category as far as i'm concerned. Its good to watch once...perhaps a second time out of boredom. Really not worth spending the money on this. And unless youre a HUGE Johnny Depp (and we're talking competely and absolutely fanatical and obssessed by him) and MUST have every single one of his movies both on VHS and DVD, then i would recommend that you either buy this flick second hand or just rent it from your nearest Blockbusters Video or somewhere like that.
Rating:
Summary: An underated movie
Review: This movie in question, i.e., The Ninth Gate VHS ~ Johnny Depp is quite odd. It seems like Polanski is a bit out of his league when trying to make a scary horror movie. However, Depp being a very accomplished actor saves a mediocre script and creates a charachter that stays away from cliches and the movie does not stoop to the lowest common demoninator. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: good atmosphere, creepy in a good way
Review: I like this movie. Others have said it was a bad movie, but I really enjoy it. It has this neat, creepy atmosphere with a haunting music score. I like the sets, the soundtrack, and the basic plot. And I think the actors play their characters very effectively. Maybe some viewers didn't like the characters, but I think they were well played. It seems to move slowly but somehow not in a bad way. If the movie were accelerated / placed on steroids it would lose the unique atmosphere and become just another action thriller like so many others. And I like the ambiguity in the story. It adds mystery and leaves some elements up to the imagination of the viewer. Which fits well with the storyline since its better to leave the details of things like heaven, hell, God, Satan, the afterlife, up to the viewers on concepts. Anyway, I recommend this movie. I thought it was unique.
Rating:
Summary: Very Underrated Polanski Thriller
Review: Roman Polanski has a way of scaring people that few filmmakers use today. From the start of this movie, you get an uneasy feeling as the camera pans around the library. This subtlety is used throughout The Ninth Gate. The movie was filmed in Europe and the visuals are incredible, especially in France and Spain. Johnny Depp is a great choice to play Dean Corso and he really adds some believability to the movie. This movie almost has the feel of a movie that is decades old, and you rarely see these old-fashioned storytelling techniques used anymore. The DVD is loaded with extras and has exceptional video and sound. Artisan has outdone themselves with this disc, and it is nice to know that even when a movie doesn't do well in theaters, it can still have a nice DVD release. This film seems like its almost an homage to the satanic craze of films in the 60's and 70's that helped launch Polanski's career.
Rating:
Summary: One of the WORST movies I've seen in my LIFE
Review: I cannot believe that I wasted two hours of my life that I will never get back on this pointless drivel. The acting is mediocre at best, the plotline seems nearly pointless, the whole movie crawls along from one boring scene to the next, and the ending left me furious! I was upset at the director for making the movie, the actors for "performing" (you can't call it "starring" for this) in the movie, and myself for actually taking a chunk out of my life and wasting it on this disappointing farce of a show. I wish there were ways to give negative stars, but "one" is the lowest that the rating system here allows. Save yourself the anxiety and rent something else.
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