Can anyone tell me how the ninth gate was? I meant to go and see it in the theatre, but I never had the chance. Is it worth the time to watch?

This is I think the third Ninth Gate review request I've seen, but I'll post another review.

The Ninth Gate is, in my opinion, a good film. It doesn't compare to Polanski's best, and since it came out in 1999 it had some stiff competition, but I think if it had come out this year it would have gotten better reception. Be warned, this movie isn't like Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer or any of these latter-day horror films. This movie has an entirely different pacing, and most of the movie doesn't directly deal with the supernatural at all. It's more like a mystery with supernatural elements. It also doesn't pander to the lowest common denominator, probably one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. Johnny Depp gives a very good performance, but I can see how some people might find this movie slow. While it's on my list of DVDs to buy, you would probably be better off renting it first.

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"All arts can and must wait. They may even wait to live until after the artist is dead. Only the ridiculous costs of cinematography force it to instant success, so it is satisfied with being mere entertainment."
-Jean Cocteau

Thanks suprmallet.

Already posted this in another one as well.

This movie is one of the LONGEST ANTICLIMATIC movies that I've ever had the displeasure of enduring.

Slight spoilers****

If an actor walks up some stairs you see them from the first stair to the last. If they walk down a street you see them walk down the whole freaking street. AHHH!! Haven't they ever heard of editing?? Then you have this movie that you've endured just to see an awesome ending of the Ninth Gate and you get NOTHING!! I was so mad that I wanted to throw my tv across the room for working the whole time the movie was on. Lastly, you have the women/demon/whatever that can float and do karate but it NEVER explains what her role is in the movie!! If you like to watch every second of every move of the actors and you like to watch a person looking at books then you will like this ok. Well, as long as you don't expect an ending. http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/frown.gif

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The acting was great, cinematography, direction and set design was engrossing. Overall, visually and musically, this movie was extremely appealing.

However, it is certainly more mystery than horror, and the primary themes are more an exploration of human nature, greed and obsession than an exploration of the supernatural. I still don't understand the role of the mystery girl, nor do I entirely understand what happened at the end, although I suspect I understand generally.

I hated Scream, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th and the like. I prefer a movie that has a more creepy feel to it and leaves you asking questions.

The movie's not for everyone. The feel is quite European, both in pacing and in the storyline.

But, for those who enjoy that kind of thing, it's a very good movie.

There have been extensive discussions and reviews of this movie here. My review above is from one of those threads. I would suggest looking at this thread, which reviews and discusses the movie in detail:
http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/014282.html

Or this one:
http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/001669.html

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"Hello, my name is Hoc and I am a DVD-holic."

Great movie... really different from the majority of movies that came out this year.

I really enjoyed it and thought that the acting was really good too. Don't expect too many super natural happennings or anything similar though.

I'd say this is mostly a mystery movie. I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you watch it with an open mind http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

I watched The Ninth Gate last night and was pleasantly surprised. After the generally negative reviews I'd read, I didn't expect much but I found the movie to be genuinely suspenseful and intelligent. I thought the ending was perfect! OTOH, I'm not surprised that moviegoers accustomed to Scream and End of Days were disappointed. If Ninth Gate had been filmed in French, I bet critics would have called it one of the best "foreign" movies of the year!

A great mystery with a nice ambiguous ending. I hate directors who spoon feed every little detail, and its meaning, to you. You the viewer actually gets to decide what happened at the end of the film. Of course the trailers that depicted the film as HORROR ACTION flik certainly misled many a viewer. The DVDCULT web site has picked as their DVD pick of the week, and there's a nice review of it.

Cheers, Tony Block