Review of Ninth Gate, The

Introduction

The last Polanski film that I watched was Chinatown, which was my DVD of the year for 2000, an award based almost solely on the quality of the film. So it`s fair to say that The Ninth Gate had something to live up to.

I won`t go into too much plot detail as I feel that it`s better to watch this film with an open mind, and without any pre-conceptions. If you`ve seen the trailer then you`ve not seen a very representative view of this film.

The Ninth Gate is adapted from Arturo Pérez-Reverte`s "El Club Dumas", and tells the story of a man who deals in rare books. He is asked to help track down some very rare books indeed...

Video

We are presented with 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer, which looks very good. There are some white specks on the print now and again (surprising for such a young film), but that`s the only real niggle as you won`t find any artefacts or grain appearing. Colours are good and detail is high so that you can enjoy the fine cinematography and some very good sets.

There is some rather poor back projection on display at times which is unexpected for such a modern film, but can just about be forgiven, as the film didn`t actually have a massive budget.

Audio

A DD5.1 soundtrack, which is only really used to full effect by the score. There aren`t many big action set pieces here, so surround effects are at a minimum. All you really hear is the dialogue and then the score, which blends into the background and then jumps out at you at the right moments. You won`t be showing this one off to your friends, but it certainly does its job well enough.

Features

A good selection of extras for you to get your teeth into.

The most important is an audio commentary from director Roman Polanski. I believe that this is his first commentary track, and it`s a very good one because this excellent director has got a lot to say for himself. The commentary (like the film) won`t appeal to everyone, but if you`re a fan of Polanski you`ll want to have a listen.

We also have a "featurette". When you see that word, you might expect a brief 10-20 minute piece about the film. A "featurette" isn`t really a 2 minute glorified trailer is it? Well, that`s what you get here, featuing very brief interview footage and clips from the film. You won`t watch it again. The same goes for the trailer, which isn`t representative of the film.

There are also biographies and production notes which contain the usual information, and you can also look at the drawings used in the book featured in the film. I won`t say more than that for fear of spoiling the film!

Conclusion

The Ninth Gate is a very good film. It`s an intelligent film, it requires you to use your brain and to think about what`s going on. If you`re looking for high-octane "let`s kick Satan`s butt" action, try End of Days. If you`re looking for an intelligent story with Satanic overtones, try The Ninth Gate. It`s not packed with thrills and spills, but there`s plenty of other action occurring up there on the screen.

Very minor spoilers below...

It`s not perfect, and there are some little niggles along the way. If you were a renowned collector of satanic books, would you store them behind a door that could be unlocked with the keypad code "666"? Why do collectors of ancient and very valuable books not treat them with more care? If you had one of the only remaining copies of a book in the whole world, would you let someone smoke while reading it?

These things aside, what you get is a very engaging film presented on a good DVD. Picture and sound are good, and the commentary track gives real added value. If you`re tired of endless empty action films and brainless "I Know What Scary Movie You Screamed At Last Summer" teen slasher films, then you might have found your cure in The Ninth Gate.

A must rent for fans of Polanski, and worth a rental if you like to use your brain when watching a film.