The nineties for the canonical director Roman Polanski cannot be called fruitful, during this period the director shoots only three films: “The Bitter Moon” (1992), “Virgin and Death” (1994), and in 1999 - the mystical thriller about the temptation of the average man by Lucifer, in which quite famous actors were invited. The Ninth Gate was called by many film critics a boring and unambiguously academic film, demonstrating how different the thinking and perception of a European is from the consciousness of a US resident.
Many leading film reviewers considered the project of the 66-year-old director a manifestation of senility, while others, singing the mastery of the creator, saw in him the truth and worldly wisdom. In general, the European mystical thriller Polanski was recognized as a collection of all axioms of high-quality cinema. The Ninth Gate, whose actors have now gained worldwide fame and popularity, still has not lost its artistic value.
History of creation
Roman Polanski initially fell into the hands of a script written by playwright Enrique Urbisi based on the work of Arturo Perez-Reverte's “Dumas Club”. The script was so captured by the director that he took up the original. According to Polanski, he immediately identified the highest degree of cinematography of the novel. The director, wise by experience, saw tension, comicism and vivid characters in the literary source. The director even roughly imagined which of the characters the actors he knew would embody on the screen. The Ninth Gate has its own cliches, which are also present in the novel, but Polanski tried to present them in a new light, writing his own version of the script in collaboration with a permanent partner, John Brownjon. The scriptwriters decently reduced the plot, retaining only the main line, which directly related to the Ninth Gate.
Thriller plot
Let's talk about the film "The Ninth Gate", the actors and roles of which are magnificent. The story begins with the audience acquaintance with the main character, a specialist in rare publications Dean Corso (actor Johnny Depp), who barely makes ends meet. Second-hand book rarities are not so in demand. In a moment of despair, he receives a generous offer from the bibliophile-millionaire Boris Balkan (performed by Frank Langell). He wants to hire Corso to carefully check the authenticity of a recently purchased copy of the 17th century book, The Ninth Gate of the Kingdom of Shadows. The author of the work indicated Aristide Torcia, however, according to legend, the devil himself is the real creator. The book has nine mysterious engravings, according to legend, if you decipher them, you can call Satan. There are three books in the world, and the millionaire suspects that only one of the three editions is real. He sends Dean to Europe to the owners of two other copies for expert evaluation and purchase of the original.
Johnny Depp
The actors of the film “The Ninth Gate”, who played the main roles, fully realized the director’s idea, creating vivid, memorable images.
Johnny Depp, having met in 1997 at the Cannes Film Festival with Polanski, literally took the director to death. Having found out in the upcoming project, he did his best to convince the director that he was able to realize the image of Corso on the screen, despite the fact that he was only 34 and the hero was over 40. Depp and the more experienced actors invited to the project doubted the professionalism. The Ninth Gate nevertheless became a star film for Johnny, and the role of Corso is called one of the best in his film career. In the thriller, Depp's hero is incredibly charismatic, attractive even in style: a worn coat, a cigarette gagged casually in his teeth, ambitiousness, self-confidence and skepticism mixed with irony. Burton’s beloved actor, an audience favorite and sex symbol lived up to Polanski’s hopes.
Emmanuelle Seigner
The actress and models Emmanuelle Seigner got the role of the Babylonian harlot and the need to embody the play element in the movie The Ninth Gate. The actors and roles of the film were matched to each other in such a way as to realize the numerous hints of the creator. Although Polanski is a staunch agnostic, in the project he saw interesting opportunities for playing with the beholder. As a result, Lucifer in the thriller was almost always in front of the viewer, but was skillfully masked by the floor and impressive beauty.
Actress Senier managed to brilliantly, until the climax, hide the true essence of her heroine. The granddaughter of the famous French actor Louis Seigner is the wife of Roman Polanski. Nevertheless, during the filming she did not have special privileges, none of what the other actors were deprived of. The Ninth Gate did not become a significant milestone in her creative career. Seigner received nominations for the César film award for participating in the projects Vendome Square, Venus in Furs, and Life in Pink.
Metaphysical parable about the nature of evil
The premiere of the thriller took place at the San Sebastian Film Festival. According to the jury, the Polanski project, which began as a mystical thriller, underwent mutations during timekeeping and became a true metaphysical parable about the true nature of evil. The main irony of the picture was also appreciated - while all the heroes were scurrying around in an active search for Lucifer, he did not think to hide from anyone. This directing technique was immediately appreciated by the actors involved in the filming. “The Ninth Gate” was not without reason awarded the prize of the European Film Academy in 1999.