Johnny Depp in Search of Original Books by Satan

Rare books wheeler & dealer, Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) gets a job from a man, Boris Balkan (Frank Langella), who seems obsessed with one book. Corso's job, as a scholar on books about Satanism, is to find the other 2 copies of "The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows."

Balkan already owns 1 of the 17th century rare books & covets the 2 he doesn't own. Both Balkan & Corso believe something that is quite occult: the sketches in the text were likely drawn by Lucifer/Satan! As Corso hunts for the 2 copies, he experiences some strange & dangerous events in Europe: people die who come in contact with the book(s). They die like the sketches portray. But why not Corso?

He's got a guardian angel of sorts, a very strange girl (Emmanuelle Seigner) who relentlessly pursues him. Will he live to find the rare & dangerous books? What will happen to him if he does? Are the sketches really works by Satan?

This film was co-scripted, produced & directed by none other than Roman Polanski--a holocaust survivor. It's full of intrigue like only an intense character actor can evoke. Depp & Polanski mature both in this film released at the turn of the millennium (of course!). It was excellent timing then when so many people were considering the end of civilization. The story has that sort of grand something-bad's-going-to-happe​n feel about it. This one's much more realistic & believable than Polanski's, "Rosemary's Baby."

The Ninth Gate

An all expenses paid international search for a rare copy of the
Nine Gates of the Shadow Kingdom brings an unscrupulous book dealer
played by Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland, Pirates of the Caribbean,
Secret Window, Blow, etc) deep into a world of murder, double-dealing
and satanic worship. He finds an unwanted assistant in the beautiful
Lena Olin (Awake, The Queen of the Damned, Chocolat, Tv series ALIAS
season 2,3 & 5) who has plenty of smarts, is able to beat up anyone
that gets into her way and seems to appear out of nowhere. As the duo
try to find the original book, they find plenty of trouble and find
a gothic mystery where the hunter becomes the hunted and the devil must
be paid his due-and his due is only found by figureing out the Ninth
Gate. Director Roman Polanski (The Pianist, Chinatown, Rosemarys Baby,
Rush Hour 3, etc) does an excellent job here- in what may be his best
directing job. A movie that people that love thrillers will certainly
crave for it to continue on and other that like suspense will really
enjoy as the ending is very suspenseful. Horror/Sci-fi devotees will
also enjoy the dark side of the satanic worship-and figuring out exactly
what the Ninth Gate opens as well who is on the inside of the Gate. Most
people will find this to be a very entertaining movie that will fill an
evening with a great deal of enjoyment.

The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows - DVD

A rare-book broker (Johnny Depp) hired by a wealthy collector (Frank Langella) discovers his latest find, a book written in 1666 may hold the key to summoning Satan. The engravings in the book are like a map to the Devil's Doorstep !! Johnny Depp is accompanied occasionally by a Guardian Angel (Emmanuel Seigner) or is she really one of Satan's Minions ?? They travel between France and Portugal to find the secret that has been locked in 3 copies of this unusual book for more than 3 centuries. I really thought this movie by Roman Polanski was pretty good. There is some murder, arson, and other assorted bits of violence all wraped up in a satanic feel !! It really is not that scary !! It has more of a mystery feel to it !! Check it out !! You can buy this DVD version on eBay now !!

The Ninth Gate

When I think about this movie, I think "wow, what a great film"
The only problem is, when I actually sit down to watch it, I get bored, I'm like an alzheimer's patient when it comes to this movie.
Perhaps it can be a bit slow at times and that is why.
Basically Johnny Depp plays a rare book appraiser seeking a novel written by Satan himself in this supernatural thriller directed by Roman Polanski (based on the novel 'The Club Dumas' by Arturo Pérez-Reverte.)
The film has a small cult following but was a critical and commercial failure in North America.
I would recomend it.

Not Very Good

I went into this movie with an open mind even though I hadn't heard good things about it. Johnny Depp is a favorite actor of mine and I try to see all of his movies regardless of reviews. This time, I should've listened. Johnny is known for picking odd, quirky movie roles and excelling at them. He did that in this film, but the rest was just pretty boring. The idea that he was a rare book dealer was not only appealing to me (I sell & collect books myself), but also seemed to suit him.
In the movie he is supposed to find 2 other copies of a rare book assumed to be partially written by the devil himself. His journey takes him to different countries, meeting equally different people. Along the way people keep dying in ways portrayed in the book.
The ending of the was somewhat predictable and quite frankly, I expected more of a Roman Polanski film. There are a lot of loose ends. The whole movie just seemed like a really well-filmed B-movie. I watched it once then sold it.