The Ninth Gate (1999)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A rare book dealer is tasked with authenticating a 17th-century book that can summon the Devil.
The story
Dean Corso, a New York City rare book dealer, is hired by wealthy collector Boris Balkan to authenticate a 17th-century book titled 'The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows'. The book is rumored to be able to summon the Devil. Balkan believes only one of three existing copies is authentic and hires Corso to travel across Europe to inspect the others. During his journey, Corso is shadowed by a mysterious woman he calls 'Green Eyes'. As Corso investigates the various copies and the history of the book's author, he finds himself entangled in a dangerous quest to identify the true artifact.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Dean Corso, a New York City rare book dealer, is hired by wealthy collector Boris Balkan to authenticate 'The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows', a 17th-century book rumored to summon the Devil. Corso travels to Europe to inspect three copies. He meets Liana Telfer, who tries to force him to sell her copy, and the Ceniza Brothers in Spain, who reveal that only some engravings are signed by the author. In Portugal, he finds a copy owned by Victor Fargas, who is murdered. In Paris, he meets Baroness Kessler, who is killed during a confrontation. Corso eventually tracks down Balkan, who is performing a ritual to summon the Devil. Balkan dies in a fire, and Corso is left with the book. Later, he discovers the final authentic engraving and, after a final encounter with 'Green Eyes', he enters the 'Ninth Gate' through a portal of light.
- First release year
- 1999
- Runtime (minutes)
- 133
- Production countries
- United States; Portugal; France; Spain
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Roman Polanski
- Writers
- John Brownjohn · screenplay; Enrique Urbizu · screenplay; Roman Polanski · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Johnny Depp · Dean Corso; Lena Olin · Liana Telfer; Frank Langella · Boris Balkan; James Russo · Victor Fargas; Jack Taylor · unknown; Emmanuelle Seigner · unknown
- Genres
- mystery; thriller
- Themes
- Satanism; Occultism
- Tone and mood
- Atmospheric; Neo-noir
- Setting
- New York City, Europe (specifically Spain, Portugal, and France) in the late 20th century.
- Premise and plot tags
- Mystery; Supernatural; Thriller; Bibliophilia
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Club Dumas (novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte)
- Reception
- The film was critically and commercially unsuccessful in North America but has since been described as a cult classic. It received mixed reviews, with some critics praising its atmosphere while others criticized its pacing and lack of tension.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 44% · scale: percentage · review count: 97; Metacritic · score: 44 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Production trivia
- The film was based on the novel 'The Club Dumas'.; The character of Dean Corso's appearance was inspired by Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe.; The film was shot in France, Portugal, and Spain in the summer of 1998.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…