Customer Reviews

Ninth Configuration [VHS]

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Roger Ebert once said that Casablanca was the sort of movie that improves upon multiple viewings, because the first time we see it we're too involved in the plot, too concerned about what is happening and why; seeing the movie again gives us the chance to appreciate the nuances. Those comments certainly apply to The Ninth Configuration.

The plot is a good one, and people who enjoy thrillers and mysteries will find enough action and plot twists in the film to rival Hitchcock's best works. But what makes this movie so special are the terrific performances (by Stacy Keach, Scott, Wilson, and Ed Flanders), the witty dialogue, and the religious undercurrents. Too often movies treat religious belief with sentimentality or scorn, but the Ninth Configuration deals with faith and doubt in with a deftness and dignity that isn't patronizing to either side.

It's the sort of movie that you immediately want to talk about with someone...which could be difficult since so few people have seen it. Case in point: I host a movie party every Thursday night. Every time a new member joins, I ask him or her to compile a short list of movies that he or she has seen but thinks others haven't but should. These lists serve as our guide for film selections, and the attendees love movies and have broad tastes. But not one of them had seen The Ninth Configuration. My father recommended it to us, and we watched it last October, and thus far it remains the club's hands-down favorite, beating out classics such as The Sting or The Lion in Winter. Many of them have passed the title along to friends, who have also enjoyed the newly discovered gem. And it has provoked hours of conversation among us.

I can't think of a movie that would appeal so well to the casual viewer, the mystery lover, the film buff, the occasion bible study group for that matter.

Many movies are worth seeing. This one is worth owning.

That's what Captain Cutshaw says to his psychiatrist. He continues:

" Maybe you're P.T Barnum. . . He put a panther and a lamb in a cage together and there was never any trouble. The public went lollypops! Look at that! A panther and a lamb, and they don't even argue!. . .but what the public never knew was that it was never the same lamb. That (expletive deleted) panther ate a lamb every single day at intermission and then they shot him for asking for mint sauce. . . Animals are innocent, why should they suffer?. . . Why should children suffer? "
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There's an in joke in Hollywood: You don't ask a director if he's seen " The Ninth Configuration ", you ask how many times.

It's a cult classic. A supernatural horror film without anything seemingly frightening or supernatural, set in an insane assylum, set in a gothic castle. It's a mystery, a Christian martyr movie (no,I'm not kidding), an ensemble production of superb actors speaking some off THE best dialogue written, it's --it's-- Wiliam Peter Blatty!

Who, after writing "The Exorcist" (another easy 5 stars) put out a couple of lame "sequels" until he gathered enough clout to write and direct what he considered the TRUE sequel, which has nothing to do with little girls possesed by demons, but still everything to do with Good vs. Evil.

It's Vietnam and a number of officers have gone psycho--or are they faking it? Due to the controversial nature of the war, it's being kept secret. At one of these bases--set in an abandoned castle in a remote forest, of course--top USMC psychiatrist, Colonel Kane (Stacey Keach) is sent to investigate.

Astronaut and head loon Captain Cutshaw (Scott Wilson) wonders if fellow officer/inmate Jason Miller (Father Karras in 'The Exorcist') may be right when he says " I tell ya he's Gregory Peck in 'Spellbound', he's sent to take over the assylum but he's crazier than all of us! "

For his part Kane is determined to help the men, especially their 'leader', Capt. Cutshaw.

The film focuses on the clash between these two bizarre and enigmatic characters.

Cutshaw: " You're on your way out! I'm acting on orders so to inform you. "

Kane: " Who ordered you Cutshaw? "

Cutshaw: " Unseen forces far too numerous to enumerate."

Their psychotherapy slowly becomes a metaphor on the ancient debate of the impossibility of God, given the reality of evil. Brilliantly scripted by Blatty.

Kane: "Perhaps we're all fish out of water...I mean if fish could survive, actually survive out of water, they'd all go crazy. Perhaps we're all meant for a much better place. "

Cutshaw: "You're so dumb you're adorable."

Naturally, more than talk is needed. The action in the film is the turning point upon which the author/director hangs the plot twist as to who among them--and among us --is really crazy.

The answer might surprise you. An amazing film.

I've seen my share of films that have been good and bad. I've also seen movies that could similar to others. When it comes to The Ninth Configuration, I now know that there can be films that are original and don't borrow from other sources. This movie is not only one of a kind, it is also very moving and philosophical. If not dramatic with some twists and turns. Even the scene involving a bar room brawl between Stacy Keach and various actors playing vicious bikers (who literally get their tail-ends kicked brutally and fatally by Keach)was very original, if not unique.

The Ninth Configuration examines the after effects of the Vietnam War on various veterans who have suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome and other various traumas. It also examines the various themes of religion and why the world itself is going to hell in a handbasket. It also points out the old question that many have often asked. Is there a God? And if so, why does he let evil get away with various things?

A cult-classic like Blade Runner, with elements of witty black comedy that are almost like those from the movie M*A*S*H, The Ninth Configuration is a moving drama and excellent masterpiece. Not only does it have solid acting from the likes of Stacy Keach, Scott Wilson (who won a Golden Globe for his role in the film), Ed Flanders, Steve Sandor, Richard Lynch, the late Joe Spinell, Will Luckling, Robert Loggia, Jason Miller (as a soldier directing Shakespearean plays with Dogs, a very original and enjoyable plot element), Moses Gunn, and Tom Atkins, it also has some very interesting and powerful moments. Especially the surreal scene where a NASA astronaut discovers THE crucifix on the surface of the Moon.

If you enjoy films that are original and touches upon serious themes, like faith and religion, and state of humanity, then you are in for a surprise when you view The Ninth Configuration. It is a movie that still entertains many, and still keeps asking the same questions that man is still seeking the answers to.

First of all, I love this film, so it's difficult for me to say this. But this DVD of THE NINTH CONFIGURATION is a disappointment. The specs say it's widescreen enhanced (16x9), but it's not. (It's letterboxed, yes, but with distractingly light mattes--the black level seems off). The specs also say it's closed captioned, but it's not--a real shame, considering that it's easy to miss much of the great dialog. Also, the whole film has a yellowish tinge, absent from all previous versions. You get used to it (sort of) after a while, but everyone looks jaundiced. In general, all the colors are duller and paler than the most recent Warner letterboxed videocassette. The plus side is that NINTH CONFIGURATION has never looked so sharp or grain-free; truly, every other version of this film has been loaded with grain, and this one is astonishingly clear. And the director commentary is interesting. But, really, someone dropped the ball here, and it's just wrong to provide misleading specs. The movie gets 5 stars in my book, but this presentation measures a 2.

UPDATE: It appears that the the quality of this DVD is a bit controversial. Let me elaborate a bit on a few of my comments. Earlier, I wrote: "Also, the whole film has a yellowish tinge, absent from all previous versions." Another person posting here took me to task for this, accusing me of only watching cartoons and basing my conclusion on that. That's truly an odd assertion. Actually, the color looked odd to me as soon as I put in the DVD, so I took out the last videotape version of the film, Warner's letterboxed edtion. Just to give one example, doctors' coats on the tape version are white; doctors' coats on the DVD edition have a yellow cast. Fleshtones on the tape have a reddish (maybe too reddish) cast. Characters on the tape have slightly jaundiced look. Yes, I did an A-B comparison. When you go back and forth between tape and DVD, the conclusion seems obvious: The DVD has a yellowish cast throughout, not just in the workprint scenes. This same poster also questioned this part of my post, "The plus side is that NINTH CONFIGURATION has never looked so sharp or grain-free," because another Amazon user said the transfer looked dirty. Perhaps my original posting was a bit overstated. The print is not really "grain-free"--but it is much, MUCH less grainy than any previous edition. Really. Again, I'm basing this by an A-B comparison between Warner's letterboxed tape and this DVD. The difference is like night and day. I also note that Amazon's description still says that the film has closed captions and is an anamorphic transfer. Neither is correct.

Coming to this film 26 years late is certainly better than never. Like most people back then, when I saw it was showing at the theater, I was turned off by it's original annoying title "Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane." I was the poorer for those 26 years. Now that I've seen it, I'm belatedly spreading the word about it to all my friends.

I don't know if I'm more amazed by Blatty's skill as a writer or a director. I'm bowled over by every aspect of this production. It's hard to single out any one thing, because there are too many things to praise. I guess I'm most impressed by Blatty's skill in weaving a very intricate story. The first half hour doesn't make any sense, but we can still tell we're on to something great. We can simply sit back and enjoy the incredible dialogue. The rest of the movie fulfills its early promise. The plot comes together in a delightfully complex way. Blatty skillfully throws in a couple twists I didn't see coming. And it's all held together by Keach's brooding performance.

Beneath the surface mysteries of the characters' true identities and inner motivations, the core of the film deals with the question of the existence of God. Blatty spins out an intricate and compelling argument for God's existence. As an atheist, I didn't buy his argument, but I was very impressed with it on an emotional level.

If you step beck, you're forced to admit that the whole scenario of the movie is ridiculously improbable. But Blatty's skill in telling the story more than makes up for this. Like most of you, I sensed many layers of meaning in this film. But I've only watched it once so far, so I still have many more viewings ahead of me in which I can plumb its depths for the riches I sense are in there. I feel extremely fortunate that I'll have this movie with me for the rest of my life.

The Ninth Configuration (William Peter Blatty, 1980)

There are some movies that will stay with you after you've turned off the VCR or left the theatre. Some of them will give you a couple of days or weeks of mulling over; others are with you for life. The Ninth Configuration is of the latter variety.

The story revolves around Hudson Kane, an Army psychiatrist (Stacy Keach) sent to a remote asylun in the Pacific Northwest during the closing days of the Vietnam War. Together with the asylum medic, Col. Richard Fell (Ed Flanders, a longtime member of the cast of St. Elsewhere), Kane is tasked with figuring out which of the inmates are really insane and which are just faking it to get out of combat duty. His top priority is recently-committed astronaut Bill Cutshaw (Scott Wilson, recently of Pearl Harbor and The Way of the Gun), who takes an almost perverse interest in Kane, with the two of them immediately set at odds by Kane's Catholicism and Cutshaw's aggressive atheism.

While it is the deeper issue of Cutshaw's lack of faith and Kane's immersion in it that turns an otherwise good film into a great one, even without that particular driving force, this would be a worthwhile film. The cast of inmates are simply stunning to a man, and the situations they're given to act are no small potatoes. Jason Miller, who previously collaborated with Blatty on The Exorcist, is Lt. Reno, a man obsessed with adapting the work of Shakespeare for dogs, and Cutshaw's best friend among the other inmates. Robert Loggia's character, Bennish, is convinced he's on Venus and only needs his flying belt to get home. Fromme (played by Blatty himself) is convinced he's actually the camp medic, and keeps stealing Fell's pants. Et cetera. The staff aren't much less crazy than the inmates, and they, too, are perfectly cast. Just putting the ensemble together without a script and giving it free rein to improvise for two hours would make for a good movie. Blatty, however, takes things to another level with the conflict between Kane and Cutshaw, setting up a familiar love story plot (two people who need each other, but refuse to see it themselves) in a therapeutic setting. You never feel, however, that you're in the middle of a bad romance film, or even a buddy-cop picture. Both Keach and Wilson play their roles with more obvious intelligence than the actors in your average genre flick, and as a result, the audience never feels manipulated. In fact, the movie's big plot twists end up taking a back seat to the Kane/Cutshaw relationship; it's not that the revelations of the various mysteries Blatty sets up are any less startling than they are in a mystery film, but that the mysteries are simply stage decoration in Blatty's morality play.

Flawlessly executed, a perfect film in every way. Easily one of the hundred finest films ever made. Do not miss it. *****

It has finally happened. After more than twenty years this film has been released with a few additional scenes that enhance the movie and with its original ending. This film is the second in a trilogy made by Blatty about the existence of and our relation with God. It is by far the best of the three (the other two being The Exorcist and Exorcist 3). There have been at least five versions of TNC since its theatrical release more than twenty years ago and none of them have been as good as the original film. As it turns out, most of the edits to the original were not done by Blatty himself but by the distributors who bought the rights. By the last release of the film on VHS it had been stripped of most of its meaning and given an ending that was inconsistent with the rest of the film. But in this version Blatty has kept his hands firmly on the helm and the movie shines in all its glory. The DVD also includes some interesting outtakes.

I can't say it enough, if you are familiar with this movie from its earliest days then this is your version. If you have never seen it then I strongly recommend it. TNC is one of the great films of all time.

It's a great irony in itself that Wiliam Peter Blatty is best known for The Exorcist, one of the highest grossing blockbusters that Hollywood has ever seen, and one of the most widely known and viewed films ever made, while so few have seen this film, and it made so little money. The Exorcist is the ultimate study of evil in modern cinema. This film is the ultimate modern study of goodness.

I greatly admire The Exorcist, but I love this film. It's as facinating as The Exorcist, but far more challenging to the viewer. For those who take the trouble to understand it, it's far more rewarding, as well. It's inspiring and profound. It's something that stays with you, in the best possible way.

I had nightmares about The Exorcist many years ago as a child, but this film inspires the best kind of waking dreams and visions of goodness, and awakening to something far beyond mere entertainment. It's a film for adults, and one that tries to be profound - and succeeds.

If goodness and oneness with the Source of all goodness is the meaning of life, as all true philosphers, begining with Plato, believe it is, then this film just might be the most successful at bringing this idea to the screen ever made. But this is not just a film of ideas. It's a film of depth of both thought and feeling. It's a film, as Blatty himself says, of love.

Maybe this film is not for all tastes, as some have said. But, if you believe that life has meaning, and that visionary depictions of goodness can inspire a life of meaning, as Plato himself did, then this film is not to be missed. There is simply nothing like it that has ever been made.

This movie, as with the book (which it very nearly parallels), explores what Blatty calls, 'The mystery of goodness'. Why, in a purely material universe, would anyone ever put his life at risk for a fellow human being? One should simply do whatever it takes to allow him to move up the pecking order and survive - period. The basic antagonism is between faith in God and existentialism (as Bob Dylan so eloquently put it, 'You've either got faith or you've got unbelief, there ain't no neutral ground!'). The 'insanity' evidenced in the patients can only be termed 'insanity' if one embraces faith, for the most basic tenet of existentialism is that life itself is absurd - ergo there can be no such thing as sanity in the first place! Do this or do that, it makes no difference whatsoever except in the moment. This is the position acted out by the patients, all of whom are high-ranking military officers who, presumably, are intelligent and disciplined, thus making all the more puzzling their 'insane' behavior. The various scenes with psychiatrist Keach reasoning with patients run amok (one casting a Shakespeare play with dogs, another 'punishing' a wall because it would not allow him to fit his atoms between the spaces in its atoms, etc.), would seem to prove that the patients are indeed mad - but only in a universe with meaning! Astronaut Wilson challenges Keach at every turn to give meaning to the obvious pain and suffering of life, which to him proves that 'Foot' (God) is either a sadist or simply doesn't exist, in which case everything that he or any of the other patients does is no more or less 'sane' than anything anyone else might do. Wilson meets each example provided by Keach with a logical counterpoint, erasing any real meaning to the argument put forth. The mathematical argument against the spontaneous appearance of even a single protein molecule is pure logic, yet in and of itself it is insufficient to impart the meaning Wilson is seeking. Wilson asks for just one real-world example of a reason not to be insane! I won't spoil the exquisitely beautiful and profound answer. Blatty posed the question, 'Does madness come from evil or does evil come from madness?'. The answer is the former, and the evil is a lack of faith in God.

I've seen may films in my time. This has to be one of the strangest, but yet there is something about this film I love. I've seen a number of films where William Peter Blatty's stories have been transferred to film. The Exorcist, The Excorcist III (the book is titles Legion) and this film. Blatty used the same actors for some of these films. Jason Miller (who plays Father Damian Karras in The Exorcist) plays one of the inmates. Scott Wilson who plays Henshaw has a part of a very nervouse doctor in The Exorcist III. But the main part of this film that grips you is the role of Kane, played by Stacey Keach, who is a fine actor and plays this role to the hilt. The film takes you through the different minds of the inmates, guards, and the doctors. You get to see the doctors and work, the guards doing their best to undertand the patients, and then the inmates themselves. Who is crazy and who isn't? But the main question is: Is Kane the doctor or is he a madman? Watching this film and your questions will be answered. This film is just simply a great film. And how the AFI did not put this in the top 100 best films of all time is still a myestery to me.