Customer Reviews

The Ninth Gate [VHS]

5 star:		(131)
4 star:		(79)
3 star:		(60)
2 star:		(52)
1 star:		(57)

 

 

Empty your mind of all preconceived ideas about this film before viewing, and it will be a very worthwhile experience. It is not a horror film. It is definitely an occult film that takes a fresh look at the old theme of His Unholiness making an appearance on earth. The Ninth Gate has a superior cast who perform their parts well under the direction of a director with a worldwide reputation for genius, especially when it comes to depicting the darker matters of the mind. The film is what you would expect from such a combination of human talent. The strictly human characters display themselves in such a way that it becomes possible to read their minds and feel their motives. In so doing, the necessity of the one supernatural character becomes abundantly clear.

Johnny Depp plays Curso, a dealer in and locator of rare books who, as Balkan (Langella's character) points out, is worthy of trust because his loyalty can be bought. Balkan pays the right price to have Depp travel from New York to Lisbon and Paris in search of the two other copies of a rare book Balkan has recently acquired--one that was supposedly co-authored by the Devil and one of his most loyal disciples, the latter of whom was burned at the stake in the 1600's for his own loyalty. Balkan insists that he thinks only one copy of the book is genuine, and he wants to make sure his copy is the one.

It is obvious that Depp has no idea what he is getting himself into, but for all his cynical disregard of humanity, he becomes the "innocent" in this story, because he is the one person who becomes aware and admits early on that he has no idea what he has gotten into. Balkan says he obtained his copy of the book in a true sale from the owner just before the owner committed suicide. However, the former owner's widow insists that the book is hers and becomes the first person trying to kill Curso in an effort to get it back--after the best of feminine wiles don't get the job done. At this point Curso's "guardian angel", whom he calls Green Eyes, enters the picture in the guise of a wandering college student whose appearances at first inspire distrust and apprehension until she begins the rather pleasant habit of repeatedly saving Curso's life.

The mysterious "keys" that will open the Ninth Gate and let the Devil break through are contained in the set of nine woodcuts within each book. The woodcuts each contain interesting jumbled adaptations of various images from the Tarot's Major Arcana--combinations that give a clue to anyone familiar with the cards and their meanings that everyone's traditional ideas regarding the occult were either dead wrong all along or they are about to undergo--forgive the expression--one hell of a change. Curso notes that there are significant variations in the woodcuts in each volume of the three existing copies of the book. Apparaently some were drawn by the Devil himself and some by his advocate.

Curso also notes that he is now being hounded not only by the avaricious widow and her hit man, but also by Balkan, who seems to know his every move, not to mention having knowledge about the violent deaths of the owners of the other two manuscripts. Finally it is revealed that Balkan and the widow are involved in a literal battle to the death to become the Master who controls the Ninth Gate and the group of Devil worshippers who are this century's congregation of those who have been waiting for that Master since the book was first printed 350 years earlier.

There is humor throughout this film, providing necessary comic relief at some very tense moments. That humor is nowhere more evident than in the scene in which the widow (who has managed to temporarily regain Balkan's copy of the book) is leading the gathering of pathetic self-styled Satanists in an even more pathetic, sterotypical black mass. The scene at its opening is so mundane, you want to groan. Then as it progresses, you realize that is part of the director's intentional imagery to show how stupid the theories about conjuring up and dealing with Old Scratch have always been.

This guy is supposed to be the all powerful Prince of Darkness, right? This is the guy who can take your soul into hell for all eternity if you agree to the arrangement. And yet throughout history it is believed that if you draw a circle around a pentagram on the ground or floor and stand in it, then mutter a few incantations, the Devil will appear with his forked tail between his legs and do whatever you ask. This is the powerful adversary of the Almighty? Polanski has a very refreshing spin on that idea.

In The Ninth Gate we see Satan as a stronger contender--one perfectly capable of appointing his "chosen one" among men. Tired, evidently, of insulting requests to preside as Master of Ceremonies at orgies and to give individual megalomaniacs the power to rule the world, the Devil has decided to run the show himself and to confer the honors of being his Commander in Chief on a person who has proven himself a champion on the battlefield of mundane evil.

As for that "obscure" ending, we see Curso walking alone toward the last eerie combination of Tarot symbols--The Star (hope) imposed over the twin towers of The Moon (a card generally having to do with the deepest and sometimes most sinister elements of the occult). One tower is behind the other, giving the appearance of the two merging into one Tower (symbol of total destruction). Evidently the party games are over.

A richly textured, beautifully filmed and well-acted modern gothic tale. I highly recommend it.

I watched this not knowing what was in store for me, and at the end of the movie, I was completely in awe of this powerful story. Johnny Depp's acting is good, but his somewhat scrawny body and his aged looks just weren't the reason why this movie kept me in my seat throughout. No doubt the story isn't very realistic - its basically about the forces - mainly the evil forces - in life - greed, lust, power... and Johnny Depp plays an underhanded book dealer who is employed by Balkan (Langella) to go on a trip to Europe to research an ancient Satanic book's authenticity. This entire movie is about Johnny Depp taking one long and life-threatening adventure tackling issues beyond what he normally avoids in real life.

Emmanuelle Seigner (and this is just some gossip for you - she's Polanski's wife in real-life!) plays the mysterious woman who appears to help Depp everytime he's faced with a life-or-death situation, and this casts suspicion on her true identity - is she human or is she not? What is she? These are all the questions that Polanski poses to the viewer as you go through the film watching Depp go through his journey which seems to be like a cat-and-mouse chase between him and the greedy people who are after the book's secrets. Seigner is completely mesmerising in her own right. She is very interesting to watch and so charismatic - and rightly so because Polanski filmed her in such a way that drenched her in an even deeper aura of mystery. Olin is good too, she is very convincing in a somewhat shallow role as an out-and-out money-grubbing chic French tramp who bites (literally).

There are certainly loads of questions left unanswered in the movie, but I think this is the intention of the director who wants you the viewer to make out the story how you want to see it. If you like a movie that features a great cast (albeit not your usual "teen heart-throb" Hollywood stars) shot in an European countryside backdrop, and a theme about the "dark forces" that leaves you thinking a bit - then you're sure to enjoy watching this. This movie has good pace. There's always something happening around the corner for Depp, and then there's always the question of "Who exactly is that *girl*?" I loved this whole movie and would recommend it to the right person.

The Ninth Gate is a great film and one of Roman Polanski's most underrated films. Twenty years from now people will give this film the respect it deserves and hail it to be the great film that it is.

Fist of all The Ninth Gate is not an action film. It's a slow-paced psychological thriller very similar in tone and style to Polanski's earlier films Chinatown and Frantic. Johnny Depp and Frank Langella both give great performances. Darius Khondji's photography is amazing and it has an even more amazing score by Kilar. The majority of the film was shot on location and is like a guided tour through Europe.

Ignore the negative reviews and comments from people who've been brainwashed and blinded by the current Hollywood fast-food style of film making with the intention of only appealing to the lowest common denominator. A review doesn't make a good film better or a bad film worse. A superb film. Rating 10 out of 10.

I love "The Ninth Gate". I have seen it many times since I first rented it back in the summer of 2000, and after buying it about a year or so later I have always made it a point to view it regularly. Director Roman Polanski has given us another masterpiece of horror with some good touches of comedy, all wrapped up in a cloak of atmosphere so thick that you could cut it with a knife. While I am not a die-hard fan of Polanski in the way I am with directors such as Tim Burton, I have seen and enjoyed very much three of his films: "Rosemary's Baby", "The Fearless Vampire Killers", and "Frantic", and have observed elements found in each of those three movies to be definitely present in this one. "The Ninth Gate" obviously has its maker's fingerprints all over it, which is good news for fans of his work.

"The Ninth Gate" works great as a detective story, which is really what it is more a horror film. Johnny Depp, my favorite actor hands down, takes us on a bizarrely fascinating journey through Portugal and France hoping to track down two of the three remaining copies of a book apparantly written by Satan himself during the Middle Ages. Along the way, we watch him being followed and see some suspicious setbacks occur, along with his dealings with his employer, a millionaire Satanist by the name of Boris Balkan.

The good things I have to say about this film: first, the directing is fantastic, atmospheric and spellbinding. You will be totally immersed in the goings-on of this film, in spite of its numerous quiet and thoughtful moments and overall slow-moving nature. The European location work is gorgeous ... we see some beautiful and sinister cities, castles, and countrysides. The movie looks and feels great. Also, a bizarre and interesting choice was made to cast the same man as four different characters, who(m) we meet two at a time, first and then again later, in the same location. Was this supposed to be symbolic or indicate something implicitly to the audience?

Second, the musical score by a fellow named Wojciech Kilar is beautiful; its haunting, subtle, and quiet. It perfectly accents the scenes it plays behind, in no way upstaging the action or even drawing attention to itself. Also, I loved the soloist (a Korean girl, I understand) who sang during the opening and ending credits. I find it appalling that during the trailers advertising this film, they played some awful new-metal-crud in an effort to get all the MTV kids into the theater. As awful as this was, I am very thankful that none of this music found its way into the movie itself ... it would be entirely inappropriate. Kilar's compositions are spot-on perfect, and nothing else should have been used.

Third, I was really taken by the fascinating artwork done for the engravings. They were almost tarot-cardish, and very bizarre. I particularly liked the one of the guy hanging by his foot from a noose (and the way it figured into a later scene after we see it for the first time) and the image of the maze with the castle turrets. The moment when we see the initials "LCF" in tiny letters hidden on particular ones was absolutely chilling.

Fourthly and finally, in spite of the fact that Johnny Depp is my favorite actor, I must say that it was Frank Langella as Boris Balkan who stole this movie away. Balkan is a fascinating character, from his special library (did anyone notice the passcode he entered to unlock its door?) to his attitude toward phony Satanists (his little "Boo!" moment was classic), all the way to his unfortunate end. His dedication to his beliefs could be both inspiring and frightening (check out what he says to Corso, Depp's character, when he tells him that the book has been stolen from his hotel room), and I enjoyed every moment that had him on the screen. Langella's Balkan definitely comes away as this movie's most memorable character. I am now very interested in seeing the version of "Dracula" he did back in the 1970s.

One final thing: I found interesting the director's choice to present Satanism in a more objective light than would normally done in films such as these. I understand that Polanski really has no religious beliefs, so as far as he's concerned one is as good as another. While I do not agree with this, it certainly makes for an interesting and original approach to the subject matter, and really works for this movie's benefit.

Give "The Ninth Gate" a try today. The DVD has some good extras, including a nice commentary with the director, and the film itself has a very high rewatchablity factor. You'll find yourself wanting to put this one into the player again and again as time goes on, and you'll find something new to enjoy about it every time. Go for it! You'll thank me.

Carry on Carry on,

MN

I saw Roman Polanski's "The Ninth Gate" -- a horror film often poorly compared to his earlier "Rosemary's Baby" -- on a Saturday night when it began at 10 p.m. It is a good flick for late night on a Saturday -- it's about an unscrupulous rare book dealer (Johnny Depp in an effective role) that makes a deal with a similarly unscrupulous collector (Mr. Overactor Frank Langella) to visit Europe and determine if Langella's first edition book is authentic.

Only catch is it's a first edition of a book written in the 1500s that portends a visit by the devil from those who read it. Depp takes the case (and a big check with a promise of more to come) and goes on a European travelall to check out the other two books in existence.

Strange things begin to happen, weird people start showing up (including a protective angel) and mayhem begins to break out. Depp's investigation leads to death, fire and some interesting discoveries about the books. Langella shows up for a final scene of devil worship where his overacting takes on a new dimension.

This is an interesting and fun movie, for the most part. The mystery story is very involving and the European travelogue, through Spain and France, is very interesting. The film has many suspenseful moments and Depp is unusually good in his role.

This is a poor man's "Rosemary's Baby", however, and it lacks both the fit and finish of Polanski's other venture into devil worship. Still, it is a pretty good late night horror effort, one you can return to a few times to figure out whether that protective angel is actually a member of the devil's brigade or not.

Let's be clear about "The Ninth Gate": the movie is easily one of Roman Polanski's best, and certainly one of the most deliciously creepy, eerie, unsettling and deeply atmospheric films about diabolism and deviltry ever made.

With a script drawn from Spanish author Arturo Perez Reverte's quirky "Le Club Dumas", "The Ninth Gate" is the Faustian tale of an unscrupulous New York dealer in rare books (played with tactful understatement and curiosity by Johnny Depp) commissioned by secretive tycoon and rare book collector Boris Balkan (played to the hilt by Frank Langella, who nearly steals the show)to authenticate his copy of the Nine Gates to the Kingdom of Shadows (De Umbrarum Regni Novem Portis).

That innocent-sounding assignment isn't nearly as easy as it sounds. For one thing, there are three copies of the demonic tome, printed by a 17th century Venetian bookbinder (later burned at the stake for his troubles) and reputedly capable of summoning Satan; Balkan wants Corso to examine the two other volumes (one in Spain, the other in Paris) and determine which is the forgery.

Another complication lies with Balkan's book: its previous owner hanged himself shortly after selling his volume to Balkan, and his wealthy widow (played by a supple and cat-like Lena Olin) wants it back. And if that weren't enough, as Corso is drawn deeper into the mystery, those around him begin to die horribly and mysteriously.

"The Ninth Gate" is a rich, heady, delicious mystery, and its palpable sense of growing menace is given nice counterpoint by Director of Photography Darius Khondji's ("Se7en")lush cinematography, which tracks Corso on his quest through a host of forbidding and enchanting locales: from a decaying Spanish manse, to a Parisian occult library, to a Black Mass in a French castle, to a shadowy and seemingly demon-haunted Manhattan (recreated by the exiled Polanski on a backlot), with the action culminating in a ruined French fortress.

The look of the film constitutes a character in itself; the Black Mass in Liana Telfer's restored family chateau recalls the orgy sequence in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut (indeed, the films echo each other in their suggestion of malefic, monstrous forces gliding beneath their gilded and luxurious surfaces). This is a film that dwells on its haunted spaces, a film full of moonlit parapets and occult libraries full of leather-bound volumes. Even the woodcut details of the Nine Gates (drawn from Reverte's book) draw the viewer into a world of recondite and forbidden knowledge. Watching the movie is like being granted admittance into a secret society.

The creepiness is nicely accentuated by Wojciech Kilar's haunting score, which is by turns engaging and urging Corso on (the "Bolero" like theme undergirding Coros's flight to Madrid) and warding him off.

It has been said that the best terror is painted on a palette of silence: "The Ninth Gate" is a quiet film, a masterwork of atmosphere whose chief terrors are never directly seen. Indeed, Polanski took Reverte's eccentric and erudite "Club Dumas" and plumbed and distilled its essence into a creepy, understatedly scary little film, a minutely detailed little cinematic treasure box whose ultimate horror takes some time to truly sink in.

All of the performances are well done, even the small ones. Veteran actor Jack Taylor is splendid as the last scion of a dying aristocratic Spanish family, Emmanuelle Seigneur is alternately hideous and gorgeous as the mysterious Girl that hounds Corso's footsteps (watch her face closely in the movie's final minutes), and Barbara Jefford provides an elegant turn as occult maven and scholar Baroness Kessler.

There are a few mis-steps, but nothing fatal: the fight between Olin's thug and the Girl by the Seine is clumsily mounted, and the henchman himself, with his platinum blonde hair and effete mannerisms, more closely resembles an extra from a Madonna video than a Satanic assassin, but that's quibbling in a movie this rich and engaging.

With that out of the way: Talk about a mismatch between Marketing and Movie! I think most of the problems viewers had with "The Ninth Gate" stems from the way the film was advertised; the movie came out around the time of Arnold Schwarzenegger's "End of Days", and the marketing campaigns were similar: fire and brimstone quick cuts and heavy metal musical riffs, leading many to the conclusion that both films would offer CGI-demon slaying.

"The Ninth Gate" is not an action movie, nor is it straight horror. If that's what you want to see, then you really shouldn't waste your time. If, on the other hand, you want a deliciously atmospheric movie about a kind of diabolic treasure hunt (with the Devil Himself as the prize), then "The Ninth Gate" is eerily pungent, devilish fun. Old Scratch himself would be pleased.

Movies made for public consumption must be for entertainment, not for analysis for an award. The Ninth Gate is way more enjoyable than iconic movies like Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. There is unjustified over-analysis of this movie, which stifles enjoyment.

The cinematography was excellent, justifying the wide-screen. The DTS soundtrack was impressive. Colour saturation was intense, putting the Blu-ray to good effect. Comments on the Blu-ray version having washed out colours are groundless. When light streams in behind the actors through library and café windows, there is going to be less colour in areas lit by shafts of light: photography 101. There are a lot of scenes taking place in libraries, and there is a lot of backlighting in the movie. There is no colour washout at all: the skin tones are outstanding, as confirmed by the bare bodies of Lena Olin and Emmanuelle Seigner.

Lack of features? Roman Polanski's detailed and non-stop commentary was the best I have heard in a very long time - it is virtually an instructional lecture on movie making. This commentary, pleasantly, is never once self-serving or self-congratulatory. It incorporates into the narrative all the relevant material normally found in "Special Features". Besides one gets to watch this marvellous movie one more time, the original feature not having boring moments helps making this exhaustive commentary readily consumable. The drawings in "Special Features" have characters bearing an uncanny resemblance to various actors.

Unresolved ending? Roman Polanski wisely leaves the final encounter between Johnny Depp and the Prince of Darkness to the viewer's imagination. To be fair, no movie interpretation can possibly come out right, nor can any good come out of it.

This Blu-ray does not work on the old Sony BDP-300, but is playable with models Sony BDP-350 and later 2.0 BDPs.

Many movies give the feeling "I could have written this script myself" or "another variation of a worn theme". Not this one. It is compelling and refreshing drama. Since this story was put to film in 1999, there has rarely been another quite as original.

This review and rating is really about the Blue-ray of The Ninth Gate, rather than the film itself. The reviews here about the movie itself ought to be sufficient enough to make people informed about this quirky mystery/thriller, its absorbing pace, and what it is all about.

I have seen this film a few times on the standard version I own, and I just watched the Blu-ray for the first time last night. First off, this first Blu-ray edition of The Ninth Gate says the runtime is 93 minutes. There is a very, very wrong typo on the back on the box and on the dvd itself. The DVD is the original 133 min cut same as the standard dvd. The Blu-ray indeed has the complete, unedited movie. You can just ignore the mistaken run time listed. Really though, what a bad mistake to make on a dvd. It risks making some people who are familiar with the film that this is just some sort of edited version not worth owning. Not to mention that those not familiar with the film may be deceived by this mistaken time claim as well, by planing their night or whatever around watching a much shorter film and ending up with a far longer film on their hands. Really, is this too hard to fix or get straight? Come on.

Anyway, I liked the Blue-ray. It wasn't perfect, and I think it could have been better in places, but it really did indeed seem like a step above the regular standard dvd. I know that Blu-ray dot com mentioned some less than thrilling things about the job done on the Blue-ray here. They gave the video quality a two and a half out of five (they did give the audio high marks though). I thought the DTS soundtrack was impressive enough. And they did admit that several close ups on the Blu-ray looked pretty good when in comparison to the standard dvd.

Yes, The Ninth Gate is a first generation Blu-ray release. I watched it on good quality high def equipment last night, and there indeed is room for improvement here and there. I found some scenes to have some grain in the background that was not necessary, but not terribly distracting. At least textures did not seem waxy! This is not a film that has lost all its grain and texture. I did not find this Blu-ray abused with too much DNR. Colour saturation was actually very nice. The picture was generally clear and sharp. Comments on the Blu-ray version having washed out colours are debatable here with this one. When light streams in behind the actors through various types of windows, there is going to be less colour in some areas. There is a lot of backlighting in the movie to begin with. I think this transfer did a decent job of carrying over the intent of the films creators of lighting and cinematography. And that is the most important thing. I'd rather see too little remastering and the intent of the filmmakers preserved, than too much tinkering around and that intent lost in trying to make some sort of flash film that looses too much of its realistic grain, contrast, etc., and becomes a DNR waxy mess.

Most of the time, it seems to me that Blu-ray dot com is pretty dead on with their reviews. I think with this film, they might have been a bit overcritical. Probably because this Blu-ray kinda straddles the line between what could have been a truly magnificent version vs., capturing the filmmakers intent.

Overall, the Blu-ray really didn't disappoint me. It may not be the final say on this film, but it is an improvement and a step in the right redirection. Seeing as how they may never make another Blu-ray version of this film (my concern is that the digital downloading world is catching up and that, like mp3's, quality may become very sporadic for a while with downloading until it supposedly is all "finally" sorted out as well), this may be our last shot at a good dvd copy right here. Its a decent job for sure.

As for the extra's, it is pretty much everything carried over from the standard as far as I can tell. A commentary by the director. A short making of documentary. Stills and explanations of the drawings in the film (that might be on the standard I can't remember). And some miscellaneous trailers I didn't bother to look at.

Hope this review helps in your thinking about the Blu-ray for The Ninth Gate. Be safe out there.

- CAUTION: SPOILERS BELOW -

I first saw Ninth Gate at the theater in 1999 or 2000 and I'm convinced that that is the best way to see this movie. Lights low, huge picture in front of you, rich, booming sound. The opening credits are great; Polish musician Wojciech Kilar's opening theme is excellent and sets an appropriate tone of weariness and dread. Some of the pluckier parts of the soundtrack don't seem to mesh too well, or seem dated -- but the opening theme is masterfully done.

The movie concerns a book dealer's attempts to piece together the three known copies of a medieval tome that was supposedly co-written by Lucifer in 1666. Yes, co-authored by Lucifer himself. Apparently Lucifer likes to sign his name "LCF," the movie shows, and he does engravings, too. Piecing together all Lucifer's drawings in the 3 extant copies of the 'The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows,' a book that reminds of the Necronomicon, enables one to summon the dark lord. Or so the theory goes.

Depp does an adequate, low-key job as the unscrupulous book collector in search of the volumes on behalf of a wealthy New York client (Frank Langella). As others have mentioned, you do get the feeling that some sort of unspeakable evil is always JUST around the corner. But after awhile it begins to feel like a big put-on. Is anything going to ever happen or not? The pacing of the plot is deliberate, even langorous, and there is a good amount of suspense and unease, ladled on thick and grey in various European settings. The characters are interesting and even eerie (the two book makers in Portugal, for example).

There are some moments, however, where the film seems to devolve into self-parody. For example, when you think of it, Satan himself, sitting around, doing drawings, and planting them in 3 different books -- well, that's kind of absurd, no? Nonetheless, if you don't think about such minutaie too much, you can enjoy the atmosphere and moodiness the movie conjures. One failing of the movie was when Depp's character, Corso, encounters the pack of Satanists at a secluded European mansion. This scene, which should have been climactic, seems to want to play like EYES WIDE SHUT, and it does sort of play that way -- but it's EYES WIDE SHUT as directed for the old 80s TV show Amazing Stories. Kind of hokey. In fact, some moments of this scene are laughably bad: One of the female Satanists, for some reason, hastily strips off her black silk robe and scuttles away naked, as if she'd just seen Godzilla approaching Mt. Fuji. Granted, fleeing is one thing -- but stripping off your clothes as you do so? Why was this put here? What the heck, Roman Polanski? Another Satanist looks like a Renassance Fair enthusiast, in long hair and a pony tail. And when Frank Langella strides into the scene, dressed like lawyer Melvin Belli in the Rolling Stones' GIMME SHELTER, proclaiming, "Mumbo jumbo! Mumbo jumbo! Mumbo jumbo!" it's hard not to laugh.

The ending also felt antclimactic. I remember in the theater that folks sat in hushed silence as the credits came up, and there was a feeling of disbelief that that confused, ambiguous little bit at the end really was the ending. (You'll know what I mean when you see it.)

If someone else other than Roman Polanski had made this movie -- a new director, perhaps -- you'd think, "Hmm, this was uneven but it had its moments. I can't wait to see what this director does in the next few years." But since it *is* Polanski and you expect a degree of excellence from him, it's a let down -- of sorts. ROSEMARY'S BABY and REPULSION are far superior to this. But if you have seen THE TENANT, Polanski's last of his unofficial trilogy of which REPULSION & ROSEMARY'S were the first two parts, well, it's about on level with that. THE TENANT was also a good, suspenseful, disturbing movie that nonetheless delivered a confusing, unsatisfying ending and had uneven, silly moments.

I'm torn between recommending this or not. I give it 3 stars. I wish I could say 3 and a half. It's not bad. But it just isn't as great as we know Polanski is capable of. Go into it with low expectations and you may be surprised.

When this film was released in 1999 it did not get the press it deserved and I never saw it until I it aired on HBO. After the first viewing, I was hooked on the film. I have always thought Depp was an excellent actor and he plays an almost likable but undoubtedly dark character than has clearly adopted the "me above all others" way of thinking. He is hired by Frank Langella who plays a very dark, Devil worshiping book collector with a hidden agenda, lyrically named Boris Balkan. Throughout the film, Depp is visited and aided by Emmanuelle Seigner (who to this day I have never seen in anything else in spite of a long European filmography)but one of the mysteries of the film is that you never know who this girl is. An agent of the Devil, the Devil itself or a dark angel? As usual, Lena Olin plays a forgettable character and is probably the weakest part of the film. Even though Langella's portrayal of the evil book collector goes a little over the top toward the end, the film and the interactions between Depp and the other possessors of this rare book are not to be missed. I am looking forward to the blu-ray release.