© DR - LA 9E PORTE de Roman Polanski (1999) p3 par tellurikwaves blog (75 Paris)

The Don Quixote that Corso buys at the beginning of the film is the very famous Joaquin Ibarra edition, published in 1780, which is generally considered as the best and most beautiful one. He also mentions the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (Venice, 1499) printed by Francesco Colonna, dubbed "the most beautiful book ever printed". You can take a look at its amazing illustrations on the net.

The two booksellers Corso encounters in Toledo are actually the same actor, José López Rodero. Writer/director/producer Roman Polanski used a motion capture rig to use the same actor twice. The same man appears again later, playing two workmen cleaning out the bookstore. Rodero was an assistant director and production manager, not a professional actor. He was hesitant to accept these multiple parts.

Director Cameo: The taxi cab driver that drops Corso off at the airport is played by Roman Polanski.

Chateau Puivert (the Ninth Gate) is called The Devil's Tower. It was used by the Cathars to defend themselves during the Albigensian crusades in the 13th century. The Cathars were gnostic Christians but Pope Innocent III considered them to be devil worshippers.

The New York sequences were shot in Paris as Roman Polanski could not set foot into America because he was still wanted for his 1977 sex crime charges. The exterior locations were redressed with American-related details and the skyscraper seen in the opening and in Balkan's office were Translite material taken from Manhattan.

All of the engravings appearing in "The Nine Gates" were commissioned for the novel (and not the movie) by author Arturo Perez Reverte himself. The only exception is the one showing the Girl riding a dragon, which was altered to make it similar to the actress' face.

The bag that Dean Corso carries throughout the film is a small bag carried by French soldiers around 1935. It was used to carry ammunition and other small items. It is called a musette mle 35.

The cigarettes that Liana Telfer smokes are called Black Devils.

Chateau Puivert is first pictured in a painting behind Boris Balkan while in his penthouse office towards the beginning of the film.

The keypad combination to Boris Balkan's penthouse office and to his private library is "666".

The car that Corso and 'The Girl' drive in France is a Dodge Viper. The model name is Viper (A venomous serpent) as Lucifer in Genesis was depicted and the car itself is painted red, a fitting color for the devil.

The voice of one of the Ceniza twins (Pedro Ceniza) is dubbed by Roman Polanski himself.

The opening credits feature the camera floating through nine sets of doors before the film begins.

Chateau Puivert (the ninth gate) is called the devil's tower. It was used by the Cathars to defend themselves during the Albigensian crusades in the 13th century. The Cathars were gnostic Christians but Pope Innocent III considered them to be devil worshipers.

The book of the nine gates, they say was written in 1666.

The film has a different title from its source novel, "The Club Dumas", because the novel centers around a secret society obsessed with serialized novels, such as those written by Alexandre Dumas père.

When Corso is first seen researching on "The Nine Gates" in the library, the cover page of the book show the name of the author with the Latin phrase "Cum superiorum privilegio veniaque" (With Permission and License of One's Superiors) underneath it. In the novel, it is explained that this formula was used to prove the book in question was not infringing the teachings of the Church. However, the book was indeed forbidden, hinting that the author was acknowledging someone else -and not the Church- as his superiors.

The little girl that stares at Corso at the Paris Airport is played by Roman Polanski's daughter Morgan.

When Balkan has all nine woodcuts laid out, we know that one is a forgery. Of the rest as visible on screen only two are definitely the 'LCF' versions of the illustrations. The remaining six are all the 'AT' versions.

The pen that Dean Corso uses is a limited edition Montblanc Agatha Christie ballpoint.

Johnny Depp didn't take his usual $10 million fee for the opportunity to work with Roman Polanski.

German actress Hildegard Knef was supposed to play the part of "Baroness Kessler", but had to drop out of the film because of illness.

CINEMA :Les blessures narcissiques d'une vie par procuration

© DR - LA 9E PORTE de Roman Polanski (1999) p3