Stir of Echoes / The Ninth Gate

Starring:Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin, Emmanuelle Seigner, Barbara Jefford, Jack Taylor (II), JosÃ© LÃ³pez Rodero, Tony Amoni, James Russo, Willy Holt, Allen Garfield, Jacques Dacqmine, Joe Sheridan, Rebecca Pauly, Catherine Benguigui, Maria Ducceschi, Jacques Collard, Dominique Pozzetto, Emanuel Booz, Lino Ribeiro de Sousa
Director: Roman Polanski, David Koepp
Studio: Live / Artisan
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Stir of Echoes
The only real problem with Stir of Echoes has nothing to do with the movie itself, but with unlucky coincidence. Adapted from a Richard Matheson novel, this film arrived around the same time as The Sixth Sense, and surface similarities made it suffer by cursory comparison and the competing film's phenomenal success. It's a pity, because this one features one of Kevin Bacon's best performances, in a psychological thriller that makes a lot more right moves than wrong ones. Bacon plays a blue-collar guy who laments his ordinary life, only to learn, when his sister-in-law (Ileanna Douglas) hypnotizes him, that he is a "receiver" capable of seeing spirits and split-second glimpses of past and future events. It's a torturous gift to have--especially since his friendly Chicago neighborhood possesses a dark secret--and Bacon plays the role with an appropriate mixture of obsession and internalized torment. Similarity to The Sixth Sense applies only to the basic premise and the character of Bacon's young son. Otherwise, this is more of a hard-edged journey of self-discovery, marital crisis, and recovery, with Bacon's wife (played by the highly underrated Kathryn Erbe) involved in an underdeveloped subplot about a group of people who share Bacon's gift as paranormal "receivers." Furthering his career as a writer-director of intelligent thrillers, David Koepp makes a few missteps in pacing and thematic overkill, but overall Stir of Echoes is a sharp, sensitive thriller that unfolds to reveal a dramatically satisfying solution to its mystery. --Jeff Shannon

The Ninth Gate
The horror of Roman Polanski is not about spectacle and shock but a goose-pimply sense of evil lurking just outside the frame and hidden behind the faces of slightly unsettling characters. For a while it looks like The Ninth Gate, adapted from the novel The Club Dumas by Arturo PÃ©rez-Reverte, might recapture the beautiful uneasiness of such masterpieces as Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. A calm, almost sleepy Johnny Depp plays cynical, unscrupulous rare-book hunter Dean Corso, who's hired by demonologist Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) to authenticate a rare volume that, legend has it, was cowritten by Lucifer himself. Dean leaves a Gothic looking New York (re-created in Europe by Polanski as a sinister city of shadows) for Portugal and Paris to compare Balkan's volume with the two copies known to be in existence and uncovers a mystery with unholy ramifications. He also finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that involves Balkan, a widow who will stop at nothing to retrieve Balkan's book (Lena Olin, who gleefully bites and claws her way through the part), and a mysterious guardian "angel" (Polanski's wife, Emmanuelle Seigner) who shadows his every step. The Ninth Gate is full of rumbling menace and deliciously unsettling imagery, but Polanski's languorous direction and purposefully vague story render a film that's eerie without every becoming thrilling. It's perpetually on the verge of becoming interesting--right up to its obscure final image. --Sean Axmaker
Description
STIR OF ECHOES: Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) is a blue-collar worker, a family-man, the most ordinary guy in the world...who is about to be plunged into a shattering encounted with another world. And it doesn't matter that Tom doesn't believe in the supernatural. Because something supernatural has started to believe in Tom.

After he is hypnotized at a neighborhood party, Tom changes. He sees things he can't explain and hears voices he can't ignore. As the horrific visions intensify, Tom realizes they are pieces of a puzzle, echoes of a crime calling out to be solved. But when his otherworldly nightmares begin coming true, Tom wants out. He desperately tries to rid himself of his eerie, unwanted powers - only to be seized by an irresistible compulsion to dig deeper and deeper into the mystery that is consuming his life. When at last he unearths the truth, it will draw him into the long-buried secret of a ghastly crime, a vengeful spirit...and the lethal price of laying that spirit to rest.

Amazon.com

Stir of Echoes
The only real problem with Stir of Echoes has nothing to do with the movie itself, but with unlucky coincidence. Adapted from a Richard Matheson novel, this film arrived around the same time as The Sixth Sense, and surface similarities made it suffer by cursory comparison and the competing film's phenomenal success. It's a pity, because this one features one of Kevin Bacon's best performances, in a psychological thriller that makes a lot more right moves than wrong ones. Bacon plays a blue-collar guy who laments his ordinary life, only to learn, when his sister-in-law (Ileanna Douglas) hypnotizes him, that he is a "receiver" capable of seeing spirits and split-second glimpses of past and future events. It's a torturous gift to have--especially since his friendly Chicago neighborhood possesses a dark secret--and Bacon plays the role with an appropriate mixture of obsession and internalized torment. Similarity to The Sixth Sense applies only to the basic premise and the character of Bacon's young son. Otherwise, this is more of a hard-edged journey of self-discovery, marital crisis, and recovery, with Bacon's wife (played by the highly underrated Kathryn Erbe) involved in an underdeveloped subplot about a group of people who share Bacon's gift as paranormal "receivers." Furthering his career as a writer-director of intelligent thrillers, David Koepp makes a few missteps in pacing and thematic overkill, but overall Stir of Echoes is a sharp, sensitive thriller that unfolds to reveal a dramatically satisfying solution to its mystery. --Jeff Shannon

The Ninth Gate
The horror of Roman Polanski is not about spectacle and shock but a goose-pimply sense of evil lurking just outside the frame and hidden behind the faces of slightly unsettling characters. For a while it looks like The Ninth Gate, adapted from the novel The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, might recapture the beautiful uneasiness of such masterpieces as Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. A calm, almost sleepy Johnny Depp plays cynical, unscrupulous rare-book hunter Dean Corso, who's hired by demonologist Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) to authenticate a rare volume that, legend has it, was cowritten by Lucifer himself. Dean leaves a Gothic looking New York (re-created in Europe by Polanski as a sinister city of shadows) for Portugal and Paris to compare Balkan's volume with the two copies known to be in existence and uncovers a mystery with unholy ramifications. He also finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that involves Balkan, a widow who will stop at nothing to retrieve Balkan's book (Lena Olin, who gleefully bites and claws her way through the part), and a mysterious guardian "angel" (Polanski's wife, Emmanuelle Seigner) who shadows his every step. The Ninth Gate is full of rumbling menace and deliciously unsettling imagery, but Polanski's languorous direction and purposefully vague story render a film that's eerie without every becoming thrilling. It's perpetually on the verge of becoming interesting--right up to its obscure final image. --Sean Axmaker

Description

STIR OF ECHOES: Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) is a blue-collar worker, a family-man, the most ordinary guy in the world...who is about to be plunged into a shattering encounted with another world. And it doesn't matter that Tom doesn't believe in the supernatural. Because something supernatural has started to believe in Tom.

Customer Reviews:

Great movies, poor features.......2005-03-05

First off the movies are great. You can tell by the other reviews if you're interested in either of the movies themselves. My only problem is with the lack of features on both these DVDs. If you are a person that doesn't watch the bonus features or listen to the commentaries, then this double pack is the thing for you! Its a great deal in that case. I however like to listen to the commentaries and watch the "making of" features. Especially with good directors like Roman Polanski on Ninth Gate. I was pretty mad today when i went to wal mart and saw a new edition of Stir Of Echoes with added features (such as a commentary!!!!!).

Oh, well.

Stir of Echoes is great, Ninth Gate sure as heck is not........2003-08-26

Stir of Echoes is a terrifically engrossing supernatural thriller that perfectly blends mystery, horror, and drama into one deft mix. It also boasts Kevin Bacon's best performance.

The Ninth Gate, on the other hand, is a lazy motion picture that undeniably boasts strong atmosphere and intrigue, but fails to deliver upon its potential. The movie ultimately leads nowhere, a destination so unfulfilling it makes the previous two hours ten minutes a total waste.

Both perfect in environment..........2003-02-20

I think both films really pass on the climate they want and this contributes to their success and makes them much more interesting for the viewer.
In Stir Of Echoes, the mysticism and the unexpected always are on hold and in The Ninth Gate, fear for what will happen next, prevails.
In stir of echoes we have the technique of hypnotism which is very interesting and not usually used in a movie, and in the ninth gate we have the dark, ruthless book collector, who asks the also dark Depp, to find for him, a Satan's book...
Both films keep you anxious 'til the end with a slight difference that makes Stir of Echoes a better movie. The ending plays a big part in these movies and in stir of echoes it is better and very iteresting..Chills you to the bone...

No Dep(p)th.......2002-04-18

This had a lot of potential but ended up being rather disappointing. The main problem is that the story is a very deep and complex work which is brilliantly written (by Arturo Perez-Reverte under the title The Dumas Club) and the film simply does not match it for credibility. Depp's acting is wooden and featureless and although Langalla is convincing, Seigner's role in the film is never properly explained. All in all, a rather directionless effort that could have been far better given the right approach.

The plot involves Depp as an unscrupulous rare book dealer who is employed to track down 2 remaining copies of a Satanic Text that explains how to summon the Devil. His employer is a rich business man with an obsession with the Devil who also owns a copy of the book called "The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows". He wants Depp to find out if one or any of them are fakes.

Depp then high tails it off to Europe to interview the reamaining owners and is soon encountering all sorts of sinister accidents. he is followed by "The girl" (Seigner) who appears to be his ally. It soon becomes apparent that there is a hidden agenda as people start dying. Eventually Langella, arrives on the scene to act out the ritual but its flawed and he dies. The girls identity is never revealed and this is a mistake( In the book, she is revealed as one of Satan's rebel angels). The film ends unsatisfactorily with Depp entering the Ninth Gate himself but we are led to believe that it's for love of the girl which is inaccurate. If Polanski had followed the book more accurately, it would have been more effective.

9th Gate.......2001-10-28

Johnny Depp in another superb performance. The Corso character carries the hokey premise, and the location footage in Europe is great. This film is a must see for anyone who wants a piece of Ned Flanders.

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