History Fridge / TheNinthGate

*** TruthInTelevision: Real old books are commonly handled without any gloves (though smoking and drinking around them are definitely not allowed), because wearing gloves leads to loss of tactile function, which could actually lead to inadvertently tearing pages or damaging the book. Furthermore, if a book happens to get damaged, it's often repairable.
* FridgeLogic: The Girl saving Corso from his attackers [[spoiler: and with such questionable and possibly inhumane fighting skills.]] And TheReveal where [[PowerFloats she descends]]... Still remember that. I liked it was subtle. Just kinda slipped in there. To the point where the audience questioned their own eyes. [[MindScrew “Did she fly or just slide down the railing?"]]

** After the end of the movie, you realize that [[spoiler:The Girl is the Devil and has chosen Corso for the gift of the power since the beginning.]]

** In the book [[spoiler: The Girl/Irene Adler is not the Devil, but still a fallen angel, and Corso is a normal human haunted by tragedy in his life and his ancestor's. In the film, either character can be seen as the Devil. Kind of like how the three books each hold some answers.]]
** There's another possible interpretation of the film (though not necessarily the book), in that [[spoiler: the Ninth Gate really had nothing to do with Satan. According to this theory, the "Lucifer" referred to as the author of the Delomelanicon referred to the name's literal translation of "Lightbringer," and not the demon of Christian mythology. The engravings serve as a map of consciousness, not unlike the Kabbalah, and lead down two separate paths, one a path of greed and self destruction which ends in flames, and the other, a true path to enlightenment. Aristide Torchia (and by extension, all those who interpret the material as Satanic) follows the negative path and dies as a result. Dean Corso somehow ends up on the right path, and achieves transcendence.]] A much more detailed explanation can be found [[http://www.halexandria.org/dward900.htm here]]

** Books prior to the invention of the printing press were printed on extremely heavy paper or vellum, not mere pulp, with bone spines (hence the name "spine") and leather covers; don't think "rare pulp magazine", think ''"man-portable stone tablet"'' - something sturdy to preserve knowledge for the ages. Antiquities dealers treat them with care because they're valuable, not because they're delicate. Back when they were first written, readers smoking and drinking near them was basically [[ButForMeItWasTuesday Tuesday]] - people read them by candlelight, and if you didn't drink liquor you were drinking (not-so)CoolClearWater. Still doesn't excuse a "rare book dealer" being so rough with them though.

* FridgeLogic: The Girl saving Corso from his attackers [[spoiler: and with such questionable and possibly inhumane fighting skills.]] And TheReveal where [[PowerFloats she descends]]... Still remember that. I liked it was subtle. Just kinda slipped in there. To the point where the audience questioned their own eyes. “[[Mindscrew Did she fly or just slide down the railing?]]"

* FridgeLogic: The Girl saving Corso from his attackers and with such questionable and possibly inhuman fighting skills. And TheReveal where she descends... Still remember that. I liked it was subtle. Just kinda slipped in there. To the point where the audience questioned their own eyes. “Did she fly or just slide down the railing?"

* FridgeLogic: The Girl saving Corso from his attackers and with such questionable and possibly inhuman fighting skills. And TheReveal where she descends. Still remember that. I liked it was subtle. Just kinda slipped in there. To the point where the audience questioned their own eyes. “Did she fly or just slide down the railing?"

* FridgeLogic: The Girl saving Corso from his attackers and with such questionable and possibly inhuman fighting skills. And TheReveal where she descends. Still remember that. I liked that it was subtle. Just kinda slipped in there. To the point where I questioned my own eyes. “Did she fly or just slide down the railing?

*** TruthInTelevision: Real old books are commonly handled without any gloves (though smoking and drinking around them are definitely not allowed), because wearing gloves leads to loss of tactile function, which could actually lead to inadvertently tearing pages or damaging the book. Furthermore, if a book happens to get damaged, it's often repairable.

*** TruthInTelevision: Real old books are commonly handled without any gloves (though smoking and drinking around them are definitely not allowed), because wearing gloves leads to loss of tactile function, which could actually lead to inadvertently tearing pages or damaging the book. Furthermore, if a book happens to get damaged, it's often repairable.
** Why are they speaking Spanish in Portugal, anyway?
*** When did they? The only Spanish was being spoken by the Spanish Ceneza brothers in Toledo, Spain, to my recollection at least. I don't recall any Spanish during the short time Corso was in Portugal seeing Vargas.
* ''The Ninth Gate'' had everyone I know making that noise Scooby-Doo makes when he's confused. And sometime later, the ending hit me: The girl was {{Satan}} herself, and Korso had found the ninth gate and used it. --@/{{Indigo}}
** She is very unambiguously Satan in the book on which the film is based, ''El Club Dumas'' by Arturo Perez-Reverte.
*** She's a fallen angel, but not Satan, in the book.
** What I got from the film was that Korso was an amnesiac {{Satan}} and the girl was a witch or demon who was trying to guide him to the ninth gate. --VashtheStampede
** Some fan discussions point to the final engraving as showing the Whore of Babylon riding on the 7-headed beast out in front of a flaming castle, so they think The Girl is her.
* My dad loved the movie, then one evening randomly invited me to watch it with him. He'd seen it several times, but had never noticed that the last carving/illustration Korso discussed or examined was foreshadowing. (example- Korso examines the carving that resembles the Tarot card The Hanged Man, and then goes back to his shop to find his friend dead and dangling from his ankle, in the same pose as the picture.) I thought it was pretty obvious, but then again, my dad is kind of thick when it comes to anything that isn't math-based. -{{Timber}}
** What really made this sink in for me is how Balkan says in the beginning how using the proper text will cause the Prince of Darkness to appear in person. As soon as Balkan puts the pages in the correct order at the castle he looks up... and Korso is standing right there.
*** But the book wasn't complete at that time. Balkan had eight genuine engravings and the false one created by the Spanish brothers.
** I assumed the girl would be satan from the start knowing Roman Polanski had cast his own wife and his general obsession with making movies about the devil. Read the book later, it's far more obvious in the book than the film.--{{bluebrainfreezy}}

*** The books being laid out on the floor in Fargas' mansion was actually taken from the source novel. Not that it necessarily makes it better....
*** Books during the era were printed on extremely heavy paper or vellum, not mere pulp, with bone spines (hence the name "spine") and leather covers, smoking and drinking near them is probably the lightest they were treated in their entire life.
** TruthInTelevision: Real old books are commonly handled without any gloves (though smoking and drinking around them are definitely not allowed), because wearing gloves leads to loss of tactile function, which could actually lead to inadvertently tearing pages or damaging the book. Furthermore, if a book happens to get damaged, it's often repairable.

** I assumed the girl would be satan from the start knowing Roman Polanski had cast his own wife and his general obsession with making movies about the devil. Read the book later, it's far more obvious in the book than the film.--{{bluebrainfreezy}}

* FridgeBrilliance: After the end of the movie, you realize that [[spoiler:The Girl is the Devil and has chosen Corso for the gift of the power since the beginning.]] Alternate interpretation: [[spoiler: Corso is actually Satan and has undergone a XanatosRoulette and MemoryGambit to return to heaven. The book is supposed to "raise the devil" and so it does, by showing him the way back home.]]

* ''TheNinthGate'' had everyone I know making that noise Scooby-Doo makes when he's confused. And sometime later, the ending hit me: The girl was {{Satan}} herself, and Korso had found the ninth gate and used it. --@/{{Indigo}}

** There's another possible interperetation of the film (though not necessarily the book) in that the ninth gate really had nothing to do with Satan. According to this theory, the "Lucifer" referred to as the author of the delomelanocon referred to the name's literal translation of "Lightbringer," and not the demon of Christian mythology. The engravings serve as a map of consciousness, a la the Kaballah, and lead down two separate paths, one a path of greed and self destruction which ends in flames, and the other, a true path to enlightenment. Aristide Torchia (and by extension, all those who interperet the material as Satanic) follows the negative path and dies as a result. Dean Corso somehow ends up on the right path, and achieves transendance.

*** Books during the era were printed on extremely heavy paper or vellum, not mere pulp, with bone spines (hence the name "spine") and leather covers, smoking and drinking near them is probably the lightest they were treated in their entire life.

** She is very unambiguously Satan in the book on which the film is based, ''La Club Dumas'' by Arturo Perez-Reverte.