The Ninth Configuration

(There have been so many re-cut versions of this film that it is necessary to explain which version is being reviewed. The following comments relate to the Blue Dolphin R2 DVD release, said by William Peter Blatty to be the... Full review

The Ninth Configuration (1980) was William Peter Blatty's directorial debut. He adapts his own novel for the big screen in this bizarre film about an astronaut (Scott Wilson) who's reached his breaking point and a military doctor (Stacy Keach) who's... Full review

A brilliant and unconventional film. As I'm sure many others have said it is very difficult to describe or sum up accurately. It has so many seemingly incongruous elements yet amazingly in the end it ties them all together and... Full review

This film has all the facets of Blatty's novels and films: the occasionally wildly silly and wonderful dialog, the Catholic iconography, the crucified "savior", and the eloquent debate between the depths of humanity's despair and its hopes for a heaven (to... Full review

WARNING: SPOILERSThis is one film you'll never forget. A rare occurrence when a movie is better than the novel it's based on, director William Peter Blatty struck gold with this one. Nice to see it's finally getting the recognition it... Full review

Like many things that Blatty has done, the more you put into the film, the more you get out of it. I have watched it maybe a dozen times, and every time I get something out of it. If you... Full review

I'm glad this film is getting more attention since its release on DVD. I think it's one of a kind. A film that sums up what it means to be a CULT FILM. Here is a film that really is... Full review

****SPOILERS ALERT**** Arriving at a secret military instillation in the cold and rainy Pacific North-West that looks like a medieval castle Col. Vincent Kane, Stacy Keach, takes charge of mental therapy for those mentally broken servicemen incarcerated there who's psychosis... Full review

It's rare to find five films that offer as much combined intelligence, passion, visceral excitement, and uncontrolled belly laughs as this. "The Ninth Configuration" is the sort of film people either love or hate. Like many great works of art,... Full review

After seeing the excellent job William Peter Blatty did with Exorcist 3, I was intrigued to see what other films he had directed ('The Ninth Configuration' turned out to be the only other). The movie popped up on late-night TV... Full review

The movie is damn funny, but it's also damn profound.....Fantastic acting, razor-sharp dialogue, gripping characters, and a mind-bending theme.....turns out to be one of those rare exceptions when the movie is better than the book (although the book, which I read afterward, is also quite good).....The dynamic between these two men is the high point of the film, providing the most hilarious and profoundly touching moments..... ... Full Review

Namely, he interacts with NASA astronaut-gone-nuts Scott Wilson (equally good, if not better), until it starts to surface that Keach's character may not be altogether there himself. Very capable, though it flounders considerably in the final act. ... Full Review

William Peter Blatty , author of The Exorcist, proved a workmanlike producer/director for 1979's The Ninth Configuration . Army psychiatrist Col. Kane ( Stacy Keach ) (teetering on the sanity brink himself) tries to minister to the patients in a... ... Full Article

It seems that there is no halfway house in the appreciation of this film. Those who have seen it either like it very much or don't really care for it at all. ... Full Article