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| The Ninth Configuration | 
 enlarge | Actors: Scott Wilson, Stacy Keach, George Dicenzo, Ed Flanders, Moses Gunn
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $12.97
You Save: $7.01 (35%)
New (43) Used (15) from $12.71
Avg. Customer Rating:  68 reviews
Sales Rank: 15498
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 114
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D14414D
ISBN: 0790761572
UPC: 085391441427
EAN: 9780790761572
ASIN: B0000696IA
Theatrical Release Date: August 8, 1980
Release Date: September 17, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW SEALED DVD. 1st class shipping.
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Amazon.com
The lunatics are running the asylum... but are they really lunatics? Is Colonel Kane (Stacy Keach) really a noted psychiatrist, assigned to supervise patients in an experimental government clinic, or is he really "Killer" Kane, a decorated U.S. Marine who committed atrocities in Vietnam before going insane? And why did Captain Cutshaw (Scott Wilson) go berserk just seconds before a scheduled rocket launch? These are just some of the puzzles that will eventually be solved in The Ninth Configuration, a giddy and often brilliant drama created by William Peter Blatty, who wrote The Exorcist before directing this adaptation of his own novel, Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane. A satirical study of war's traumatic aftermath, the film uses battle psychosis as the springboard for a delirious and scathingly intelligent human tragedy, laced with some of the wittiest dialogue you're ever likely to hear. The movie boasts a veritable menagerie of crazy characters, all brought vividly to life by a stellar supporting cast. One patient is preparing a production of Shakespeare with an all-dog cast. Another is convinced he's Superman, and the resident doctor can't seem to find his trousers. But there's a method to this madness, and it takes a barroom brawl--one of the most memorable in movie history--to provide the harsh slap of reality to Blatty's elaborate group therapy scheme. When the true purpose of The Ninth Configuration is revealed, the film (and particularly the fine performances of Keach and Wilson) reveals a depth of compassionate sanity that may take you completely by surprise. --Jeff Shannon
Description
In a castle on a remote island in the Pacific, insane army soldiers are sent for treatment. Psychiatrist Col. Kane's (Keach) discovers his own need for therapy through the treatment of his patients.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 63 more reviews...
 A wonderful, beautiful, comical, and unseen gem of cinema November 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
William Peter Blatty made an incredible and unique piece of cinema with this film. This was Blatty's first picture as a director and it's much more personal and accomplished than other directors' first works. Usually first works are good and show great promise, but seeing this you'd think that Blatty must've been directing atleast twenty years before. The story is incredibly personal and thought provoking. I was jaw dropped through quite a bit of the movie, especially at the scene in the bar with Keach and the biker gang, but really all of it. Who knows were Blatty got the story, because it's so unsual and so,completely original because there really is nothing else like this picture. This should be shown more. To me this deserves a better place in cinema and probably DVD. Like Ken Russell's The Devils. See it if you haven't.
"I don't think that evil grows out of madness, I think that madness grows out of evil." September 12, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although spoilers exist all throughout the internet pertaining to The Ninth Configuration, they are to be ignored at all costs. Those who read them are cheating themselves, and those who write them are gravely insulting this fine movie. People who watch this film for the first time without any expectations, preconceived notions, or any other ideas as to how the movie ends are to be envied. One reviewer was very smart to add in his/her review that you don't ask a great filmmaker if they seen this before, you ask them how many times. Even most of the negative reviews are about the DVD transfer (which I'll admit does leave something to be desired) and not the actal film quality.
Being one the first films to deal with Vietnam Era Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Apocalypse Now being another), TNC was one the first great films of the 1980s. Here, the military commandeers an abandoned medieval castle in the Pacific Northwest(?) to treat a group of highly intelligent, but mentally unbalanced soldiers who may or may not be faking their ailments. The patients range from an artistic type who tries to turn the facility into his own version of the Sistine Chapel to one who directs his own Shakespearean productions - starring dogs! There is also a multiple personality case who one day believes he is a German scientist who can walk through walls and a foul-mouthed nun the next. Now the story takes an even sharper turn toward the bizarre.
A seeming compassionate and understanding Dr. Hudson Kane (an amazing performance by Stacy Keach) transfers to the facility. His treatment of patients at first appears to be calm and nonjudgmental, even when the patients become belligerent. His most challenging case is Capt. Cutshaw, a Marine astronaut who saw no actual combat, but lost his nerve before his rocket blasted off. At this point, some of the patients begin to wonder about Kane's sanity. And to make matters more complicated, in order for Kane to get to the bottom of Cutshaw's problem, he has to confront some very uncomfortable truths about himself.
You may hear it a lot of times; but in this case the words "They don't make'em like they use to" definitely apply. Rarely does a film nowadays explore spirituality in a positive way that TNC did. For all of its profanity, bleak themes, and a very violent bar fight; it is one of the most uplifting and life-affirming films I have ever seen. It has often been said something cannot be both intellectual and religious. This film takes that myth and rips it to shreds. Unlike some "religious" movies that try to push an agenda down the viewer's throat via emotional pandering (The Passion of the Christ, anyone?), TNC uses logic. And never once does it condemn people who have legitimite questions.
Extremely recommended.
Amust see July 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This movie is very well written. It had me in a trance from begining to end. I highly suggest this movie to anyone who likes movies that require deep thought.
Gentlemen... I present the group! July 8, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I first saw this film on vhs about 15 years ago on a whim. Then as now I enjoy it. In widescreen it's even better. Say what you want about William Peter Blatty. As a writer and director the guy has made some astonishing American poetry. This film being his personal masterpiece. A dark comedy about insanity based in an old castle at the end of the Vietnam war. I won't go into the plot..you can read other reviews or see it for yourself. This film is enlightening in an abstract way..dark humor..with a great statement about comedy and tragedy. If you enjoy strange and obscure films about psychological drama and human experience, this is a must see. But don't expect the exorcist here. It's really nothing even remotely of the same genre. Non-the-less brilliant and charming.
 In the trash February 23, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
The vocals are not synchronized with the video. The visuals are a terrible blur. This old (1980) film needs to be deleted from supplier inventory....mine is in the trash can as toxic waste.........
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