Jerghal I'm always looking for a hidden gem, something I haven't seen before that hasn't been hyped to death on the internet. This film by William Peter Blatty (writer of The Exorcist) might be such a gem. I certainly never heard of it before. I was intrigued by the title and the cover (an astronaut on the moon with Jesus on a crucifix...what on earth could this be about?). This is the plot synopis from IMDb: 'A new commanding officer arrives at a remote castle serving as an insane asylum for crazy and AWOL U.S. Army soldiers where he attempts to rehabilitate them by allowing them to live out their crazy fantasies while combating his own long-suppressed insanity.' Sounds good to me. First of, the dialogue of these insane people is written brilliantly. The actors really go all the way in portraying these nut jobs. It's really funny to watch. But the film is a mix of a lot of different styles. It might start out as a comedy, it also contains horror like elements, drama, surrealistic and tragic parts. It's best not to know to much about this movie beforehand. So just check it out. You might not love it, maybe even hate it but it certainly will be like no other film you've seen before and in these times of cookie cutter productions that is a welcome relief.

Boba_Fett1138 Believe it or not, this is actually a sequel to the horror classic "The Exorcist". An unofficial one of course, though it got made by the writer of the original novel- and the writer of the screenplay for "The Exorcist"; William Peter Blatty. So can you really call it an unofficial one really? No doubt William Peter Blatty wasn't very pleased with the official sequel to the "The Exorcist", "Exorcist II: The Heretic" and he made this movie as a response to that. I actually think this information is important to know, since this helps to put some elements of this movie better in perspective. It explains the unusual story and approach to its themes and characters, as well as its overall style of storytelling and dialog.But how exactly is this a sequel to the "The Exorcist" you might wonder. After all, it doesn't feature a possessed little girl, or any devils or demons in it and no priests armed with the bible and holy water. Actually the movie is more a further exploration of some of the themes and questions that got raised in the original "The Exorcist". Still the movie also is indeed connected to "The Exorcist", through one character; Capt. Billy Cutshaw. Now, I'll forgive if you have no idea who Capt. Billy Cutshaw is but he was the astronaut to which little Regan says; 'You're going to die up there' in "The Exorcist", before soiling herself. This must have really gotten to him, since in this movie he has completely gone crazy, after aborting his flight, literally right before lift off.You also might not really realize it, since the horror elements overshadow the movie its underlying themes (not that this was a bad thing of course) but "The Exorcist" was a movie about a lot of other things as well really. For one it really was one that was about religion and also openly questioned it at times. And it's a movie set almost completely inside an asylum, so of course the movie is also featuring a lot of psychological aspects and philosophical questions but let me tell you though this is unfortunately ain't no "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", in terms of depth and exploration and handling of its themes.This isn't always an easy movie on the eyes and mind, which is the foremost reason why I don't really regard this movie as a perfect- or truly great one. It's asking itself a lot of questions but is it all that interesting as well? Not always really and the movie even at times makes a quite pointless impression. Yes, it's a movie you could easily do without but when you watch it you'll probably still experience it as a truly special movie, especially when you know that it's supposed to be a sequel to "The Exorcist" and you have seen that movie of course but seriously, who hasn't?Don't watch this movie and expect an horror though. Yes, so it's an unofficial sequel to "The Exorcist" and yes, it got done by William Peter Blatty but it yet has absolutely nothing to do with horror though, or even something that remotely resembles it. It's a drama-thriller if you have to put a label on it but best thing is not to label this movie at all. It's one that simply does its own thing and it's hard to put it in any existing genre really. It obviously means that this movie is something original and unique to watch but I wish I could also say that it was an absolutely essential viewing. I just really can't, the movie, its themes and the whole way its handling everything is just a bit too lacking for that.William Peter Blatty still remained fascinated but its ideas and themes, since 9 years later he would direct "The Exorcist III", which actually can be seen as a combination of the first "The Exorcist" movie and this one. "The Ninth Configuration" and "The Exorcist III" are also the only two movies he ever directed by the way. He's still alive but considering his age it's hard to think he will ever direct another new movie.An unique and at times fascinating movie but I really wouldn't call it a perfect one or a must-see.7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

talis-briedis-79-541083 After all these years I still enjoy watching this movie. Some movies are timeless and this is one of them. In the intro, the stage is set. And the players defined. You don't need to know your history to watch the movie. I am sure this can be translated to modern times, replacing the Vietnam war with any of the several going on in 2011. A sensational cast of actors were assembled for this movie. They all were astounding. They movie is not action, comedy, thriller, but yet it is all of them. Mostly it is an exploration of faith. It explores the loss of one mans faith and another mans attempt to restore. Though the man attempting to restore it, has become arguably unstable himself. The intrigue of the characters and their development is key in the movie. Because the twists in the plot reveal the final end play. I love movies with twists that work. Those are rare. 9th does not let down. Promises are kept!

tedg Sometimes the process is transparent. You can see in the work what the writer is going through in the process of creating the work. He or she is not explicitly in the thing, but the struggle of creation is.No one is going to think that Blatty is an important or even effective writer. That hardly matters when a writer is prepared to put his life on the line for us.What happened here is that his spooky book was made into a successful movie, giving him some clout. Pepsi Cola wanted a bottling plant in Budapest, and was faced with a corrupt communism that wanted to attract movie makers to their otherwise unsuccessful city. So Pepsi agreed to finance any bad film and Blatty happened to fall into the opportunity.(There is a bizarre product placement.)This meant that he could indulge himself, and he does. The overall wrapper is a juvenile, banal notion of the search for God. A dedicated film enthusiast will know how to ignore these sections, mostly at the end. The main content is a Marx-brothers inspired bunch of set pieces of crazy Vietnam soldiers in a castle asylum. They have an unrealistic access to any props needed to support the skits. If you are able to look at this episodically, some of these skits are inspired, more like Ernie Kovacks than Groucho though. Most of these are based on writer's artifacts. One sequence follows a soldier determined to reimagine the works of Shakespeare as acted by dogs. Peppered throughout are references to other movies, as if the fantasies of the characters were guided by films. This includes an overlong extraction from "The Wild One."A key character is a reluctant astronaut who realizes that he is part of a national drama of identity and cosmos.The setup is that our narrator is the new psychiatrist who himself is crazy. His eyes are not to be trusted and the wackiness we see could easily be imagined. Because of this, and the hospital's complicity in letting him believe he is a doctor, this story is compared to "Shutter Island." But the later film is a whole, long form piece, with layered acting based on DiCaprio's lessons for "Inception." It carefully engineers a solution at the end for those who wish one and an ambiguous resolution for more serious viewers. It is whole and coherent.This is merely a set of skits with the untrusted narrator's device. I see it as "Duck Soup" for Vietnam, at least in the central sections, combined with the dark night of the soul that a writer faces.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.