The Ninth Configuration

1980
R
1h 58m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Stacy Keach in The Ninth Configuration (1980)

Dark Comedy Comedy Drama Horror Mystery Thriller

An ex-marine psychiatrist attempts to rehabilitate his patients by indulging their fantasies, and seeks to prove the existence of a loving God to one especially troubled inmate.An ex-marine psychiatrist attempts to rehabilitate his patients by indulging their fantasies, and seeks to prove the existence of a loving God to one especially troubled inmate.An ex-marine psychiatrist attempts to rehabilitate his patients by indulging their fantasies, and seeks to prove the existence of a loving God to one especially troubled inmate.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

9.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins & 4 nominations total

Trivia
Joe Spinell's character of "Spinell", a patient at the castle-hospital, was not in the novel nor the original script. Spinell had begged writer and director William Peter Blatty, a close friend of his, to cast him in a small role as the sidekick to Jason Miller's character of Lieutenant Reno. Since there was no part for Spinell in the movie, his character was given the same last name. Nearly all of Spinell's dialogue was ad-libbed.

Goofs
When Capt. Cutshaw places the mud pie on Col. Kane's desk it is whole and intact. In the next shot the mud pie is very noticeably crumbled.

Quotes
Col. Vincent Kane: In order for life to have appeared spontaneously on earth, there first had to be hundreds of millions of protein molecules of the ninth configuration. But given the size of the planet Earth, do you know how long it would have taken for just one of these protein molecules to appear entirely by chance? Roughly ten to the two hundred and forty-third power billions of years. And I find that far, far more fantastic than simply believing in God.

Alternate versions
There are five different versions of this film, with various running times from 99 up to 140 minutes. Director William Peter Blatty disowned all versions except one: his approved cut runs 118 minutes and is the version that was originally released theatrically in the USA. This version is available on DVD.

Connections
Featured in Night of the Creeps: Tom Atkins, Man of Action (2009)

Soundtracks
There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder
Written by Al Jolson (uncredited), Billy Rose (uncredited) and Dave Dreyer (uncredited)
Performed by Al Jolson
Courtesy of MCA Records

User reviews138

Review

Featured review

10/10

Aren't the hidden gems wonderful?

Well, well, well. At last a rating I can fully agree with. Yes, the Shawshank Redemption was very good. But this is a hidden classic. If you're one of those people (like me) who loves to be taken completely by surprise by a movie, this is the one for you. The IMDB rating says it all: VERY few people know about this one, but those who do are nearly unanimous: this is outstanding storytelling. First time viewers, be warned: be patient. Let it happen. You won't know where it's going at first. Your patience will be rewarded, I assure you - it all comes together, culminating in a bar-room brawl that is an absolute textbook piece of tension-building. And then, you'll want to rewind it and watch it all over again, to pick out all the clues that slipped by you the first time through. Quentin Tarantino, eat your heart out: THIS is how it's supposed to be done.