The Ninth Configuration

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Plot: 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 ...( read more  )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

• 
  captainhowdy101
• 
  alejandroequis
• 
  daghka
• 
  colemanonline
• 
  morihirofischer
• 
  LittleCharlieBergano
• 
  stevenhart77
• 
  drewthegnostic

• 
  RandomHeroNo1
  

  MCT:

  April 21, 2008

  A very well made and funny movie set in a psychiatric hospital for the military. The movie is written and directed by William Peter Blatty, but don't expect another Exorcist as this movie has more in common with Blatty's early comedy work.

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  daghka
  

  MCT:

  April 4, 2008

  In the bar section, is one of the most brutal depictions of where the thin line between good and evil meets, and yet the thin line is so far apart that it is virtually different. The line is so different that you have to choose, there is no middle point, the middle point is a farce and the bar scene in this film is one of the most brilliant examples of what happens at the mid-point, of striking the other cheek.

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  mello4
  

  MCT:

  May 31, 2007

  This film requires apt attention and you will be greatly rewarded.
  If you are a fan of psychological and philosphical drama, you should rent this film.

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  godfoot
  

  MCT:

  February 22, 2007

  Hands down my all time favorite movie. Maybe that says something about me..... not sure what though.

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  cacutshaw
  

  MCT:

  February 13, 2007

  Willaim Peter Blatty's masterpiece, one of the few movies that are better than the source novel. Great performances from the ensemble cast and a superb screenplay with heavy doses of amazing dialogue and philosophical debates about "Shoes" existance make this one of the greats. Watch with Bad Lieutenant for a spiritual movie mania!

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  Artifice
  

  MCT:

  August 25, 2006

  One of the most intense and intruiging high brow and evocative fillms i have ever seen. and Shakespeare performed by dogs. absurd

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  ahegele
  

  MCT:

  June 13, 2006

  Great film. Wonderfully comedic and insightful script with a bundle of some of the best supporting actors in the day.

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  brettmcbean
  

  MCT:

  April 8, 2006

  Completely wacko film, which is (mostly) a good thing. Hard to explain what it's about - best to watch it and make your own mind up.

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• 
  Stacy Keach
• 
  Moses Gunn

• Rated: (R)
• Directed by: William Peter Blatty
• Genres: Drama
• Released: August 8, 1980
• DVD Released: September 17, 2002

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