Fails the Bechdel test
The Ninth Gate
2000. Directed by Roman Polanski, written by Arturo Pérez-Reverte and John Brownjohn and Enrique Urbizu.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
0 / 3
Fails
-
No
1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Hired by the zealous occult scholar Boris Balkan to verify the authenticity of his most prized possession, the unscrupulous New York City rare-book dealer Dean Corso is unaware that his life is in grave danger. Because, whether he likes it or not, forces beyond comprehension have already chosen him. And right from the start, thick mystery shrouds the diligent book detective's perilous mission. Now, in this soul-condemning quest for clues, there is no turning back--from afar, a cryptic woman with a penetrating gaze follows Corso's every step. But as the intricate mystical engravings of the diabolical leather-bound opus unfold their unfathomable secrets, only one will receive the key to dark enlightenment. However, the question remains. Who is worthy of the tome's glorious black gifts and the ultimate truth of The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows?
- Released
- 10 Mar 2000
- Genres
- Mystery, Thriller
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 44 / 100
- Awards
- 2 wins & 5 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Corso 289 lines, man
- Girl 74 lines, woman
- Balkan 61 lines, man
- Liana 38 lines, woman
- Baroness 26 lines, woman
- Pedro 22 lines, man
- Gruber 21 lines, man
- Bernie 18 lines, man
- Pablo 18 lines, man
- Fargas 15 lines, man
Full cast, 23 people
- Johnny Depp as Dean Corso
- Frank Langella as Boris Balkan
- Lena Olin as Liana Telfer
- Emmanuelle Seigner as The Girl
- Barbara Jefford as Baroness Kessler
- Jack Taylor as Victor Fargas
- José López Rodero as Pablo & Pedro Ceniza/1st & 2nd Workmen
- Tony Amoni as Liana's Bodyguard
- James Russo as Bernie
- Willy Holt as Andrew Telfer
- Allen Garfield as Witkin
- Jacques Dacqmine as Old Man
- Joe Sheridan as Old Man's Son
- Rebecca Pauly as Daughter-In-Law
- Catherine Benguigui as Concierge
- Maria Ducceschi as Secretary
- Jacques Collard as Gruber
- Dominique Pozzetto as Desk Clerk
- Emanuel Booz as Baker
- Lino Ribeiro de Sousa as Hotel Porter
- Asil Raïs as Cabby
- Bernard Richier as Cafe Owner
- Marinette Richier as Cafe Owner
Who talks, scene by scene
We couldn't read who says what in this film's script, so there's no dialogue chart for it yet.
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 23 are women's.
138 lines from women, 462 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
6 women and 14 men in the cast. 1 women and 9 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 81 of 600.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 80 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 21% of the words (1,322), men 79% (4,936). Women have 23% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
15
Exhibit E: behind the camera
None of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 16% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Roman Polanski (man)
- Written by
- Enrique Urbizu (man), Roman Polanski (man), John Brownjohn (man)
- From the novel by
- Arturo Pérez-Reverte (man)
- Produced by
- Roman Polanski (man)
- Shot by
- Darius Khondji (man)
- Edited by
- Hervé de Luze (man)
- Music by
- Wojciech Kilar (man)
- Production design by
- Dean Tavoularis (man)
- Costumes by
- Anthony Powell (man)
- Cast by
- Howard Feuer (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
3 women, 12 men, 29 not listed
-
Other crew
4 women, 15 men, 18 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 7 men, 15 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 11 men, 10 not listed
-
Visual Effects
1 women, 7 men, 11 not listed
-
Sound
3 women, 8 men, 5 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 4 men, 7 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 2 men, 7 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 49 on average. Men: 58 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Emmanuelle Seigner 33, Lena Olin 44, Barbara Jefford 69
Men
Johnny Depp 36, James Russo 46, Frank Langella 61, Jack Taylor 72, Willy Holt 77
Exhibit G: the money
It made 1.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $38 million
- Box office
- $58.4 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 1 scenes and 600 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
