Johnny Depp has a devil of a time

Not since the pre-publication of the fourth Harry Potter book have so many people coveted a tome as in the Roman Polanski thriller "The Ninth Gate" (Artisan, R, VHS/rental, DVD/$25). In the middle of all this coveting is a book dealer of dubious character named Dean Corso. Johnny Depp tricks out Corso to look like a refugee from the 1930s anarchist/intellectual front. It is an action look - which helps us to believe later on that a guy who buys and sells dusty old books can also engage in hand-to-hand combat.

The movie starts quietly enough. A man in a well-appointed library finishes writing a note, drops it in an envelope, then ambles over to an ottoman, steps up and slips a noose around his neck. Within minutes, he`s dangling as the camera pans his shelves of tightly packed books - except for that one over there. Yes, the one with the black hole where a book once rested. The contents of that hole end up in the hands of an especially slimy creature, Boris Balkan (Frank Langella), publisher of Balkan Press and avid collector of books that are about Satan. He has a copy of every book that has ever mentioned Satan.

His latest acquisition is more completely titled, "Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows." The book is reputedly co-authored by Lucifer himself and possesses secrets no mortal ought to possess. At least, the real copy does. Balkan`s is one of three copies left in the world and Balkan wants the other two or confirmation that they are forgeries. That`s where Corso comes in: kind of a hitman for shady book collectors, he`s just unscrupulous enough to take on the job.

Corso`s quest takes him to Portugal and France, where he begins to notice that everyone in possession of one of these books ends up murdered. He`d be dead, too, if it weren`t for a curious young woman (Emmanuelle Seigner) who is shadowing him. We never find out her name or her affiliation - angel of darkness or light? She looks at times to be both.

While lavishly shot, "Ninth Gate" contains few moments of spine-tingling suspense. There is little mystery surrounding the books and little concern over the outcome. Depp, as ever, shapes an interesting character who evolves from pond scum to a lower form of primate. Seigner doesn`t exactly burn up the screen. Nor does Langella, though he looks menacing enough. In short, "The Ninth Gate" is no "Rosemary`s Baby," but as smart visual candy it is worth the trip to the video store.

ALSO THIS WEEK

"Angela`s Ashes" (Paramount, R, VHS/rental, DVD/$30) - Director Alan Parker turns the elegant, if relentlessly depressing, prose of Frank McCourt`s Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography into a moving, if even more depressing, rain-soaked tale. McCourt`s book recalls his family`s struggle during the 1930s to carve out a life in famine-plagued Ireland and Depression-plagued America. Robert Carlyle plays McCourt`s unemployed alcoholic father. Emily Watson is courageous as his mother, Angela McCourt. The DVD contains commentary tracks from McCourt and Parker, among other features.

"Isn`t She Great" (Universal, R, VHS/rental, DVD/$25) - Notice that the title does not end as a question. Bette Midler tackles the role of a lifetime - just kidding! She plays popular sex-and-sleaze fiction writer Jacqueline Susann ("Valley of the Dolls"). Nathan Lane is her adoring and supportive publicist/husband Irving Mansfield.

"Ride With the Devil" (Universal, R, VHS/rental, DVD/$25) - A Civil War saga set along the Missouri/Kansas border, director Ang Lee explores a little-discussed aspect of the war, the guerrilla warfare employed by Southern sympathizers. Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich are childhood friends who join the Bushwackers to fight the Union soldiers. Pop singer Jewel is the woman both men love.

"Pokemon" (Pioneer, Volumes 19 and 20, VHS/$20, DVD/$25) - OK, OK, these are just two more in the endless stream of volumes from the animated TV series. But the question is raised: "How do you get Pikachu to board a school bus? (You poke him on.) Get it? Get it?

"Rosetta" (USA, R, VHS/rental) - Winner of the Palme d`Or award from the Cannes Film Festival, "Rosetta" portrays the obsessive struggles of an impoverished teen girl to find work in modern-day Belgium. Emilie Dequenne dazzles in her film debut, earning a share of the Best Actress award for 1999 at Cannes.

"What Planet Are You From?" (Columbia TriStar, R, VHS/rental, DVD/$25) - Garry Shandling is an alien (as if we didn`t already know) sent to Earth to breed with a woman in order to save his planet. No, he does not pick Darva Conger. (Come to think of it, she was still a nobody when this film was made. Maybe in the sequel.) The good news is, he chooses Annette Benning. The bad news is, she`s still in her "American Beauty" mode. Kidding, just kidding. Yes, it is every bit as dumb as it sounds, and yet, and yet, it is funny in a dumb sort of way. Directed by Mike Nichols.

"Where`s Marlowe?" (Paramount, R, VHS/rental, DVD/$30) - Shot in pseudo-documentary style, two young filmmakers set out to create a documentary about a pair of Los Angeles private detectives, but find themselves embroiled in solving the murder of one of their own film`s subjects.

"Soft Fruit" (Fox, R, VHS/rental only) - Jeanie Dryan ("Murial`s Wedding") is the dying matriarch of an eccentric clan, few of whom have any contact with each other. They are all brought together through her illness and must come to terms with the prospect of her imminent death. Jane Campion ("The Piano") executive produced this Australian tragicomedy. This brand of humor will appeal to fans of "Hannah and Her Sisters," "Home for the Holidays" and "Murial`s Wedding."

"Thick as Thieves" (USA, R, VHS/rental) - Alec Baldwin and Rebecca DeMornay ask the big question: Is there honor among thieves? Baldwin and Michael Jai White are pro thieves with Mafia connections who cross each other`s paths once too often. Their feud escalates into a war and comes to the attention of a Detroit cop (DeMornay) determined to shut it down.

"Flash" (Buena Vista, unrated, VHS/rental) - A kid-friendly tale of a 14-year-old boy and his horse, starring Lucas Black, Brian Kerwin and Ellen Burstyn. A boy is forced to sell his beloved horse, but when he sees the abuse to which it is subjected, he steals it back, setting off a cross-country chase.

"Diamonds" (Miramax, PG-13, VHS/DVD) - Kirk Douglas and Dan Aykroyd teamed up in this thick-as-thieves, father-son road-trip comedy. Jenny McCarthy and Lauren Bacall also star.DVD UPDATE

Available this week for the first time on DVD, "The Princess Bride," "The Best Years of Our Lives," "Easy Money" and "Henry V." Rob Reiner`s hilarious "Princess Bride" has become a cult classic, starring Carey Elwes and Robin Wright-Penn, but featuring a star-studded cameo cast that is unforgettable. Oscar winner for Best Picture, "Best Years" explores the post-WWII life of returning soldiers, starring Frederic March, Dana Andrews and Myrna Loy. "Easy Money" is a Rodney Dangerfield vehicle. "Henry V" is the Kenneth Branagh-Emma Thompson epic. All, from MGM, are priced for less than $20.

Two George Carlins for the price of one, that`s what you get on a new DVD from Columbia TriStar for less than $30. The disc contains two of the acerbic stand-up comic`s funniest live performances, "Jammin` in New York" and "Doin` It Again," for which he won a 1990 Cable Ace award.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Sept. 5: Six Three Stooges episodes on one DVD, titled "The Three Stooges: Spook Louder" - "Spook Louder," "Mummy`s Dummies," "Shivering Sherlocks," "The Ghost Talks," "Hokus Pokus" and "Fright Night." Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck.

Sept. 19: Sandra Bullock, in her best turn yet, as the alcoholic Gwen, thrown into recovery in "28 Days." The same day, Columbia TriStar packages "28 Days" with another Bullock hit, sci-fi identity-crisis thriller "The Net."

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: Robert J. Hawkins