The Ninth Configuration

Plot synopsis:
Billy Cutshaw (Scott Wilson), a former astronaut who fell into madness, lives in a large castle in a forest region of the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, Colonel Vincent Kane (Stacy Keech Jr.), a former member of the United States Marine Corps who has recurring nightmares, is being driven to the castle. On the way there, they pass a pickup truck, going in the other direction, that is overloaded with members of a biker gang; in the pickup there is an old man tied to a chair.Upon arrival, the castle's military staff struggles to maintain discipline in the rowdy and irreverent patients. Kane begins speaking to a doctor, but discovers that the doctor is actually another patient in disguise. Colonel Fell (Ed Flanders) exposes the impostor and reveals himself as the real doctor. Kane allows several patients into his office to talk about respective delusions, and insists that he is always available to listen to the patients. Cutshaw accepts an offer to give Kane his saint's medallion. Kane later notes about the curative properties of "shock therapy" and inspects Cutshaw's medallion and grips the chain.Fell wakes Kane from another nightmare and questions him about his dreams. Kane says that they are another man's nightmares, explaining that another man described the dreams to him and now he gets them as well. Fell asks who the man was, and Kane responds that it was his brother, who is a "murderer". Kane asks if Fell has heard of Vincent "Killer" Kane, a guerrilla soldier personally responsible for killing dozens of enemies. Kane says "Killer" Kane was his brother, but is now dead. Fell leaves, but as he closes Kane's door his jovial demeanor breaks suddenly into sobs.Later, Cutshaw talks with another patient about Kane. Cutshaw suspects that Kane is crazy himself. He asserts that psychiatrists often go crazy and have the highest suicide rate of any profession. Cutshaw goes to talk with Kane again, angrily denying the existence of a purpose or divine plan. Kane, who believes that the existence of a God is far more likely than humanity having emerged from "random chance", tries to argue that deeds of pure self-sacrifice are proof of human goodness, which can only be explained by divine purpose. Cutshaw demands that Kane recall one concrete example of pure self-sacrifice from his personal experience, but Kane cannot.Cutshaw convinces Kane to take him to a church service. Cutshaw interrupts the service with several outbursts. Looking at an altar boy, Kane momentarily sees a Vietnamese boy, but he dispels the illusion with difficulty. Back at the castle, Cutshaw thanks Kane and asks him to send him a sign as proof of an afterlife should Kane die first. Kane promises to try.Another patient named Lt. Reno (Jason Miller), who is staging a production of Hamlet using dogs as actors, gives a long speech to Kane asserting that Hamlet had to pretend to be crazy in order to stay sane. As he leaves, he meets with Cutshaw, who asks if "they bought it". The director responds, "Hell, I bought it".A new patient is scheduled to arrive at the castle and Kane goes to meet him. Kane instantly recognizes the soldier, triggering a flashback. In the jungles of Vietnam, the soldier stumbles upon Kane, who is kneeling on the ground and muttering that he cut a boy's head off with a wire, but the boy "kept on talking". Insisting that they need to leave, the soldier advances on Kane, whom he sees is holding a severed head in his hands. Kane screams and the flashback ends. In the castle, Kane collapses unconscious.Fell explains to the staff that Kane really is Vincent "Killer" Kane, and had suffered a breakdown in Vietnam. When Fell, who is actually Kane's brother Hudson, was dispatched back to America, Kane received the dispatch by accident. Kane came to believe that he was really his psychiatrist brother in order to escape from his guilt. He returned to America, subconsciously hoping to heal people to make up for his "murders". Realizing Kane's mental state, the Army psychiatric staff maintained the charade and sent him to Fell's hospital under the pretext of being its commanding officer. In reality, Fell has been the commanding officer all along. Kane awakens and remembers nothing of the incident.Cutshaw escapes the castle and visits a local bar. A biker gang recognizes Cutshaw and begins brutalizing him. A waitress contacts Kane, who arrives at the bar to retrieve him. The gang brutalize and tries to rape Cutshaw. However, Kane snaps and kills most of the bikers with his bare hands.Back at the castle, Cutshaw visits Kane, who has wrapped himself in a blanket. Dreamy and distant, Kane disjointedly mumbles to Cutshaw about God and proof of human goodness before passing out. As Cutshaw leaves, Kane's hand emerges from his blankets and drops a bloody knife. Cutshaw soon notices a spot of blood on his shoe. Returning to Kane's office, Cutshaw discovers that Kane has sacrificed his own life to directly provide the concrete example of human goodness which he was unable to demonstrate earlier.Some time later, Cutshaw has returned to uniform and visits the now-abandoned castle. He sits in Kane's office and reads a note written to him by Kane. Kane writes that he hopes his death will "shock" Cutshaw back into sanity, but at any rate, he now has his one example of pure self-sacrifice. Cutshaw returns to his car and discovers that a saint's medallion has miraculously appeared on the seat. He turns it over to confirm whether it was the one he gave to Kane and silently rejoices at what he sees.

Tags: comedy, psychological, murder, cult, flashback, absurd, psychedelic, philosophical, plot twist

Review:
Because the prick keeps doing commercials!" Kane's counterargument, much weaker at the outset but gaining intensity as Cutshaw's desire to be converted becomes more clear, is that if evil is as powerful and omnipresent as Cutshaw thinks, correctly, than why doesn't he also believe in the real, counterbalancing power of human goodness as something that has its origins beyond humanity?Meanwhile, the other inmates follow their own neuroses, adapting Shakespeare for dogs and trying to train atoms to allow humans to walk through walls.
There's also Neville Brand's Major Groper, a put-upon asylum keeper who finds himself victimized by such pranks as having his name attached to a love letter sent out in a mass mailing addressed to "Occupant." "I got phone call after phone call," he complains, adding bitterly that the female respondents he did contact were "ugly as sin."People criticize the movie for being filled with such amiable nuttiness, but it relieves the heaviness of the central story and sets the right tone of anarchy and chaos to be sorted out as the picture develops.
Further proof of God's existence, for anyone who feels the "Ninth Configuration" argument advanced by Kane doesn't hold water, can be found in the fact Wilson and Keach were last-minute replacements in a low-budget film made only to help create a loss-leader for the producers.
Add to that the moody set design of an old castle in the Pacific Northwest (but actually shot in Hungary), an unobtrusive but powerful score, and surefire direction by screenwriter William Peter Blatty, who sets every scene as a sort of tableau of Cutshaw and Kane's inner turmoil.Most of all, the film is amazingly quotable, particularly the canine Shakespeare adapter's (Jason Miller, sublime as Reno) unique take on "Hamlet," which takes the story in a whole new direction while offering a brilliant analysis of Shakespeare's great play.
Humble but true, as this film is proof.You may not be converted into a belief in the divine, and the end does push things a bit harder than many would like (though with a blind courage rarely seen in film), but "The Ninth Configuration" will make you think a little more about the questions of our existence.
The rest of the cast, with a special metion for Scott Wilson's amazing performance as a tortured astronaut and for Ed Flanders, who kept his character's true motivation well hidden until it could stand to be covered no more, was perfect.But this movie is, above all, about the writing and the direction.
'Twinkle twinkle killer Kane' was adapted to the screen by Blatty as 'The Ninth Configuration' and where 'The Exorcist' explored the argument for the existence of God through the palpable presence of evil, 'The Ninth Configuration' continues the argument through exploring the presence of good in a universe purported by science to be empty, blindly deterministic, and amoral.At the start of the film we are introduced to a motley band of members of the military who, in the course of the Vietnam War, have all suffered various kinds of mental breakdown and for their treatment have been sent to a reconstructed European castle in some remote American mountains (the film was actually shot in Hungary).
This introduction sets the tone for the first part of the film and the portrayal of mental illness is somewhat zany and comedic and continues as we are introduced to the other main character, the psychiatrist Colonel Kane (Stacy Keach).
Col. Kane, with the support of fellow psychiatrist Col. Fell (Ed Flanders), then institutes an unorthodox treatment which indulges the fantasies of the inmates in an attempt to invoke a catharsiswhich is when all (comedic) hell breaks loose and it is against this anarchic backdrop that Cutshaw argues with Kane for the absurdity of believing in God in a world in which undue suffering proliferates.The light-hearted whacky tone gives way in the second half as Kane and Cutshaw's arguments become more penetrating (although not completely, as Cutshaw's choice of wardrobe to a Christian Mass will testify!) and the climax of the film is a double-whammy of a plot reveal that casts the performance of Ed Flanders as Col. Fell in a pathos infused light (which can only be fully appreciated with repeat viewings), as well as a bar room fight that will have you stuck to your screen as the tension builds and builds to an explosive finale.Unfortunately, owing to the fact that a theological tragi-comedy is not the stuff the popcorn and soda crowd really go for, 'The Ninth Configuration' has fallen into the "cult" film category, which is a shame as another film with as fine a plot carried off by as fine a cast (not to mention a wealth of quotable one-liners) you are unlikely to see.
Brilliant work.Where his treatments lead the inmates (and where it leads Kane himself) is the core of the film and the whole thing is actually about all of us and how we can reconcile faith, science and the horrors of existence.
He adapts his own novel for the big screen in this bizarre film about an astronaut (Scott Wilson) who's reached his breaking point and a military doctor (Stacy Keach) who's trying to reach out to him.
I wished that William Peter Blatty made more movies and Hollywood should have gave Stacy Keach more film roles like these.
The two have long conversations about love hate guilt good and evil as well as the existence or non-existence of God that are so eye, and mind, opening that for a moment I didn't think that I was watching a movie but seeing an intellectual and philosophical talk show discussion on late night public TV.
It is about "crazy" war veterans in an insane asylum, and some of what they do is comedic, other things are tragic.This movie is certainly on my top 20 list of all time greatest movies, and I would recommend it to those that enjoy a good mind-bender..
Another of those great films that nobody has ever seen, this is a terrific showcase for Writer-Director William P Blatty's excellent script as well as two powerhouse performances from Stacy Keach and Scott Wilson.
You may not know who Stacy Keach, Scott Wilson, Jason Miller, Ed Flanders, Neville Brand, George DiCenzo, Moses Gunn, Robert Loggia, Joe Spinell, Tom Atkins, or Richard Lynch are, but you have probably seen them acting in dozens, if not hundreds of roles.They are the finest collection of great "unknowns."Because these fine craftsmen blend so well into their roles, they are often left within the films architecture, forever the character they portrayed, unlike Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt who carry their names into every role they play.This film, The Ninth Configuration, is perhaps one of the finest films I've ever seen.
Brilliant writing, brilliant character interplay, and beautiful image and cinematographic work radiate through this film.The best treat of all, is the Blatty actually appears in the film with his family members, Linda and Billy.A great, great film that may not be for the weak-knee'd, but will satisfy anybody who has ever asked for "proof of the existence of God."I call this film, the anti-Exorcist.Peace,Fizz.
I had no idea what I was seeing but it was very interesting and when it was over It quickly became one of my all time favorite films along with: Alien, Catch 22, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (I Know), Dr Strange Love, The Taking Of Pelham 1,2,3 etc.I thought the cast was great and there are some classic lines.
If you care at all about movies though, you owe it to yourself to watch this film and then watch it again.Once you allow yourself to be absorbed by this film, you will experience two absolutely awesome performances by Scott Wilson and Stacy Keach (in that order), wonderfully quotable lines from practically all of the character actors, and perhaps the best debate over the existence of God ever put on film.NOT TO BE MISSED BY ANYONE OVER THE AGE OF 18!!.
Keach and Wilson are both outstanding in two of the best roles of their careers, but what really makes this a must-see is the superb supporting cast of character actors who are all equally good, and spout some of the freshest, most memorable dialogue you'll ever hear.
It introduced me to Stacey Keach(who is amazing in this film) and to a new kind of psychological movie making style.
William Peter Blatty will always be best known for writing The Exorcist, but the film version of his other novel; Twinkle, Twinkle Killer Kane, is not bad either.
The psychiatrist then strikes up a relationship with former astronaut Captain Cutshaw.The Ninth Configuration is undoubtedly a thoughtful and well made film; but my main problem with it is that its not as clever as its' writer no doubt thinks it is.
The central setting is great; an old castle out in the middle of nowhere is where the bulk of the film takes place and the director does a good job of ensuring that we are constantly reminded of the fact the central characters are isolated.
Very little has been written of this spiritual film by William Peter Blatty, author of the better-known THE EXORCIST, of which this is a sequel of sorts.
It must be stated how clear it is why the film failed to gain the success of THE EXORCIST - this is a far different piece of cinema - but it is wholly (in this version, certainly) Blatty's vision, a study of the nature of evil, the overwhelming evidence - or *lack* thereof - of goodness in the world, questioning our very existence with astonishing clarity of argument both ways.The film does not set out to hook its audience - action eventually takes place in the thrilling climax, but this film opens with a dialogue-free sequence of guards in the rain outside "Centre 18", to the beautiful song "San Antone", a juxtaposition which somehow sets the hauntingly spirited tone for the rest of the film.
Colonel Hudson Kane, played by Stacey Keach with heart-wrenching emotion, seems almost as troubled as his 'patients' - he muses constantly about original sin, the nature of evil ("children with cancer, why should babies die?")In this director's version (definitive, apparently), the imagery is all included - the giant moon rising behind the abandoned rocket launch ("there's nothing up there, I tell you!", "the moon is Roquefort and you know it..."), the three looming crucifixes, the ominous statues in the courtyard, the crucifix on the moon - imagery not often matched in cinema.
there is a character in the film to represent all beliefs, and all are finally given airtime and are bluntly questioned ("if all the evil in the world makes you believe there's a devil, how do you account for all the GOOD?", a line from Blatty's EXORCIST novel).
The standouts are, of course, Stacy Keach (those of us who had seen him in other roles than Mike Hammer already knew he can act - see the hilarious role he plays in the Fox sitcom Titus), Ed Flanders, Scott Wilson, Jason Miller, Neville Brand (the straight-laced Major Groper) and Steve Sandor (the biker who torments Wilson and Keach's characters).
Considered by writer, producer, and director William Peter Blatty to be the true sequel to his story "The Exorcist", "The Ninth Configuration" has ended up with a cult-movie type reputation, but actually deserves even better.
It's extremely atmospheric - it gets a lot out of its main setting - and an incredible ensemble brings a rich assortment of oddball characters to life.Stacy Keach plays Colonel Kane (the original title of the story, for those who don't know, was "Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane"), the new head shrink in a castle in the Pacific Northwest that has been converted into an insane asylum by the government.
He desperately appeals to Colonel Kane to come up with some sort of proof that God exists, but Kane has his own problems, which is apparent right from the outset.Blatty's dialogue is highly quotable and his theme of "the mystery of good" makes this stimulating from beginning to end.
Interesting film written and directed by William Peter Blatty, the author of "The Exorcist." Stacey Keach plays the new commanding officer in charge of a castle that serves as a military insane asylum.
As it stands it's a stew of MASH and Cuckoos Nest with a twist of Jacobs Ladder.In this version [one of many releases] you do see the knife drop from Col. Kanes' hand near the end - removing those few seconds from the movie will lead to a different interpretation.
This patient needs the proof for the existence for God. But this psychiatrist is slowly going insane and this man proves to be nuttier than his patients.Written & Directed by Oscar-Winner:William Peter Blatty (The Exorcist 3) made an unique, fascinating drama with an amusing sense of humour.
I can not reveal a lot more of the story, because it would ruin the viewing, but all in all this is a deeply philosophical movie that has interesting characters and at times good dialog.
Stacy Keach, Scott Wilson and Ed Flanders turn in great acting performances and the supporting cast,especially Neville Brand, are just fantastic.The story is an adaptation of a novel that was always going to be hard to film but the whole project works well.It only runs out of steam towards the end when it becomes philosophical and 'meaningful' in a contrived way.
His portrayal of the psychiatrist emphasizing with his patients pain while under the surface something brews within him that lets the viewer know that there is something not right.The Ninth Configuration, like Exorcist III has another Blatty trademark and that is snappy, witty dialog.
It was engineered to question the audience about the basic assumptions of the story and deeper religious, psychological explorations, which makes it a stimulating watch.Stacy Keach gives a harrowing performance as Colonel Kane, and the genius, lunatic inmates give an excellent and sometimes hilarious show, although the context is such that you'd never laugh.
Stacy Keach gives a fine performance in this cult movie which rarely sees the light of day on British TV or on DVD and video.So when it was screened in the early hours of this morning, as a film nut who had been waiting to see this for years, i had to give it a look.To be fair, just about every review in this section is spot on.
TNC is like a cross between Mash, Catch 22 and Altered States.Unlike William Peter Blatty's yawnsome 1990 offering Exorcist III, this is still a wordy offering which is obviously based on a novel, but some stunning imagery - the moon rising over an Apollo launch is stunningly weird - while the mist-shrouded castle where the bulk of the action takes place is a great locale for any movie.A pity about the tacky bar room brawl with Richard Lynch and his cronies - it's dated dreadfully - but that aside, this is very nearly a masterpiece.Very nearly because the second act drags terribly.Good support from Jason Miller and some nice ideas make this a must see for any serious fan of cult cinema..
Now, the funny thing is if you were to ask me what I mean by "this" I couldn't tell you as it is too good to define and it definitely MUST be viewed in order to grasp it in a way that will do William Peter Blatty justice.
There's very little plot in the first half of the movie, as Kane and Cutshaw argue about the existence of God and the nature of humanity while the other inmates act erratically.
These questions are deep and philosophical  they are also central to the entire fabric of William Peter Blatty's 1980 cult film The Ninth Configuration.
You are completely convinced that Kane can kill a bunch of bikers as easily as he does without leaving the realm of reality (superheros, Van Damme or Vin Diesel, you know.) The drama comes from Stacy Keach's character and the question of identity, and an interesting religious notion which is handled better here than in any other movie I've seen.
His character's despair towards the end of the movie is the only thing it has to offer.Let's finish with an important note here, the only other time I can think of that a horror novelist (and screenwriter) directed a film of one of his own stories, we got "Maximum Overdrive".
A new commanding officer arrives at a remote castle serving as an insane asylum for the ill and AWOL U.S. Army soldiers.He attempts to rehabilitate them by allowing them to live out their fantasies while combating his own long-suppressed insanity....Blatty's own sequel to the original Exorcist, this film has to be one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen.Dogs learning Shakespeare, Robert Loggia wearing a space suit, Stacey Keach putting in an amazing performance, it's all here.And you really have to be in the right mood to watch this oddity, or it will probably go right over ones head, and leave you a little bored ultimately.And while it's good, very good in fact, it gets a little confused from time to time, and it becomes as insane as some of the characters.for imagery though, it's sublime, and the film really kicks up a gear when we reach the final act, and the bar scene.
The Ninth Configuration — also known as Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane — is one of the most mind-warping movies I've seen in a long time.
I feel like you could watch this movie 10 times and notice something new at every viewing.
William Peter Blatty's novel "Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane" (there is a cut of the film with this title, but stick to this version), concerning Vietnam War vets being treated in an old castle for severe mental illness.