The Ninth Configuration

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Movie Info & Cast

Director:

William Peter Blatty

Producer:

William Peter Blatty, William Paul, Tom Shaw

Writer:

William Peter Blatty

Release Date:

Feb 29, 1980

Runtime:

1hr 58m

Synopsis

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.

Cast

  • Stacy Keach
  • Scott Wilson
  • Jason Miller
  • Ed Flanders
  • Neville Brand
  • George DiCenzo
  • Moses Gunn
  • Robert Loggia
  • Joe Spinell
  • Alejandro Rey

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.6
29.8K
17.3K
8.6K
RATINGS 223 FANS
3.6
  • Jan 18, 2017

    Still one of the most utterly indefinable, compellingly frustrating and infinitely intriguing films I've ever seen. And even as someone who is completely detached from religion, I find that The Ninth Configuration has much more to say about theological grappling than all…

    0 Likes
    Liam Hathaway
    Liam Hathaway
    Feb 6, 2023

    Blatty takes the astronaut that was told he was "going to die up there" in The Exorcist and expands this lonely, existential image that Regan envisioned of him and turns it into a bizarre and messily ambitious movie that is part shock corridor satirical asylum circus about…

    0 Likes
    Josh Lewis
    Josh Lewis
    Sep 21, 2020

    ‘Why are you teaching the dogs Shakespeare?’ ‘Someone’s got to do it.’

    0 Likes
    Oliver Swift
    Oliver Swift
  •
    Nov 4, 2014

    fun but not as funny or cutting as it would apparently like to be. either way as both phantasmagoria and diagnosis < SHUTTER ISLAND. on the other hand there's a part where Stacy Keach, single-handed and unarmed, kills an entire biker gang.

    0 Likes
    matt lynch
    matt lynch
    Sep 17, 2025

    “There’s nothing up there! There’s nothing up there!” God is dead (or is he?) and you’re crazy. Moody and eerie and awesome. Having seen this and The Exorcist (this was made as almost a companion piece to The Exorcist) It’s really evident the stylistic choices and themes…

    0 Likes
    Blue Ghosts
    Blue Ghosts
    Oct 18, 2026

    Shakespeare for dogs. How the hell did nobody think of that sooner????

    0 Likes
    JB
    JB
  •
    Oct 21, 2016

    "I don't belong to the god who's alive and hiding in Argentina club. But I believe in the Devil alright. You know why? Because the prick keeps doing commercials." Since I watched this earlier this month, it has occupied my brain pretty much exclusively. I read the book…

    0 Likes
    FilmApe
    FilmApe
    Oct 31, 2023

    It's an All Hallow's Eve miracle. Infinite goodness is creating a being you know, in advance, is going to complain. We can choose to wallow in brokenness or pursue the mystery of good. Existential dread is the beast, anxiety its armor, and Corporal Kane attempts to help…

    0 Likes
    Ziglet_mir
    Ziglet_mir
    Feb 20, 2021

    What begins as a Catch 22-esque farce ends as a hallucination of religious terror, survivor guilt and shattered conditioning to rival the original TV finale of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Blatty surrenders to the madness from its first establishing shots of the castle where…

    0 Likes
    Jake Cole
    Jake Cole

Atom Users Reviews

No one has posted a user review yet.

Metacritic

46
metacritic
Based on 8 Critics
4.8

USER SCORE (5)

Mixed or average reviews based on 5 Reviews
80

A resolutely offbeat film which offers a richly rewarding and affecting viewing experience if you’re willing to embrace it’s esoteric flourishes.

Metacritic review by Adam Lowes
Adam Lowes
CineVue
30

It takes on the overtones not of an awful movie, but of an awful play.

Metacritic review by Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
The New York Times

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Ninth Configuration (1980) family-friendly?
The movie has been rated as R, meaning that Under 17 requires an adult accompaniment.
How long is The Ninth Configuration (1980)?
The movie is 1hr 58min long.
What's The Ninth Configuration (1980) about?
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.
Who's the cast of The Ninth Configuration (1980)?
  • Stacy Keach as Col. Vincent Kane
  • Scott Wilson as Capt. Billy Cutshaw
  • Jason Miller as Lt. Frankie Reno
  • Ed Flanders as Col. Richard Fell
  • Neville Brand as Maj. Marvin Groper
  • George DiCenzo as Capt. Fairbanks
  • Moses Gunn as Maj. Nammack
  • Robert Loggia as Lt. Bennish
  • Joe Spinell as Lt. Spinell
  • Alejandro Rey as Lt. Gomez
Who's the director behind The Ninth Configuration (1980)?
William Peter Blatty directed The Ninth Configuration (1980).
Who produced The Ninth Configuration (1980)?
William Peter Blatty, William Paul and Tom Shaw produced The Ninth Configuration (1980).