Two isolated high security mental institutions with dangerous patients where experimental treatments are used on the patients.
The main characters are violent ex army veterans tricked into thinking they aren't patients as part of their treatment.
Yeah, there's some similarities, but Shutter Island is a much better movie.
Also good (and similar) are:
The Lazarus Project
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (the 2005 remake)
By similar, I mean similar to Shutter Island.
To watch something similar to The Ninth Configuration just watch some bad episodes of M.A.S.H. Same thing...
Thanks for spoiling it for me, real nice. Try using tags in the title next time, kid.
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chicago85 is spot on. Suprised more people aren't yelling about it.
Shutter is a blatent rip off of 9th, and despite all Martys's polish and 9th's many flaws, Battey's original remains braver, more challanging, and considerably more profound.
If only you could see what I have seen through your eyes.
Agreed. Anyone who has seen Ninth Configuration could see the end of Shutter Island a mile away. I think both films are great, but if I had to choose only one, it would be Blatty's film. Seen it countless times over the years. It is a challenging film to watch, similar to Cuckoo's Nest, funny but also touching. Great dialogue.
shareI think both films are great, but if I had to choose only one, it would be Blatty's film
I watched the film because of its comparison and like some here I found 'The Ninth Configuration' to be superior. 'Shutter Island' is better looking, but 'Ninth Configuration' was more understated and had better character/motivation development.
Moments of perfection,share
idle in the sunshine
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i had seen "shutter island" before "9th configuration" and i thought it was a great movie. scorsese is a great director, his films are stunning. but after seeing "9th configuration", man, similarities are way too much. yes, "shutter island" has a different approach to evil-good conflict in human mind. also story building is kind of different. but main plot is almost the same with minor differences. i think everyone would agree that, it's pretty obvious. still, "shutter island" is a good movie too.
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my personal opinion, this film is a little better than "shutter island". characters are deeper, symbolism is stronger, much more epic. but this depends on the taste, i guess.
and this is what really bothers me: this film was made about 30 years before "shutter island". "shutter island" is a big, shiny financial success. what about this film? i wonder how many art works, films, music pieces we are missing just because we are staying on the safe harbors of main stream. we really should explore more.
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and this is what really bothers me: this film was made about 30 years before "shutter island". "shutter island" is a big, shiny financial success. what about this film?
I've seen both and enjoyed both, but this film is harder to digest given the multiple themes present. Also, when it was originally released, it's my understanding it was presented as a literal sequel to the Exorcist instead of part of Blatty's GoodvsEvil trilogy. As a result initial viewers were probably expecting something wildly different than what was presented and understandably put off with what they got.
It does share some thematic concerns with "The Exorcist" - not to mention Jason Miller - but yes, the two films are otherwise as different as can be.
shareYes, and both borrowed from Spellbound, which in turn no doubt borrowed from Poe's story The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether. The notion of lunatics running an asylum probably goes back even further than that.
shareBlatty is much better served here by the calmer, more refined visual approach than Scorsese is by his flashy, juiced-up stylings in Shutter Island. In fact, his completely over-the-top, grotesquely manic depiction of a lunatic asylum environment is much reminiscent of Blatty's only other directorial work, The Exorcist 3. Both films are rendered pretty silly thanks to that.
"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan
Shutter Island is a combination of an Alfred Hitchcock presents episode season 1 with that guy who played in Dynasty and the Ninth Configuration! I saw Shutter Island with friends and after ten minutes of watching I jumped and said: I know where this was copied from and how it ends! They did not want me to spoil so I wrote the ending on a piece of paper and then we watched Shutter Island until the end upon which time, we opened the letter and found the exact same ending. That was obviously the first and last time I watched Shutter Island but I have seen the Ninth Configuration many times. William Peter Blatty was so intent of directing this film himself. Lets not forget the other movie The Departed which was a Hong Kong film so pretty much nothing original came from Scorsese in these two of his movies (not films!)
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