BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:30307@offbeat.amsterdam SUMMARY:The Ninth Configuration DTSTAMP:20261110T215659Z DTSTART:20261115T183000Z DTEND:20261115T213000Z DESCRIPTION:Genre: Film\nOpen: 19:30 - 22:30 hrs\nTickets: € 3\n\nTHE NINTH CONFIGURATION 1980\nDirected by William Peter Blatty\n118 minutes\nIn Eng lish\n\nThis is certainly a bizarre one. Writer/director William Peter Bla tty devised a\nnew cinematic genre which he followed over the course of a decade- the\ntheological thriller. He kick-started it with his novel The E xorcist\, furthered\nhis explorations when he created this film\, and inte nded to conclude it with The\nExorcist III (Legend). Well\, the last of th is trilogy was wrestled out of his\nhands and totally destroyed by the stu dios\, so it's impossible to understand its\noriginal intention. But this film\, the second part of his trilogy\, was still\nunder Blatty's control\ , and I have to say\, it's unlike any other Hollywood film\nI have ever ex perienced.\n\nSo many movies are bland remakes of previous films\, if not in concept\, then in\nstyle. But when you watch a film like this you can g limpse another\npossibility... of what cinema might be like if it was more free and original. I\nwon't go into the story line\, but I can lay out th e premise. After the Vietnam\nwar\, many soldiers returned to America pret ty fucked up to say the least. This\nmovie is set in a mysterious castle i n California\, where the most difficult\ncases of ptsd (post-traumatic str ess) are collected and under therapy. In comes\na psychiatrist (Stacy Keac h) who attempts to deal with the totally surreal\nsituation of this madhou se. What unfolds next is simply unpredictable\,\ndumbfounding\, utterly un ique.\n\nSome people claim reality is weirder than fiction. Although this movie is set in\na Gothic Fortress in America\, it obliquely taps into rea l events happening in\nGermany after World War II when the CIA set up blac k sites experimenting with\nmind control techniques with Nazi scientists. It turns out castles were the\nperfect locations because they were usually remote\, secluded and huge—so the\nmilitary had free rein to do whatever they wanted. Their aim was to wipe away\nthe memory of their subjects by p umping them full of LSD and other techniques\,\nleaving them psychotic ner vous wrecks. One such castle was outside Kransberg\nnear Frankfurt\, which is eerily similar to the fortress in this film. These\nactivities were hu shed and not reported in the public discourse\, but Blatty\nhimself was a Lieutenant in a Psychological Warfare Division of the military\nfrom 1951 to 1954 so in many ways this film seems like a warped reflection of\nhis o wn experiences.\n\nYou can't approach this movie in terms of typical Holly wood standards\, not in\nthe acting nor its meaning... this is coming from another headspace. One viewer\ndescribed it as a "hallucinatory mindfuck" and indeed it's littered with bizarre\nreality break-downs and dream sequ ences. After the studio saw what Blatty had\nconcocted with this off-the-w all movie\, they dumped it and it's rarely been\nscreened. On the other ha nd\, it's been described by some people as "the greatest\nmovie you have n ever seen."\n\nOne recent film critic was flabbergasted and in despair "‘h ow can I possibly\nwrite a critical piece about a filmic masterpiece\, or even attempt to do it\njustice’?. It doesn’t happen that often\, but unfor tunately for me\, William Peter\nBlatty’s The Ninth Configuration is such a film."\n\nCINEMA DÉRIVE/ ventilator\nOvertoom 301\, 2nd floor\n[https:// www.google.com/maps/search/Overtoom+301\,+2nd+floor?entry=gmail&source=g]\ nDoors open at 19:30\, film starts at 20:00\n3 euros URL:https://offbeat.amsterdam/event/the-ninth-configuration GEO:52.3601403;4.8656923 LOCATION:OT301 - Overtoom 301\, 1054 HW Amsterdam STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:film,in english X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Genre: Film
Op en: 19:30 - 22:30 hrs
Tickets: € 3

THE NINTH CONFIGURATION 1980
Directed by William Peter B latty
118 minutes
In English

This is certainly a bizarre on e. Writer/director William Peter Blatty devised a new cinematic genre whic h he followed over the course of a decade- the theological thriller. He ki ck-started it with his novel The Exorcist, furthered his explorations when he created this film, and intended to conclude it with The Exorcist III ( Legend). Well, the last of this trilogy was wrestled out of his hands and totally destroyed by the studios, so it's impossible to understand its ori ginal intention. But this film, the second part of his trilogy, was still under Blatty's control, and I have to say, it's unlike any other Hollywood film I have ever experienced.

So many movies are bland remakes of previous films, if not in concept, then in style. But when you watch a fil m like this you can glimpse another possibility... of what cinema might be like if it was more free and original. I won't go into the story line, bu t I can lay out the premise. After the Vietnam war, many soldiers returned to America pretty fucked up to say the least. This movie is set in a myst erious castle in California, where the most difficult cases of ptsd (post- traumatic stress) are collected and under therapy. In comes a psychiatrist (Stacy Keach) who attempts to deal with the totally surreal situation of this madhouse. What unfolds next is simply unpredictable, dumbfounding, ut terly unique.

Some people claim reality is weirder than fiction. Al though this movie is set in a Gothic Fortress in America, it obliquely tap s into real events happening in Germany after World War II when the CIA se t up black sites experimenting with mind control techniques with Nazi scie ntists. It turns out castles were the perfect locations because they were usually remote, secluded and huge—so the military had free rein to do what ever they wanted. Their aim was to wipe away the memory of their subjects by pumping them full of LSD and other techniques, leaving them psychotic n ervous wrecks. One such castle was outside Kransberg near Frankfurt, which is eerily similar to the fortress in this film. These activities were hus hed and not reported in the public discourse, but Blatty himself was a Lie utenant in a Psychological Warfare Division of the military from 1951 to 1 954 so in many ways this film seems like a warped reflection of his own ex periences.

You can't approach this movie in terms of typical Hollyw ood standards, not in the acting nor its meaning... this is coming from an other headspace. One viewer described it as a "hallucinatory mindfuck" and indeed it's littered with bizarre reality break-downs and dream sequences . After the studio saw what Blatty had concocted with this off-the-wall mo vie, they dumped it and it's rarely been screened. On the other hand, it's been described by some people as "the greatest movie you have never seen. "

One recent film critic was flabbergasted and in despair "‘how can I possibly write a critical piece about a filmic masterpiece, or even att empt to do it justice’?. It doesn’t happen that often, but unfortunately f or me, William Peter Blatty’s The Ninth Configuration is such a film."

CINEMA DÉRIVE/ ventilator
Overtoom 301, 2nd floor
Doors open at 19:30, film st arts at 20:00
3 euros

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