The Ninth Configuration (Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane)1980
The Ninth Configuration (Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane) (1980)
The Ninth Configuration (Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane) Photos
Movie Info
Watch it now
Cast
as Col. Kane
as Capt. Cutshaw
as Reno
as Fell
as Groper
as Fairbanks
as Nummack
as Bennish
as Spinell
as Lt. Gomez
as Sgt. Krebs
as First Cyclist
as Second Cyclist
as Highway Patrolman
as 1st General
as Priest
as Sergeant in Combat Shack
as Driver
as Sergeant Gilman
Critic Reviews for The Ninth Configuration (Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane)
All Critics (12) | Fresh (9) | Rotten (3) | DVD (1)
A resolutely offbeat film which offers a richly rewarding and affecting viewing experience if you're willing to embrace it's esoteric flourishes.
Like the Gothic castle (festooned with gargoyles, crucifixes and posters of Bela Lugosi) in which The Ninth Configuration is predominantly set, Blatty's film is something of a grand folly, by turns uproariously funny and deadly serious....
Obtuse thriller.
unusual dark comedy, with stacy keach at his best.
At its worst, it is supposed to be profound; at its best it's amusing
Should be the centerpiece of a Stacy Keach shrine somewhere . . . should one ever be erected.
Audience Reviews for The Ninth Configuration (Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane)
A Marx Brothers movie, with theology.
Super Reviewer
30 years before the disappointing Shutter Island took viewers to a remote mental asylum with a world-turned-upside-down storyline, William Peter Blatty gave us this supremely fucked-up account of a Marine Corp Colonel (played rather brilliantly by the passive Stacy Keach) that is assigned to take over an asylum housing insane soldiers. Col. Kane is especially tuned to the story of a USMC Captain that went nuts right before NASA was supposed to send him to the moon. Throughout all this, Kane recounts how his brother was a sadistic mass-murderer in Vietnam and the backstory only comes to him (and us) in dreams. If you've seen Shutter Island, then you know where this one is going. After halfway through this movie, I hypothesized that this movie was either too fucking brilliant to be understood or too simple to enjoy. Towards the end, I knew it was the former one. VERY quotable, but not for everyone. My wife hated it. I loved it.
Super Reviewer
It's a considerable struggle to sit through this movie and the rewards don't really justify the trip, but for some reason I enjoyed it in all its tedium. This is probably to the credit of the magnificent Stacy Keach, who turns in an incredible performance here, and the fascinating premise. William Peter Blatty's unsure direction is a little bit threatening, as he can't really anchor the movie into realism (and despite its surreality it requires a presence in the normal world). The initial mystery stays compelling even when the movie itself doesn't and has just enough life to push you through. If you enjoy a good psychological twist but find them too overdone nowadays, The Ninth Configuration should satisfy.
Super Reviewer
The Ninth Configuration (Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane) Quotes
There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.