
One of the other nice things about this CAT PEOPLE is it's reliance on the old school special effects of the time. The matte paintings, the puppets, and the makeup as well as the use of real animals make it a unique experience to modern day movie watchers used to seeing CGI in everything. Schrader himself remarks on this fact and how it was kind of cool for him to rewatch the film recently and see the now antiquated effects and how they are refreshing in a lot of ways.
Two other details of note - 1) I like the use of the New Orleans setting to give the film some extra flavor. It's easy enough to invoke voodoo and other such mysticism in this locale and it goes well with the human/animal transformation fantastical elements.
2) Giorgio Moroder's music goes a long way to help emphasize and accentuate the fantasy world as well. Moroder is one of the more memorable composers of the 1980s and his music is a perfect fit to Schrader and cinematographer John Bailey's images.
Scream Factory has put together a nice Special Edition here and though it is lacking a Schrader commentary (which I would have loved), it still has a decent amount of extra features for fans. First off, I should mention that the transfer looks lovely and really pops. CAT PEOPLE is a film that despite it's old school special effects, still benefits from and is best seen in high definition because of its gorgeous production design. Also included are a bunch of retrospective interviews with the cast and crew:
"Unleashing the Animal Within: an Interview with Nastassja Kinski" (6 mins)
The lead actress seems rather shy in this interview (which fits I suppose). She recounts her experiences on the film briefly, with a few specific memories.
The lead actress seems rather shy in this interview (which fits I suppose). She recounts her experiences on the film briefly, with a few specific memories.
"Making Movies: an Interview with Annette O'Toole" (8 mins)
O'Toole talks about getting cast and her enjoyment in working with Paul Schrader and seeing his process, the other actors, her character and the little touches she added (the braiding of her hair for example).
O'Toole talks about getting cast and her enjoyment in working with Paul Schrader and seeing his process, the other actors, her character and the little touches she added (the braiding of her hair for example).
"Caging the Animal: an Interview with John Heard" (6 mins)
Was looking forward to this interview a lot (have seen few interviews with Heard talking about his work) and he is slightly low energy unfortunately. He still has some interesting things to say about the production, Schrader and Malcolm McDowell though. He also talks about his character's obsession and how he chose to depict that.
"Reconnecting With Cat People: an Interview with Malcolm McDowell" 8 mins
McDowell discusses the film's cult status, the eroticism, working with Schrader and other memories of the production.
"Cat Fight: an Interview with Lynn Lowry" (5 mins)
Lowry had a small but memorable role in the film as a call girl who gets attacked by a jaguar in a hotel room. She discusses the process of that scene and her memories of the intensity of working on it.
Lowry had a small but memorable role in the film as a call girl who gets attacked by a jaguar in a hotel room. She discusses the process of that scene and her memories of the intensity of working on it.
"Composing a Cult Classic: an Interview with Giorgio Moroder" (6 mins)
Composer Moroder mentions his previous involvement with both Schrader and Jerry Bruckheimer on AMERICAN GIGOLO. He discusses his instrumental choices, notes, reversing sounds, and working with David Bowie on as he calls it "the Cat People song".
"More Than a Remake: an Interview with Paul Schrader" (9 mins)
While I wish this interview was longer, there is some cool stuff here. Schrader talks about how he was offered CAT PEOPLE after the success of AMERICAN GIGOLO, his changes to the original script (mostly having to do with the film's ending). He also discusses thematics, and some of the different ideas he was pursuing with this movie (vs. the original). Apparently, Bertolucci's film THE CONFORMIST was a sizeable influence on the film and Schrader ended up using the same production designer, which was a highlight for him (the designing of the zoo and so forth) . He touches a lot on how he never thought of it as a remake outside of a few scenes and also covers working with Kinski, Heard ( and makes reference to a favorite film of mine, CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER) and others. Good interview, I just wanted more.
This CAT PEOPLE Blu-ray can be found at Amazon and Shout Factory's site:
https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/cat-people-collectors-edition-exclusive-poster
This CAT PEOPLE Blu-ray can be found at Amazon and Shout Factory's site:
https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/cat-people-collectors-edition-exclusive-poster
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