Cat People (1982)

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writers:

DeWitt Bodeen (story)
Alan Ormsby (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

2 April 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

An Erotic Fantasy About The Animal In Us All.

Plot:

The Cat People originated way back in time, when humans sacrificed their women to Leopards, who mated with them...

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Leopard | Sexual Awakening | Remake | Metamorphosis

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Nastassja Kinski	...	Irena Gallier (as Nastassia Kinski)
Malcolm McDowell	...	Paul Gallier
John Heard	...	Oliver Yates
Annette O'Toole	...	Alice Perrin
Ruby Dee	...	Female
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Joe Creigh
Scott Paulin	...	Bill Searle
Frankie Faison	...	Detective Brandt
Ron Diamond	...	Detective Ron Diamond
Lynn Lowry	...	Ruthie
John Larroquette	...	Bronte Judson
Tessa Richarde	...	Billie
Patricia Perkins	...	Taxi Driver
Berry Berenson	...	Sandra
Fausto Barajas	...	Otis
John H. Fields	...	Massage Parlor Manager
Emery Hollier	...	Yeatman Brewer
Stephen Marshal	...	Moonie
Robert Pavlovich	...	Ted (as Robert Pavlovitch)
Julie Denney	...	Carol
Arione De Winter	...	Indian Village Mother
Francine Segal	...	Church Woman
Don Hood	...	Train Station Agent
David Showacre	...	Man in Bar
Neva Gage	...	Cat-Like Woman
Marisa Folse	...	Indian Girl
Danelle Hand	...	Indian Girl
John C. Isbell	...	Police Officer
Roger E. Reid	...	Policeman (as Roger Reid)
Charles Joseph Konya Jr.	...	Policeman
Marco St. John	...	Policeman
Brett Alexander	...	Cub Scout
Gregory Gatto	...	Cub Scout
Terc Martinez	...	Cub Scout
David Ross McCarty	...	Man in Airport
Harry Hauss	...	First Helicopter Pilot (as Harold C. Hauss)
James Deeth	...	Second Helicopter Pilot
Ray Wise	...	Soap Opera Man
Jo Ann Dearing	...	Soap Opera Woman
The Black Pope	...	D.J. (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Blackwell	...	Staring Man on Bus (uncredited)
Stocker Fontelieu	...	Priest (uncredited)

Directed by
Paul Schrader

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
DeWitt Bodeen		story
Alan Ormsby		writer
Paul Schrader		uncredited

Produced by
Jerry Bruckheimer	....	executive producer
Charles W. Fries	....	producer
Max Rosenberg	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Giorgio Moroder

Cinematography by
John Bailey

Film Editing by
Jacqueline Cambas
Jere Huggins
Ned Humphreys
Bud S. Smith

Casting by
Mary Goldberg

Production Design by
Ferdinando Scarfiotti

Art Direction by
Edward Richardson

Set Decoration by
Bruce Weintraub

Costume Design by
Daniel Paredes

Makeup Department
Lance Anderson	....	special makeup effects artist
Janice D. Brandow	....	hair stylist
Thomas R. Burman	....	special makeup effects
Bari Dreiband-Burman	....	special makeup effects artist (as Bari Dreiband)
Leonard Engelman	....	makeup artist
Edouard F. Henriques	....	special makeup effects artist (as Eddie Henriques)
Tom Hoerber	....	special makeup effects artist
Mike Menzel	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Bill Badalato	....	unit production manager
Tom Jacobson	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Dillon	....	dga trainee
Stephen P. Dunn	....	second assistant director
Michael Grillo	....	first assistant director
Bud S. Smith	....	second unit director (as Bud Smith)

Art Department
Lauren Cory	....	set designer
Lee Ezzes	....	swing gang
Peter Ivy	....	construction foreman
Jeannine Claudia Oppewall	....	set designer (as Jeannine Oppewall)
Vic Petrotta Jr.	....	property master
Curtis A. Schnell	....	set designer
Jack G. Taylor Jr.	....	assistant art director
Robert Misetich	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Charles L. Campbell	....	supervising sound editor
Larry Carow	....	sound editor
Louis L. Edemann	....	sound editor
Richard C. Franklin	....	sound editor
David W. Gray	....	stereo sound engineer: Dolby
Robert L. Hoyt	....	sound re-recordist
Scott Mathews	....	special sound effects
Chris McLaughlin	....	sound
Ron Nagel	....	special sound effects
Stanley H. Polinsky	....	sound re-recordist
Brian Reeves	....	sound consultant
Hank Salerno	....	loop dialogue editor
Norman B. Schwartz	....	post-production dialogue
John J. Stephens	....	sound re-recordist
James E. Webb	....	sound
John Roesch	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
James Cummins	....	lab technician
Pat Domenico	....	special effects
Karl G. Miller	....	special effects (as Karl Miller)

Visual Effects by
Robert Blalack	....	catvision optical effects
Syd Dutton	....	matte artist
Dennis Glouner	....	matte photographer
Henry Schoessler	....	visual effects
Bill Taylor	....	matte photographer
Albert Whitlock	....	special visual effects
Chris Regan	....	optical supervisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Brad Bovee	....	stunts
Angeline Brown	....	stunts
Vince Deadrick Jr.	....	stunts
Bennie E. Dobbins	....	stunts
Madeleine Klein	....	stunts
Beth Nufer	....	stunts
Ron Oxley	....	stunts
Walter Scott	....	stunt coordinator
Mike Tillman	....	stunts
Mark Weiner	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
William D. Barber	....	assistant camera: New Orleans
Richard Kamins	....	best boy
Jeffrey L. Kimball	....	director of photography: second unit (as Jeffrey Kimball)
Joel Kirschner	....	second assistant camera
Ann Lucas	....	assistant camera: New Orleans
Ann Lukacs	....	second unit
Joseph F. Valentine	....	second camera operator (as Joe Valentine)
Paul Vombrack	....	photography: second unit, New Orleans
Richard Walden	....	first assistant camera
Lito White	....	camera operator: New Orleans
Steve Yaconelli	....	camera operator

Animation Department
Ellis Burman	....	animation: artifacts
Allan Hall	....	animation: artifacts
Bob Williams	....	animation: artifacts

Editorial Department
Ross Albert	....	associate film editor
Craig Bassett	....	assistant film editor
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Jack Garsha	....	color timer
Phil Hetos	....	color consultant
Bud S. Smith	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Bob Badami	....	music editor
Brian Banks	....	synthesizer programmer
Sylvester Levay	....	orchestrator (as Sylvester Levai)

Other crew
Patti Bosworth	....	assistant to executive producer
Corey Burton	....	adr loop group
Beverly Davis	....	assistant to director
Craig Deman	....	production assistant
Susan Goldberg	....	production assistant
Arnold Goodwin	....	title designer
Alan J. Lam	....	assistant production accountant
Steve Martin	....	animal trainer
Kiki Morris	....	assistant to director (as Katherine Morris)
Charles Newirth	....	location manager
Charles Newirth	....	production assistant
Ron Oxley	....	animal coordinator
Nanette Siegert	....	production associate
Wilbur Stark	....	executive consultant
Mark Weiner	....	animal trainer
Peter Weiss	....	assistant to director

Production Companies

• RKO Pictures
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1982) (Finland) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Esselte Video (1988) (Finland) (video)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• New Orleans Film Commission, The  film commission

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1988) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1982) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Brazil:16 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

591 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

RKO Pictures

Trivia:

On Oliver's nightstand there's a copy of the book "Mishima: A Biography." Director Paul Schrader would a few years later go on to direct qv_ Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)_ based in part on that biography.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The straw in Irena's glass disappears and reappears between shots when she is in the bar with Alice. This may not be a goof because at the end of the scene, you see Irena holding the straw between her hands, which suggests that she has been playing with it throughout the scene.

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Soundtrack:

Faraway Places

Not as Good as the Original, but Still Interesting

Like many horror films, `Cat People' has at its centre an inherently absurd concept. The central characters, Irena and Paul, are brother and sister and the descendants of a long line of human/animal hybrids. In their normal form, they are human, but they turn into black panthers whenever they have sex with a normal person (but not when they have sex with one of their own kind). After such a transformation, they can only revert to human form by killing.

Absurdity, however, is not always a bad thing in the context of horror films; indeed, the success or failure of such films frequently depends upon the director's ability to persuade his audience to believe six impossible things before breakfast. Once the ground-rules have been laid down, they have to be developed with strict logic; if this is done convincingly enough, the audience can overlook the fact that those rules are implausible or even impossible. In `Cat People' this is largely achieved. At the start of the film, Irena is an innocent girl, still a virgin and unaware of her true nature. Paul, by contrast, is well aware of the truth, and has no compunction about killing to regain human form after his many promiscuous sexual encounters. Irena finds out the truth about herself after she moves to live with Paul in New Orleans. He proposes that they should have an incestuous relationship as this would mean they were free to indulge themselves sexually without transforming. Irena, however, recoils from the idea of incest, and falls in love with Oliver, a curator at the local zoo.

`Cat People' reminded me of another early eighties horror film, Tony Scott's `The Hunger'. Both are frankly erotic, both have an absurd concept at their core, and both are shot in a self-consciously stylish manner reminiscent of a pop video, aiming for a deliberately aesthetic look. (Another link is that David Bowie, who starred in `The Hunger', sings the song at the end of `Cat People' as the final credits are playing). `Cat People', however, is in my view the better film, precisely because it remains true to the rules inherent in its central concept whereas `The Hunger' does not. To take an example, Catherine Deneuve's character in that film is supposed to be ageless and immortal, yet nevertheless dies at the end. `Cat People' can develop its basic concept without departing from it. Moreover, it develops the idea in such a way as to arouse sympathy for the characters, or at least for Irena. She is confronted with an essentially tragic dilemma; she must either resign herself to a life without the man whom she loves and without any possibility of sexual love, or else become a killer. She is aware of this dilemma, and her conscience is troubled by it. As a result, we find that she is a character with whom we can identify, even though she is only half-human. In `The Hunger', by contrast, the vampires played by Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie have absolutely no conscience about killing in order to feed, and therefore seem more alien.

As she showed in `Tess', Nastassja Kinski has a great ability to suggest a disturbing mixture of innocence and sensuality, and this was much in evidence in `Cat People'. While the film is not on the same level as Polanski's, and does not test her as an actress to the same degree, it probably shows off her beauty to even greater effect. With her lithe, slim figure, her piercing gaze and her short, dark hair, she seems physically perfect for the role of Irena. It would be difficult to think of another actress who could have suggested the feline side of her nature more convincingly. Malcolm McDowell, as Paul, showed that he is much practised in the art of combining the charming with the sinister. John Heard gave a more stolid performance as Oliver, but this was not necessarily a fault; the intention could have been to contrast the safe, conventional Oliver with the dangerous but fascinating Paul.

The film is not as good as the Jacques Tourneur original from 1942, lacking the earlier film's ability to convey mood and emotion through suggestion and nuance. Schrader's film is much more direct and less subtle, but nevertheless it is still worth watching. 6/10.