Cat People is another weird and certainly unusual cult classic released through Shout’s Scream Factory line. The Blu-ray offers up adequate if not, at least to these eyes, over sharpened picture, and solid lossless audio tracks.
Cat People (1982)
Genre(s): Fantasy, Suspense, Horror, Drama
Shout Factory | R – 118 min. – $29.93 | January 21, 2014
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Paul Schrader
Writer(s): Dewitt Bodeen (story), Alan Ormsby (written by)
Cast: Nastassia Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard, Annette O’Toole
Theatrical Release Date: April 2, 1982
DISC INFO:
Features: Interviews, Theatrical Trailer, Still Gallery
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.85
Subtitles: English SDH
Disc Size: 42.2 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE
Plot Outline: A remake of the 1942 Jacques Tourneur horror/noir classic, Cat People stars Nastassia Kinski as Irena, a beautiful young woman who discovers love for the first time, only to find that the experience brings tragic consequences. The passion of this girl’s first romantic love is so strong, however, it bypasses the chaos around her – including the extraordinary demands of her brother (MALCOLM MCDOWELL) – as it pushes her on to her own bizarre destiny.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.0/5
This “Collector’s Edition” release comes with a matted slip cover.
Cast and Crew Interviews (TRT 48:46) includes new interview footage for Nastassja Kinski (5:56), Annette O’Toole (8:25), John Heard (6:12), Malcolm McDowell (7:35), Lynn Lowry (5:53), composer Giorgio Moroder (5:32) and director Paul Schrader (9:13). Each one, especially the actors, explains how they got their respective roles and reflecting the process of making the movie.
The Theatrical Trailer (2:18), a TV Spot (0:31), Photo Gallery and Production Art & Posters are also included.
VIDEO – 3.25/5
Cat People arrives on Blu-ray shown in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and given a new 1080p high-definition transfer. On the one hand, the HD isn’t bad and when compared to the theatrical trailer (included on the disc) it’s quite the amazing transformation to get it to look as good as it does. The good news is colors are quite bright and well balanced, darker scenes are stark showing no signs of artifacts, and while detail levels are OK, I got a sense that some sharpening was done as some shots look a bit too enhanced.
AUDIO – 3.75/5
On the positive side, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track really shows off Giorgio Moroder’s score and David Bowie’s theme song, both elements which come through every channel, front and rear ones especially, while the front speaker is relegated for the crisp and clear dialogue levels.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Overall, Cat People is another weird and certainly unusual cult classic released through Shout’s Scream Factory line. The Blu-ray offers up adequate if not, at least to these eyes, over sharpened picture, and solid lossless audio tracks (5.1 and 2.0). The bonus features may seem light but with more than 45-minutes worth of interviews, it’s actually well put together getting every viewpoint on the project.
Published: 01/24/2014