Cat People 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Review

PLOT SYNOPSIS

Irena (NASTASSIA KINSKI) is a beautiful young woman who discovers her love for the first time only to find the experience brings tragic consequences. The tremendous passion of this woman’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 – 4½/5

Disc 1 (4K Ultra HD):

• Audio Commentary — Director Paul Schrader

Disc 2 (Bluray):

• Audio Commentary — Director Paul Schrader
• Interviews:
  • More Than a Remake (9:13) — Director Paul Schrader
  • Unleashing the Animal Within (5:56) — Actress Natassja Kinski
  • Making Memories (8:25) — Actress Annette O’Toole
  • Caging the Animal (6:12) — Actor John Heard
  • Reconnecting with Cat People (7:34) — Actor Malcolm McDowell
  • Cat Fight (5:53) — Actress Lynn Lowery
  • Composing a Cult Classic (5:32) — Composer Giorgio Moroder
• An Intimate Portrait (25:23) — This is an archive interview with Schrader.
• On the Set with Paul Schrader 10:21() is an old interview with Schrader from 1982.
• Filmmaker Robert Wise on the Producer of the Original Cat People, Val Newton (3:33) — This interview has Wise delving into Newton and his career. Circa 2001.
• Special Makeup Effects by Tom Burman (11:14) — Interview with Burman from 2001.
• Matte Paintings (3:10)
• Photo Gallery
• Production Art
• Theatrical Trailer (2:49)

4K VIDEO – 4¾/5, BLU-RAY VIDEO – 4½/5

Considering my old review, the transfer was less than stellar, it’s welcoming to see Shout Factory give this another crack for both the 4K and Blu-ray discs. Detail on this transfer does look excellent with incredible sharpness throughout and colors also appear to be nicely balanced. I didn’t notice any significant or obvious signs of things like aliasing, artifacts, scratches or other apparent film damage. It appears the Blu-ray picture is the same new 4K scan just downgraded to 1080p yet still looks very impressive, just in case you don’t own a 4K player.

AUDIO – 3¾/5

Both the 4K and Blu-ray discs come equipped with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. I can’t be 100& positive but it wouldn’t surprise me if this is the same or similar to the track from the original Blu-ray release. Even so, dialogue does come across with good clarity and depth on either track is decent enough however it won’t wow you or give the surround system a workout.