{"id":70678,"date":"2021-03-19T22:16:58","date_gmt":"2021-03-20T05:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=70678"},"modified":"2023-10-31T22:39:47","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T05:39:47","slug":"cat-people-1982","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=70678","title":{"rendered":"Cat People (1982)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I prefer animals to people.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Poster-197x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-70679\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Poster-197x300.png 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Poster-672x1024.png 672w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Poster-177x270.png 177w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Poster.png 699w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA virginal young woman (Nastassja Kinski) who has just reunited with her shape-shifting grown brother (Malcolm McDowell) and his housekeeper (Ruby Dee) in New Orleans falls for a handsome zookeeper (John Heard) who has helped capture McDowell when he was in panther-form &#8212; but when she learns about a dark family secret and her brother attempts to seduce her, her romance with Heard is put on hold.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ed Begley Jr. Films<\/li>\n<li>Horror Films<\/li>\n<li>Incest and Incestuous Undertones<\/li>\n<li>John Heard Films<\/li>\n<li>Malcolm McDowell Films<\/li>\n<li>Nastassja Kinski Films<\/li>\n<li>Paul Schrader Films<\/li>\n<li>Ruby Dee Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary asserts that &#8220;Paul Schrader&#8217;s re-working of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17043\">Val Lewton&#8217;s classic<\/a> starts out reasonably well but then becomes an abomination&#8221;. He notes that &#8220;Kinski is well cast, Annette O&#8217;Toole is likable as Heard&#8217;s workmate:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-OToole.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-OToole-1024x579.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"362\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-70688\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-OToole-1024x579.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-OToole-300x170.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-OToole-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-OToole-768x434.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-OToole-1536x869.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-OToole-477x270.png 477w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-OToole.png 1819w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and some early scenes are quite eerie and erotic, but Alan Ormsby&#8217;s script becomes incoherent, the John Bailey [cinematographer]-Ferdinando Scarfiotti [production designer] visuals become too surrealistic, and Schrader completely forgets the subtlety, sensuality, and taste that distinguished Lewton&#8217;s film&#8221; &#8212; instead filling &#8220;the screen with nudity and gory violence that are antithetical to Lewton.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/32102\/cat-people-1982\/\">In a 2000 interview<\/a>, Schrader apparently admitted that Lewton&#8217;s film didn&#8217;t mean much to him, and that he wanted &#8220;the movie credited as &#8216;A Paul Schrader and Fernando Scarfiotti Film'&#8221; &#8212; but despite significant narrative differences between the two films, there are enough scenes that are direct homages (i.e., the swimming pool scene) that it&#8217;s hard not to make comparisons. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Pool.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Pool-1024x571.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"357\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-70684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Pool-1024x571.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Pool-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Pool-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Pool-768x428.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Pool-1536x856.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Pool-484x270.png 484w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Pool.png 1835w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, I&#8217;m in agreement with Peary that this more literal &#8220;version&#8221; is much less successful, and actually pretty icky. McDowell seems comfortable building on the theme of incest from his infamous turn in <em>Caligula<\/em> (1979), but why in the world would audiences want to hear him saying to Kinski, &#8220;We are an incestuous race; we can only make love with our own &#8212; otherwise, we transform.&#8221;? I get that this is the mythos behind the storyline, but it&#8217;s simply unappealing. Kinski is alluring, and good use is made of New Orleans settings &#8212; but this one isn&#8217;t must-see viewing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Nastassja Kinski as Irena<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Kinski.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Kinski-1024x565.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"353\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-70680\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Kinski-1024x565.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Kinski-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Kinski-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Kinski-768x424.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Kinski-1536x848.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Kinski-489x270.png 489w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Kinski.png 1843w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Atmospheric cinematography and sets<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Zoo.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Zoo-1024x572.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"358\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-70681\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Zoo-1024x572.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Zoo-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Zoo-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Zoo-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Zoo-1536x857.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Zoo-484x270.png 484w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Zoo.png 1811w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Blood.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Blood-1024x571.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"357\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-70682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Blood-1024x571.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Blood-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Blood-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Blood-768x428.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Blood-1536x857.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Blood-484x270.png 484w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Blood.png 1827w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Cinematography-1024x565.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"353\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-70683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Cinematography-1024x565.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Cinematography-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Cinematography-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Cinematography-768x424.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Cinematography-1536x847.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Cinematography-490x270.png 490w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cat-People-Cinematography.png 1833w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, unless you&#8217;re curious. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0083722\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1982\/04\/02\/movies\/movie-a-baroque-new-cat-people.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=2746\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/32102\/cat-people-1982\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I prefer animals to people.&#8221; Synopsis: A virginal young woman (Nastassja Kinski) who has just reunited with her shape-shifting grown brother (Malcolm McDowell) and his housekeeper (Ruby Dee) in New Orleans falls for a handsome zookeeper (John Heard) who has helped capture McDowell when he was in panther-form &#8212; but when she learns about a dark family secret and her brother attempts to seduce her, her romance with Heard is put on hold. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Ed Begley&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=70678\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=70678"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92905,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70678\/revisions\/92905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=70678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=70678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}