Disc Details
Special Features:	An Intimate Portrait by Paul Schrader Feature Commentary with director Paul Schrader On the Set with the Director Special Make-Up Effects by Tom Burman Matte Paintings Filmmaker Robert Wise on the producer of the original Cat People, Val Lewton Widescreen anamorphic format Production notes Theatrical trailer
Video Format:	Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) [SS-DL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles:	English, Spanish, French.
Captions:	Yes
Casing:	1-Disc Keep Case

While the story in Schrader’s update takes off from the same idea – that a female member of a race of feline humans will revert to her animalistic form when she has sex – his version doesn’t share much else. Still, critics at the time weren’t so forgiving, continually attempting to juxtapose the two films as if they were one in the same, a wholly unfair comparison for Schrader.

Ultra-sexy Nastassija Kinksi plays Irene, a naïve young woman on the bridge of sexual discovery (read: a super-horny virgin). When she pays a visit to her brother (Malcolm McDowell) in New Orleans -- from whom she’s been separated since childhood -- she finds herself disturbed by his sexual aura. John Heard plays a zoo curator drawn to her by her sweet and innocent ways (not to mention those big green eyes and luscious lips). As Irene begins to explore the deep dark world of her sexuality, her animalistic roots begin to take over.

Schrader turns what’s supposed to be a horror film into an ultra-stylish (albeit occasionally silly) European-esque sexual fantasy, throwing in plenty of artsy nude shots to go along with the usual gore and some strange tribal flashbacks explaining in more detail Irene’s feline roots. Giorgio Moroder’s musical score fits well in the film, as does the cast, headlined by the perfectly casted Kinski. It’s hard to imagine another actress who could pull off a role this…well…wacky with such sophistication. There’s a lot going on in the film, as Schrader cleverly keeps you guessing as to what’s next: you expect sex and get gore, you expect gore and get sex (or sometimes both). Much of it is thrown in a big jumble by the end credits, but at the very least, Kinski’s nice to look at.

Picture Quality: 7/10
Again, "Cat People" was previously released on DVD in a poor version now discontinued. Only a marginal step up from the previous release, this new video transfer appears to be taken from the same print source. It looks a bit cleaner and slightly more detailed, but still suffers from the same age-related issues.

Sound Quality: 8/10
The disc contains an above-average English 2.0 Dolby surround mix. The dynamic range isn't very wide (compared with more recent releases...no surprise there) but remains clean and crisp. Giorgio Moroder's well-suiteed score sounds great. Overall, a very commendable job by Universal.

English captions are available, as are French and Spanish subtitles.

Menu: 7/10
Very simple menu system. Easy to navigate.
No Easter Eggs found during review.

Extra Features: 8/10
A host of extra-features should make fans of the film quite happy. The feature commentary with director Paul Schrader is enlightening, and you can tell by his tone that he still holds some ill-will at how poorly his film was received back in 1982 (he consequently left the big studio scene after “Cat People” and went on to direct indie films). The 25-minute featurette Cat People: An Intimate Conversation with Paul Schrader is a bit redundant after listening to the commentary track, but also fairly enlightening. Both were produced in late 2000, and you definitely get a better feel at the kind of person Schrader is after listening to them. He’s both extremely guarded and intelligent, and his comments regarding both actress Kinski, and eccentric art director Scarfiotti (I wasn’t quite sure how to read his seemingly backhanded complements for the man) are interesting.

For effects fans, the 11-minute featurette Special Makeup Effects by Tom Burman is excellent (we get a detailed look at the infamous arm-ripping sequence!), as is the three-minute Cat People Matte Paintings feature. That feature is an animated montage showing before and after composites of blue-screen shots mixed with matte paintings. Also included is Robert Wise on Producer Val Lewton, a very short 3-minute recollection/tribute.

Production Photographs is an animated montage of production and publicity stills, as well as some behind-the-scenes footage, all set to Giorgio Moroder's score and the extended version of David Bowie's title song.

The 10-minute On the Set with Paul Schrader is an awkward interview that shows, if nothing else, the strangely guarded personality of the filmmaker. Also included is the theatrical trailer in full frame and some standard production notes. All features presented in 4:3 full frame.

The Final Word:
Kudos to Universal for this superior re-release of "Cat People" on DVD. The widescreen anamorphic transfer is solid, and the audio quality surprisingly good. What elevates this disc from the norm is a host of extra-features that's sure to keep even the most die-hard of fans satisfied.

Stephen Wong