This is a movie that doesn't get talked about alot. I think me and Muffy watched it when she was here visiting me, and that was the last time I saw it. It is really weird. It has some crazy special effects in it, and it is pretty bloody.
Has anyone seen it...and what did you think of it?
Posted by 80'sRocked (Member # 6979) on :
Never saw Cat People, but seeing this thread just reminded me of Sleepwalkers. I do like that one.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
This has been a long time in my wanted list. I´m gonna buy Cat People dvd asap.
Posted by TKO (Member # 1471) on :
I have seen it many years ago. But as with most movies I don’t remember too much of it, other than the David Bowie song: Putting Out the Fire, some nudity and vaguely something about a woman waking up in a zoo cage? Is that possible? I was too young when I watched it and didn’t understand much of it. I feel I would appreciate it more now.
Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
it wasn't me, i've never seen it? Is it Steven King?
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
I'm the same as TKO....seen it, but don't remember much...I'll take another peek....I have a copy on VHS. And Muffy...I'm pretty sure it's not Stephen King.
Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
I know now what I was thinking.......Cat's Eye......was King
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
This movie was creepy.....I was never a fan of it, but Nastassja Kinski is quite memeorable for some reason.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
quote:Originally posted by Muffy Tepperman: I know now what I was thinking.......Cat's Eye......was King
ha...a little Drew Barrymore. Might I suggest "Firestarter".
Posted by ISIS (Member # 1780) on :
Muffy...I thought for sure we watched it....it had Ed Begley in it too-he gets his arm ripped off...they were at the Zoo. It has Rodney McDowell in it...he has some kind of weird incestous relationship going with Natassja Kinski....I remember there was a scene in "Terror in the Aisles"...where there's a postitute in a room and a panter's paw comes out from under the bed and grabs her foot. Rodney McDowell and Natassja can turn in to panthers....and the effects are kind of like Michael Jackson turning in to the werewolf in thriller.
Posted by Missie (Member # 2186) on :
I saw this movie once back in the day (you know, when MTV had no commercials and HBO *really* meant Home Box Office) and I thought it was gross.
I do recall a scene where Kinksi is looking at herself in the mirror and eating some....one....and it looks like she's got bloody balogna skin hanging from her mouth.
::shudders::
I don't like gore for the sake of it and I *really* don't like balogna!
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Watched Cat People at last and it was a great erotic fantasy thriller! Malcolm McDowell is creepy and i like the atmosphere very much.
The soundtrack was awesome so i bought the album. Giorgio Moroder rules!
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
I actually just bought the DVD....I've seen it when I was younger...but I'll try again. Also have an old Rolling Stone Mag featuring Natssia on the cover....
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Is it this one?
I´d love to own these early 80s mags...
Posted by jdocster (Member # 5752) on :
You can buy these old magazines on ebay... ;-)
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
Yep...that's the one aTomik. Pages are also more like a newspaper, versus, the newer shiny magazine paper. For a short time, I was collecting some of the earlier 80's editions....but gave it up...at the time...collecting way too many things. As jdoc said...easily found on ebay. I still have this one and a few others with Prince, Cyndi Lauper, etc, on the covers. Great memories....
Posted by KING 80'S (Member # 7744) on :
I just bought this dvd. I haven't watched it as of yet but I will post my ratings of it once I see it.
Posted by Burnett (Member # 9924) on :
Fascinating, sexy thriller, about the wild animal inside people. The film is beautifully photographed with lots of warm colors, and the tension is built up very well, in a slow tempo with some sudden outbursts of violence. Also, the mysterious music by Moroder and Bowie is fits perfectly. I love the theme song. McDowell is a great actor, he's very creepy, and Kinski is a excellent cast, she's mysterious and very sexy. I also liked the fact that they used real leopards. What beautiful animals! Schrader has directed some fine films... I also liked American Gigolo, and I'm going to watch Mishima soon, since I own it on dvd.
Beautiful still from the opening scene:
[ 31. August 2011, 06:47: Message edited by: Burnett ]
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
If you like Schrader, check out "Auto Focus." Greg Kinnear is excellent, as is a creepy Willem Dafoe.
Posted by Burnett (Member # 9924) on :
Will do, thanks for the tip.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
Just got done watching Cat People for the first time in ages and I agree this film seriously rocks,really stylishly shot and with a great cast (McDowell is on top form here) it's a movie that I find to be very pleasing to the eyes and also to the ears as it features a way cool soundtrack by Giorgio Moroder!
Natassja Kinski looks stunning and spends a large majority of her screen time in a state of undress and there's a creepy and incestuous storyline that can at times really get under your skin,also New Orleans looks great and makes for a very atmospheric setting and there's the odd shocking moment like mentioned above where Ed Begley Jr gets his arm ripped off that can really startle!
Great movie and has got me wanting to revisit Schrader's earlier 80s hit American Gigolo with Richard Gere which I have seen way,way back and do recall really enjoying!
[ 12. June 2016, 10:47: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Paul Schrader's remake of Cat People is pretty great filmmaking. It goes to show you how you can make a fine film out of the silliest of material. (A breed of incestuous cat people who transform like werewolves. C'mon now! LOL) I still can't believe that this was a mainstream film, released by a big studio, with all the nudity and kink. (Though if you look carefully, there are some incredibly well-placed shadows in the penultimate scene. I think that even Schrader knew that he wasn't going to get away with much more from the ratings board.) Kinski is fantastic and perfectly cast as the initially virginal heroine, who not only transforms into a cat, but into something so much more. Malcolm McDowell has always been one of those underrated actors with a lot of range. He's comfortable as likeable nice guys as well as creepy weirdos. Here he's in full bloom in the latter category. And who can forget the David Bowie song, used memorably here, and by Tarantino in Inglorious Basterds.
I saw American Giggolo when it opened in a theatre that had no heat on a freezing winter day--with about three other people-and still really enjoyed it. Paul Schrader has had an up and down career as a director, but he's a really good. Auto Focus is my favorite of his films.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
Auto Focus is great Crash,Light Sleeper is another of his that I really like!
Crash have you ever seen McDowell's performance in the bonkers Get Crazy as that is something to behold,his characters name is Reggie w****r!
[ 10. June 2016, 08:37: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
I saw Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe, and Paul Schrader at the Toronto International Film Festival in support of Auto Focus. They all seemed like smart, genuine nice guys. I never understood why Auto Focus didn't get more acclaim. The acting by Kinear and Dafoe is just superb, Oscar-worthy even. Perhaps the subject matter was way too downbeat and sordid.
McDowell is fantastic in Get Crazy, a film that still doesn't have much of a cult, and I can't understand why. It should; it's very funny. Poor Alan Arkush. He has talent but really bad luck. His partner in crime from New World Pictures, Joe Dante, was hugely successful for a while with big films before his career fizzled out. Arkush should have had a similar career, but one criticially reviled studio film, Heartbeeps, just killed it. He's worked in TV since.
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
Definitely a Schrader fan. Saw Auto Focus at the cinema and loved it.
Re-watched American Gigolo again recently. Nice and stylish with good (dated) score. I found that the script felt a little thin this time around though, with no real mystery and a somewhat weak ending. But still very watchable. I often forget just how 'hot' Gere was in the first half of the 80's, right up until 'King David' slammed the breaks on his career. He also always seemed oddly unlikeable in his early films.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
I think Gere never gets his due as an actor. He is pretty much an a****** in his early roles, but those were the parts he got. If you look at his later stuff, he's terrific--Sommersby, Unfaithful, Chicago, Internal Affairs, Primal Fear, Mr. Jones, Shall We Dance, The Mothman Prophecies, Arbitrage... And I'm not just cutting him slack. He's excellent and can hold his own with just about anybody. He's just such a good looking guy that I think it's actually been a handicap to his career.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Gere is the man! I´ve always liked the fella and have about 20 RG films but i´ve yet too see Report to the Commissioner, Bloodbrothers, The Honorary Consul, King David, Power and i just bought Looking for Mr. Goodbar. I have this stuff but haven´t got time to watch them!!
I would also like too see more his 00´ films like The Mothman Prophecies for example.
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
You might be right. His looks kinda made and typecast him as the good looking douchebag. I think I heard that Debra Winger didn't like him when working on 'Officer and a Gentleman'. Post 'Pretty Woman' he did seem to relax into himself and do a lot of interesting films. I'd forgotten half of those you listed (only seen half of them - but I liked the ones I did see). Actually, I remember liking Mothman Prophecies quite a lot. Might be time to 'Gere up' and fill in some gaps!
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
The Mothman Prophecies was a Gere-produced pet project. (He likes horror films. Yay!) I think that it has one of the best sound designs of any movie. The sound is truly frightening. It's a terrific little film.
Posted by April Fool (Member # 37390) on :
This movie has become one of my favorite 80s movies of all time, and I got to liking it alot over the past few years. I love the soundtrack. The background music is so cool, and I love the scenery, and the house they have in New Orleans. I love the cast of this movie. I watch it all the time.
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
quote:The Mothman Prophecies was a Gere-produced pet project. (He likes horror films. Yay!) I think that it has one of the best sound designs of any movie. The sound is truly frightening. It's a terrific little film.
I remember liking it when it came out. But that sounds like I need to re-watch it. I'll add that and Cat People to my re-watch list.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Both excellent horror film choices, superbly crafted.
Posted by Nostalgic for the '80's (Member # 37454) on :
Re: Cat People, when this came out back in '82 I was way too young to see it in theatres...but always wanted to due to NK IIRC, I do remember the trailer & advertising for the film. So, for whatever reason I didn't see this in it's entirety until I got my first DVD player in the 2000's
This is a truly classic movie. Excellent but sad story, beautiful actresses (NK & Annette O'Toole), great effects, extremely impressive visuals - especially the flash-back prehistoric?! sequences with the matte paintings & creepy, red lighting, and last but not least, incredible scenery of early '80's New Orleans.
I did see the original b&w Cat People a while back, and for some reason couldn't get into this as much - I found the '82 version to be far superior, but nostalgia may have a lot to do with this.
Re: Richard Gere, "The Mothman Prophecies" (2002) is my favorite film he's starred in. However, he also did a great job in his small (but powerful) role in The Jackal (1997), a great espionage film based on "Day of the Jackal".
[ 03. October 2016, 16:28: Message edited by: Nostalgic for the '80's ]
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
IIRC, I do remember the trailer & advertising for the film. So, for whatever reason I didn't see this in it's entirety until I got my first DVD player in the 2000's