After 1980’s American Gigolo turned Richard Gere into a star, director Paul Schrader attempted to do the same for Nastassja Kinski via his next effort, 1982’s Cat People. A remake of a 1942 classic, it didn’t catapult Kinski to A-list level, but it gave her career a boost.

Raised by foster parents, Irene Gallier (Kinski) meets her older biological brother Paul (Malcolm McDowell) for the first time in many years. He lives alone in New Orleans with only his housekeeper Female (Ruby Dee) to keep him company.

Paul claims they come from a line of “cat people” who turn feline after they mate and who must then kill to return to human form. On the cusp of her own sexual awakening, Irene struggles to cope with this information and its impact.

Initially I thought I might be able to simply cut and paste my synopsis for the 1942 People and make a few minor updates. However, that proved impractical.

While they share titles and general themes, the two films play out in substantially different ways. Most importantly, the 1982 version makes literal what the 1942 film kept vague.

Both tell stories of women who may turn feline if they have sex and the related violent ramifications. However, the original never gives us answers about the veracity of these concerns, whereas the Schrader People leaves nothing to the imagination.

Boy, if you wanted to demonstrate how cinematic mores changed between the 1940s and the 1980s, a comparison of the two People flicks would do it! In the 1942 version, the lead character could only allude to fears of what would happen if she “got too close to a man”.

That meant the filmmakers couldn’t even explicitly allude to sexual intercourse, much less show it. Of course, no nudity or profanity or graphic violence appeared either.

For 1982’s film, we get tons of skin, lots of gory content, naughty words and sex. It seems remarkable to consider how different the two look in terms of explicit content.

Even if we ignore that, though, the 1942 film differs from 1982 substantially because as noted, it never let the cat out of the bag. Did the lead really change into a killer feline when she made love, or was she a nut who just acted out her delusions?

We never know, whereas Schrader gives us no wiggle room, and that seems like a shame. Clearly Scharader wanted to make more of a traditional horror movie, and that’s fine, but I think the story works better when it comes with the original’s psychological factors.

Outside of some creepy incestuous overtones, the 1982 People lacks any real themes or place for interpretation. Paul and Irene really do turn into leopards when they bone, and they really do need to kill to change back – bingo bango.

Perhaps if Schrader did more with the horror format, the lack of nuance wouldn’t bother me. Unfortunately, the 1982 People fails to deliver any actual thrills or terror, so it largely just plods along as we wait for some form of resolution.

Elsewhere on this disc, Schrader opines that he wishes his movie used a different title than Cat People, as he feels the inevitable comparisons between the two became too much of a factor. I get his point, but the two films remain similar enough that comparisons would’ve occurred anyway – and indeed, the 1982 would seem like a ripoff of the 1942 movie without the remake vibe.

I don’t think the 1982 flick got a bad rap because of unfavorable comparisons to the 1942 version. I think it earned criticisms just because it’s not an especially compelling or coherent movie.

We do get a good cast, as in addition to Kinski, Dee and McDowell, we find folks like John Heard, Annette O’Toole, Ed Begley Jr., John Larroquette, Frankie Faison and others. David Bowie pulled out his first new solo song in a couple years for the title track, too – though I prefer the 1983 update on the Let’s Dance album.

None of this manages to add up to a lot of actual cinematic entertainment. While the movie comes with potential, it feels too ham-fisted and stiff to succeed.

Cat People appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Though not bad for a 20-year-old SD-DVD image, the presentation felt blah.

Sharpness became one of those lackluster elements. While the movie occasionally demonstrated fairly good delineation, a lot of the flick seemed soft and mushy.

Occasional examples of jagged edges and moiré effects appeared, and I saw light edge haloes. Despite some specks, print flaws remained reasonably modest.

Colors tended toward earthy browns and chilly blues. The DVD replicated these in an adequate but fairly dull manner. A few shots with red/orange tints felt messy.

Blacks looked inky and thick, while low-light shots tended to feel too heavy. Again, given the disc’s age and format, this didn’t turn into a bad DVD, but it didn’t look especially good either.

I also thought the movie’s Dolby Stereo soundtrack felt inconsistent, primarily due to an abnormally low mastering. I had to crank the volume much higher than usual to reach an acceptable listening level, and even then, the mix still felt somewhat feeble.

Still, the track showed a pretty good stereo soundfield, with a lot of movement across the front and positive localization. Music also brought good separation and integration.

Outside of the low mastering, audio quality felt adequate for a flick from 1982. Dialogue showed occasional instances of edginess and could sound distant, but the lines remained intelligible and without serious flaws.

Music showed acceptable range – if not much real punch – while effects appeared decent, as they came with fair clarity and accuracy. Nothing here excelled so this felt like an average track for its age.

A few extras fill out the disc, and we open with an audio commentary from director Paul Schrader. He provides a running, screen-specific look at the source and its adaptation, story/characters, sets and locations, working with animals, cast and performances, music, photography and editing, various effects, and connected domains.

Overall, Schrader delivers a solid commentary. He gets into a good mix of topics and makes this an engaging and informative chat.

Four featurettes follow, and An Intimate Portrait spans 25 minutes, 22 seconds. Shot in November 2000, he looks at the adaptation of the source, the impact of production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti, cast and performances, working with animals, effects, sets and locations, visual design, music, and related topics.

In other words, “Portrait” largely repeats a lot of the commentary. We do get some new elements and “Portrait” works well if you don’t want to screen the commentary, but it seems somewhat redundant if you play the running chat.

From 1982, On the Set runs 10 minutes, 21 seconds and offers vintage footage of Schrader. He covers story/characters/themes and some production elements. While not a tremendously deep chat, it gets into more nuances than expected.

Special Makeup Effects fills 11 minutes, 15 seconds with remarks from special makeup effects artist Tom Burman. He goes over his work on the film and related experiences. Burman offers a nice view of the subjects.

Finally, we hear from Filmmaker Robert Wise. In this three-minute, 34-second segment, Wise discusses Val Lewton, the producer of the 1942 Cat People.

Wise directed the 1944 sequel to the 1942 flick, so he comes with some first-hand experiences. Wise provides a few good thoughts but the featurette seems too short to tell us much.

Matte Paintings brings a three-minute, 11-second reel that shows the original film and how it got integrated with the mattes. It becomes a decent look at this work, though it’d succeed better with some commentary to discuss the techniques.

Another montage comes with a six-minute, 46-second collection of Production Photographs. We get 65 stills that mix behind the scenes images and publicity shots. This becomes a passable compilation.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we conclude with text Production Notes. Expect a smattering of basics about the film.

An update on a 1940s classic, the 1982 Cat People fails to leave a positive impression. Despite a lot of talent involved, it lacks drama or scares. The DVD comes with mediocre picture and audio as well as a mix of bonus materials. Stick with the 1942 original.