Cat People

Orphaned siblings Irena and Paul – played by Nastassja Kinski and Malcolm McDowell – reunite in New Orleans after having spent 20 years apart. Since their parents’ suicide, the brother and sister have been separated and sent to foster homes. Irena, already suffering from sexual inhibition, is shocked when Paul makes inappropriate advances toward her; shortly thereafter, he disappears. Later on, a prostitute is mutilated in a motel room by a panther that is captured by the police and then held by a team of zoologists. By accident, Irena ends up at the zoo that houses the panther, and she is strangely drawn to the animal. With its hefty amounts of violent gore and graphic sex, “Cat People” is, not surprisingly, infinitely more explicit than Jacques Tourneur’s 1942 adaptation of DeWitt Bodeen’s story. Still, the fearless approach of exploring the relationship between female sexuality and violence, within a modified werewolf theme, is as provocative as ever. The sound of the suggestive synthesizer-laden soundtrack by Giorgio Moroder, featuring vocals by David Bowie, has been picked up by DJs and music producers ever since.

Cast: Natassia Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard
Producer: Charles W. Fries
Screenplay: Paul Schrader
Cinematography: John Bailey
Music: Giorgio Moroder