Too much of everything

Simply Perfect

As Good As It Gets

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This is classic cinema at its finest. A wonderful horror classic that all modern horror films draw from. All new horror films owe everything to the felines.

Another watch for this fabulous, Jacques Turner directed black and white gem. I thought watching b&w blu rays might be a waste but not a bit of it. I have never seen this shine and sparkle so well and those dark shadows so effectively sweeping across the screen. I remember seeing this as a boy and being disappointed that Simone Simon didn't change back and forth throughout but now can appreciate the true subtlety of her performance. Strange that I should have re-watched Gilda last night and sat spellbound as Rita Hayworth seemingly treads her own path, bewitching and beguiling men at will with her physical presence and charisma and here the poor Serbian girl afraid to even take a step in that direction. Very impressive and helped enormously by being able to see this is such a fine print. Perfect.

Cat People along with The Wolfman are the two finest shape snifter films ever made and Cat People stands as the crown jewel of the legendary horror films Val Lewton made at RKO!Lewton became recognized as one of the finest horror, fantasy, and suspense story tellers in Hollywood. Director Jacques Tourneur established himself as Hollywood's top horror/ fantasy director of the 1940's ranking up there with James Whale as the best ever.DeWitt Bodeen wrote a script that was part horror and part film noir and was brilliantly conceived.Nicholas Musuraca's shadowy cinematography is as much the star of Cat People as any of the actors.All that talent comes together to create a suspenseful and even breathtaking fantasy/horror film. The cast of Cat People Kent Smith,Tom Conway, Jane Randolph, and Jack Holt were all character actors and competent craftsmen in their work and were recognizable to theater audiences but none were big stars.Simone Simon's portrayal of Irena is both exotic and vulnerable and remains her best known role to American audiences. Tourneur got masterful performances from all of them in creating the story. Cat People has many iconic moments. The bus stop scene. The pet shop scene. The legendary swimming pool sequence. All of the scenes at the zoo. They are all part of magic of Cat People. Cat People is certainly one of RKO's finest films and one of the best movies of the WWII era.

While at the Central Park Zoo, mysterious Serbian fashionista Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) catches the eye of Oliver Reed. She tells them of the legend of King John who freed the people from the Mameluks. John found some had been corrupted to worship Satan. He killed them all except for the ones who escaped into the mountains. Later, Irena and Oliver get married but her belief comes between them. She believes that an ancient family curse turns her into a panther when she gets aroused. Oliver sends her to psychiatrist Dr. Louis Judd.This movie burns a little too slowly. The acting is pretty stiff. The movie uses shadows and sounds to do most of the horror. There are some very effective scenes. The swimming pool is the highlight of the movie. The movie has a great idea of sexual animalism but it's an idea that really can't be filmed at that time. It's about the denial of the sexual instincts. This movie probably pushed the boundaries a little bit. It's a movie of its time.