Customer Reviews

Cat Chaser

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Viewers hoping to see the controversial "pistol" scene, in which McGillis's character is forced by her jealous husband to open her legs for his gun will be disappointed to find that it has been cut from the R-rated DVD version. For that, you'll apparently have to stick with the unrated VHS tape. Other than that, the movie is a decent if unspectacular B thriller, and the digital transfer is pretty good.

This DVD is 7 min. shorter than the previously released VHS version. Most of the steamier scenes have been cut
completely or edited for content.While these scenes are not crucial to the plot,they were part of the original presentation and should have remained as they aided in character developement.A good movie lessened by censorship.

A thin story of intrigue and desire in Miami is made very watchable by a good director and a superb collection of actors. Weller and McGillis are thoughtful and convincing as reluctant lovers trying simply to be left in peace. Frederick Forrest provides strong support. Charles Durning, in a small role, walks away with the movie. The character he plays is smart, cunning and, by turns, endearing and brutal. Durning is the reason I've watched this film three or four times since it first appeared in 1990, and I recommend you give it a try.

Viewed: 5/08
Rate: 7

5/08: Cat Chaser is through and through film noir that seems to be obvious and too easy. I am familiar with two previous films by Abel Ferrara: Bad Lieutenant and King of New York. He is similar to Henry Hathaway because both of them are flawed directors. Abel Ferrara can direct and is capable of making a film to work, but he doesn't possess command of realizing potential out of a script. Usually, he holds back, never fully realizing what direction his movie should be heading into. Bad Lieutenant is a good example since Harvey Keitel gave his best performance, but it's the message of the film that seems to go nowhere. Christopher Walken of King of New York was destined to give an acclaimed performance, but there was too little of him and too much of nothingness. For some while, I thought Cat Chaser was going to end up in the same avenue as the other two, but it turned out to be a better film than I anticipated. Yet I feel the execution of the story to be ordinarily simple. Obviously, the two survivors should have been faced with imminent death, but Charles Durning's character wasn't much of a threat. I did think Tomas Milian's Andres DeBoya to be a more credible villain that was supposed to be on a warpath after what had happened and contributed to his shame. Somehow, the development of his character during Cat Chaser left him weak and disappointing. There is a certain scene in Cat Chaser that reminds me of the one from Scarface. Overall, I thought Cat Chaser was a fine film that benefited greatly from direction and cinematography. Peter Weller did a great job playing the typical odd man out who is found involved in some intricate situation yet he actually stays outside of it. Kelly McGillis continues to impress after being involved in The Accused, Top Gun, and Witness. I think she doesn't get enough credit because she clearly showed improvement over the years. Sometimes, the story was hard to follow because of the names of the characters, and I was trying to stay with the mental image of the character associated with the name. It's not a bad thing because that motivates me to see Cat Chaser again. Also, I'll like to see the movie one more time in future to see if my opinion could improve or remain unchanged. All in all, I do like Cat Chaser a lot, but, in my opinion, it came off too easy. Note: I've read complaints that the DVD version of Cat Chaser does not contain some scenes and is missing some dialogues essential to the story, and there is a copy on VHS tape to be the true version of the film. I'll have to track one down and see it.