Product Details

• Actors: James Franciscus, Karl Malden, Catherine Spaak, Pier Paolo Capponi, Horst Frank
• Directors: Dario Argento
• Writers: Dario Argento, Bryan Edgar Wallace, Dardano Sacchetti, Luigi Collo
• Producers: Salvatore Argento
• Format: Color, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Italian
• Subtitles: English, French
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• VHS Release Date: July 10, 2001
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000059PRN
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #431,321 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This Cat Lacks Speed But Has Style, November 5, 2001

By 

Philip Chase - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cat o' Nine Tails (DVD)

In the early 70's at Thule Air Base the main activity aside from drinking was going to the movies. A thriller called The Bird With The Crystal Plumage caught my fancy. Then some months later we saw Cat o'Nine Tails. I immediately recognized the director's style but found the movie lacking. My interest in Argento was revived when 4 Flies on Grey Velvet came along.

3 decades later, I've just seen Anchor Bay's stunning reissue of Cat which confirmed my original assessment - stylish, funny ... but lacking the element of suspense or surprise to be found in both Bird and Flies. The cast is excellent.. The DVD is superb with an interesting group of extras including an interview with Argento and radio interviews with Franciscus and Malden. I do recommend the DVD but if you're on a budget, wait for a reissue of 4 Flies or run to your local DVD store today and snap up Deep Red.

Incidentally, since I've been acquainted with Argento's films for so many years, I'm surprised all Americans don't know them. Cat o'Nine Tails just lacks the edge to be found in the rest of his works. Certainly if you like giallo flicks, you'll want to see it at least once.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Cat Has Eaten Your Dogs..., August 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cat o' Nine Tails (DVD)

A rediscovery! Despite Argento's public disavowal of his sophomore effort, CAT O'NINE TAILS is a creepy, genuinely suspenseful thriller garnished with dry wit. CAT is very different from his other works in that it is structured like a fairly conventional detective story, with much less emphasis paid to the twisted psychology of the perpetrator and the creative modus operandi of killings. Seeing this film in an absolutely breathtaking anamorphic print with a stereo soundtrack, the best presentation of an Argento film Anchor Bay has ever given, in my opinion even surpassing DEEP RED, was delightful to say the least. It features, among others, a great turn by Karl Malden, whose character begins as a sympathetic protagonist with a handicap and gradually becomes a dark avenging figure, as his emotional stress and anger at having his surrogate child kidnapped and brutalized takes over, terrific action scenes including a car chase that reveal consummate skills of Argento as an editor and a manipulator of camera, and a wonderful score by Ennio Morricone, showcasing his inimitable mix of beautiful melodies and atonal and experimental "terror" music.
DVD includes an interview with Argento, the screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti (whose chief contribution appears to be the rationale for the killer's motivation and origins of his "madness" --which by the way is both greatly timely, since it involves genes, and hilariously unscientific. I am reassured to find that Argento knew all along that the idea was a hokum) and the maestro Morricone. As with other Anchor Bay interviews of the Argento series, do not watch it if you have not already seen the movie, since it includes spoilers about the killer's identity. In addition, there are radio interviews of Malden and Franciscus, conducted during the production. Malden's interview is by far more interesting, astutely pointing out the young Italian director's skills, and discussing his methods for playing a blind character. Since I believe Malden's performance is an important aspect of the movie's success, I enjoyed his time-capsule interview quite a bit. Although indeed a more conventional film in many ways compared to his later works, CAT is by no means an anonymous assembly line product some comments (including Argento's, perhaps)may lead you to believe. You will NOT be disappointed. Beware of milk deliveries!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good, January 12, 2004

By 

O. B. Tryggvason (Gardabaer Iceland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Cat o' Nine Tails (DVD)

I had read somewhere that Dario himself didn't think highly of this film and Maltin rates it a BOMB. I was sceptical when I rented this one but in the end I was relieved that I did. It's actually quite good and it has a cohesive plot that keeps you guessing 'till the very end. There's no gore here to speak of but Argento keeps things lively from start to finish and the actors here are amazingly good (compared to many other Argento films). Check it out, it certainly doesn't deserve a BOMB rating, and also, it seems that Dario is never entirely satisfied with his old films, apperently he can't even watch them on t.v.