“With a unique blend of mysticism, eroticism and tension, this remake is both engrossing and terrifying in an off-beat way.” - Dwight Brown, Sepia
“The late, great Ferdinando Scarfiotti's elaborate set designs imagine New Orleans as a post-feminist kingdom whose traditions are on the brink of destruction.” - Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Friday, March 28, 8:30 p.m. | In Schrader’s interpretation of Jacques Tourneur’s ’40s cult classic about people who turn into cats when sexually aroused, Nastassja Kinski stars as Irena, and Malcolm McDowell stars as Paul, siblings who reunite in New Orleans after being separated as children. When a panther attacks a prostitute and Paul goes missing, Irene begins to understand who—or what—she really is. Working within the horror genre to consider themes of repression, intimacy, desire, and morality, Schrader said of CAT PEOPLE, “If one is too literal about it, it sounds quite silly,” rather describing the film as a universal story about the “truth of sexuality that has always expressed itself in dreams and in nightmares, in legends and myths throughout time.”
Awards & Nominations
Nominee - Best Score, Best Song, Golden Globes
Nominee - Best Actress (Nastassja Kinski), Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror
An Evening with Paul Schrader
On Saturday, April 5, Paul Schrader joins us for an intimate conversation about his life and career, followed by the Renaissance Award presentation.
Directed by Paul Schrader Series
Leading up to the Renaissance Award presentation, we will screen seven films written and directed by Schrader, demonstrating the auteur’s provocative explorations of faith, his perpetual examinations of characters’ values in conflict with society, and his indelible mark on American cinema, March 21–April 5.
Curated by Paul Schrader Series
Schrader, a passionate and curious cinephile who began his career as a film critic, has also curated four films for the Film Center’s screens, which will run alongside and complement his own films, March 23–April 4.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu