After building up a solid career for years playing heartthrob-type roles in West German westerns and murder mysteries, actor Götz George became a major sensation on his home turf starting in 1981 when he took on a leading role in the popular (and still-running) anthology cop crime series Tatort as Schimanski, arguably the most iconic character in the show's history. He was in the midst of his run in that role in 1988 when he appeared in one of his strongest big screen vehicles from that decade, The Cat (Die Katze), a superb heist film from prolific director Dominik Graf. Though the film was an immediate cult favorite among German and French audiences, it didn't travel much elsewhere but has been given a much-needed shot a wider recognition with simultaneous U.S. and U.K. Blu-ray editions from Radiance Films.

From the distant safety of a high room at the Hotel Nikko in Düsseldorf, Probek (George) is having a torrid fling with Jutta (The Berlin Affair's Landgrebe), wife of the manager at the bank right across the street. Soon after the bank is robbed by Junghein and Britz (Das Boot's Hoenig and Richter), who are part of a more elaborate scheme to wring a huge ransom out of the bank hostages. Enter Voss (The Vampire Happening's Kemmer), a cop who already apprehended Probek in the past and is now entangled in a series of twists and double crosses as the mastermind in the hotel uses all the ammunition and high-tech equipment at his disposal to avoid being captured.

Though George is the main attraction here, the entire cast is top notch in this lean, highly gripping thriller that builds to a kinetic climax with a visual punchline that will have you reaching for the rewind button. It's pure energetic pulp all the way, updating the formula of classic noirs like Suddenly to the '80s with some dashes of bloody violence and sex to accentuate the location-hopping storyline. The result unfolds in what feels more or less like real time, with an exciting structure that drops a big reversal or action moment in every few minutes to keep you on your toes.

Widely available on German home video in multiple formats including a 2017 parallel release on Blu-ray and DVD, The Cat made its English-friendly debut via the Radiance release featuring a revised presentation of the existing HD master with refined color grading overseen by Graf. There are no issues to report here as it looks quite nice throughout, retaining a grainy and rough look in darker scenes where it should and having a crisp, bright appearance in the many outdoor bits. The film was given a very effective Dolby Stereo mix at the time (not to mention an amusing, very prominent plug for the soundtrack LP and CD at the end of the credits), and that's included here in its original version along with a newer 5.1 option (both DTS-HD MA) with optional, newly translated English subtitles. The original stereo mix has heftier bass and more dramatic separation between the channels, while the 5.1 obviously spreads things out with more split surround activity; try both and see which one you prefer. Graf appears for a new video interview (65m5s) and a select commentary (12m36s) for three scenes, covering his ten-year work in film to that point including his film schooling in Munich, the influence of his actor father Robert Graf (The Great Escape), his rapport with his leading man (also the son of a prominent actor), his discovery of the source novel by Uwe Ericksen in 1986, and plenty more. Screenwriter Christoph Fromm (32m1s) and producer Georg Feil (32m23s) also appear for new video interviews in which they go into the adaptation process, the legacy of the film (including the downside of doing a project with so much brutality and "misanthropy"), its place in the German thriller pantheon, favorite characters, and the desire to never "sugarcoat" the subject matter. A subtitled German trailer is also included, while the limited edition packaging comes with a booklet featuring a new essay by Brandon Streussnig about the film's distinctive thriller aspects and its place in postwar West German cinema.

Reviewed on March 5, 2025