Stars:
Kirsten Dunst, Eddie Izzard, Jennifer Tilly, Edward Hermann, Cary Elwes, and
Joanna Lumley
Writer:
Steven Peros
Director:
Peter Bogdanovich
Feature
length: 112 minutes
Extras:
Director’s Commentary, Anatomy Of A Scene, Cast & Crew Interviews,
Newsreel, Restored Charlie Chaplin Short, Behind The Scenes Featurette, Trailer
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 24
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of DVD Release: 2002
Home
Video Distributor: Lions Gate Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Adapted from his own stage play by Steven Peros, Director Peter Bogdanovich was reminded of a conversation he had with Orson Wells 30 years earlier and set out to direct as historically accurate as possible the long rumored story of how William Randolph Hearst (Edward Hermann) used his political, media, and financial influence to cover up the murder of financially troubled film pioneer Thomas Ince (Cary Elwes), who was manipulating Hearst to gain favor and ironically took the bullet intended for none other than Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard), who was having an affair with the object of Hearst’s affections Actress Marion Davies (Kirsten Dunst.)
A few months ago I remember screening a documentary on Marion Davis that appeared in Turner Classic Movies and with so many film festivals and documentaries airing on various golden age and pioneering personalities in film, I had no idea just what the gravity of her situation was or might have been. Bogdanovich’s screen direction reminds me very much of Robert Altman’s style of filmmaking except there is less of a voyeuristic and lingering quality that one might find in a film like “Gosford Park” in part because of the narrative from Joanna Lumley, one of the best English Actresses of a mature age since Miranda Richardson. With the various scandals and cover-ups that have occurred is the story of “The Cat’s Meow” believable? I think so, but I would also point out that like most conspiracy and gossip theory, the facts are usually inconsistent and at times virtually non existent so I advice viewing “The Cat’s Meow” with a clear mind as entertainment first and then decide for yourself later. Standout performances include the ever-lovely Kirsten Dunst as Marion Davis, Eddie Izzard as Charlie Chaplin, and Jennifer Tilly as the woman who would become one of the most feared gossip columnists in the United States for 30 years.
The DVD is a standout from Lions Gate Entertainment with a beautiful (1.78:1) anamorphic widescreen transfer that shows little to no compression artifacts and a nice English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound Soundtrack coupled with English Captions for the hearing impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded on to the DVD as options. The area where I noticed the compression artifacts is where there was a lot of smoke in a filled room and one could just see the blocky artifacts as the smoke moved through them. It is not terrible, but if you look for it, it is as clear as day. Peter Bogdanovich participates in a screen specific audio commentary as well as in multiple interviews with other cast and crewmembers in various featurettes that tend to run between 20 and 24-minutes in length and feature the Sundance Film Channel’s “Anatomy Of A Scene.” A restored 1919 Charlie Chaplin short and a newsreel coupled with the (1.78:1) theatrical trailer and a music spot wrap up the extra features on this DVD.
The menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. “The Cat’s Meow” is available on DVD-Video now from Lions Gate Home Entertainment.
© Copyright 2002
By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.