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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Die Katze" or "Lives of a Cat" or "The Cat")

 

Directed by Dominik Graf
West Germany 1988

 

Two robbers hold up a bank and its employees demanding 3 million marks for their ransom. The police plot to storm the bank but are unaware the robbers have an accomplice on the outside, anticipating their every move. Genre master Dominik Graf specialized in crime films and The Cat is one of his greatest. A heist film of the highest order, it grabs you from its opening scenes and doesn’t let go. Winner of Best Direction at the German Film Awards, The Cat is an undiscovered treasure and Radiance Films is proud to present it on Blu-ray for the first time outside Germany.

***

Two criminals rob a bank and hold the clerks hostage, demanding 3 million German marks. Unaware to the police, the actual criminal mastermind is monitoring their every move.

Posters

Theatrical Release: January 21st, 1988

Reviews                                    More Reviews                            DVD Reviews

 

Review: Radiance - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover

  

Bonus Captures:

Distribution Radiance - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:57:40.136
Video

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,894,892,798 bytes

Feature: 35,842,931,520 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.81 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio German 1265 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1265 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio German 2303 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2303 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

* Dolby Digital Audio German 112 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 112 kbps / DN -30dB

Subtitles English, None (English for screen-specific commentary)
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Radiance

 

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,894,892,798 bytes

Feature: 35,842,931,520 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.81 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• "Good Times": an interview with Dominik Graf (2024, 1:05:05)
• Interview with screenwriter Christoph Fromm (2024, 32:01)
• Interview with producer Georg Feil (2024, 32:23)
• Select-scene commentary by Dominik Graf (2024 / 12:36)
• Trailer (1:52)
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings


Blu-ray Release Date: February 25th, 2025

Transparent Blu-ray Case

Chapters 12

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Radiance Blu-ray (March 2025): Radiance have transferred Dominik Graf's The Cat ("Die Katze") to Blu-ray. It is cited as being a "High-Definition digital transfer newly graded by Radiance Films and overseen by director Dominik Graf". Like the film itself the image quality is gritty and often quite dark. Grain textures vary but are mostly, pleasingly, rich and heavy. Colors are un-embellished and there is appealing sharpness. The 1080P image is clean and offers a rewarding HD presentation. 

NOTE: We have added 58 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Radiance give the option of DTS-HD Master stereo track or a 5.1 surround bump (both 24-bit) in the original German language. The Cat has violence of various forms that come through with impacting depth - and in the surround - modest separations. The minimal but punchy score was by Andreas Köbner; a composer best known for his extensive work in film and television music, particularly in German productions. His career spans decades, blending classical training with a practical knack for scoring diverse genres. Also notable in the film are tracks by Eric Burdon and The Animals, Cruzados, Jennifer Warnes (singing Leonard Cohen's First We Take Manhattan,) Chris Rea, Roger Chapman, Annabel Lamb, Cruzados and others. Radiance offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Radiance Blu-ray offers a few interviews as extras. "Good Times" is a new (2024) hour+ long interview with German film director Dominik Graf. He’s a well-known figure in both cinema and television, celebrated for his work in genres like police dramas, thrillers, and crime mysteries, though he’s also explored comedies, melodramas, and documentaries. He built a reputation for blending American-style genre storytelling with German sensibilities. He’s also a vocal advocate for genre cinema in Germany, often engaging in public discussions through articles and interviews. Here he discusses his experiences working on The Cat recorded exclusively for Radiance by Robert Fischer's Fiction Factory - as are all three interviews in the set. Screenwriter Christoph Fromm (Stalingrad: The Loneliest Death) discusses the challenges of writing The Cat, and how he adapted Uwe Erichsen's novel to the screen in this 1/2 hour video piece. He’s collaborated a lot with director Dominik Graf, penning other films like Treffer (1984), and Spieler (1990.) His work often dives into crime and thriller genres, but he’s versatile - think historical dramas and even children’s books. In the third interview producer Georg Feil recalls assembling the creative team behind The Cat, and his experiences during the film's production - for over 1/2 hour in this interview. His production credits include gritty crime series like Schimanski, Der Fahnder, and Auf Achse. He’s also taught at the University of Television and Film Munich and written novels like Das Gesetz (1985.) For about a dozen minutes Director Graf provides commentary on three short scenes from The Cat, with contributions from director and editor Artur Althen. Also recorded exclusively for Radiance by Fiction Factory. All extras are in German with optional English subtitles - including the select scene commentary. Lastly is a trailer for The Cat and the package offers a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow and is a limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

Dominik Graf's The Cat is a German crime thriller that has earned a cult reputation as one of the standout genre films from late-1980s West Germany. It’s a taut, gritty bank heist flick with a twist-heavy plot and a stellar cast, including Götz George (son of the acclaimed actor Heinrich George and actress Berta Drews,) striking Gudrun Landgrebe (A Woman in Flames,) and Heinz Hoenig (Wolfgang Petersen’s Das Boot.) Shot in Düsseldorf between June and August 1987, the story kicks off in a seedy Hotel Nikko room (now the Clayton Hotel), where Probek (George), a hardened crook, is tangled up with Jutta (Landgrebe), the wife of a bank manager across the street. What starts as a steamy affair turns into a calculated heist. Probek’s crew storm the Credit Bank, taking seven hostages and demanding 3 million Deutschmarks. Probek, the real brains, watches from the hotel, directing via walkie-talkie while tipping off the cops anonymously to up the stakes. It’s a house of cards - everyone’s double-crossing, and it collapses messily by the end. Graf’s direction is the star here - lean, muscular, no fat. He blends sweaty realism with genre flair, using Düsseldorf’s urban sprawl (plus Munich and Erkrath exteriors) to ground the chaos. The Bavaria-Atelier studios in Grünwald handled interiors, and Martin Schäfer’s cinematography (Wim Wenderrs' Paris, Texas) drenches The Cat with uncomfortable darkness and vérité suspense, giving it a retro ‘70s hangover vibe. I was so pleased to see this fabulous neo-noir-ish effort on Radiance Blu-ray with the extensive new extras. Absolutely recommended.

Gary Tooze

 


Menus / Extras

Radiance - Region FREE - Blu-ray


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Distribution Radiance - Region FREE - Blu-ray


 


 

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