Cats

The only person I was not too keen on was the choice of John Mills, because of whom the excellent "Growltiger's Last Stand" was taken out. John Mills was great, don't get me wrong, but I wish Gus was played by someone who could have pulled this part off. I was very disappointed to see this part of the show taken out, as it was one of my favourites, and because of that some of the best performers on the video which are in this scene had their screen time shortened. Even so, the rest of the video is great. I did not get the commemorative edition, so I cannot comment on the "extras". I did not get it as I am not sure what exactly is on it. But the video of the show itself is fabulous because of the great cast - Michael Gruber is the strongest Munkustrap I have ever seen, Veerle Casteleyn is the cutest Jemima yet, Jo Bingham is adorable as Etcetera, John Partridge plays Rum Tum Tugger the way I always thought he should be played, Jacob Brent is absolutely amazing as Mistoffelees, Phyllida Crowley Smith is the most amazing dancer, Elaine Paige goes without saying, and I will not go on cause you get the message. Anyway, it took me a while before I bought this video, cause I wasn't sure if the atmosphere of the show would transfer well on the video, but it does cause of the amazing cast, and the fact that there are many close ups. Don't miss out on it, you won't be disappointed!


I was as curious as a >^..^<   April 5, 2001
Rebecca Johnson (Washington State)
8 out of 11 found this review helpful

After hearing about Cats forever, I finally decided to find the commemorative edition and see what all the "meowing" was about.

What I found was superb costumes, high energy dancing and an interesting second video that showed what went into the making of Cats. I actually enjoyed watching the documentary and maybe I should have watched it first. What I failed to find was any real plot. I also found it hard to hear the words in some of the songs. Finally, I recognized "Memory." That must be what made this show so "memorable."

The costumes were skin tight and quite provocative and "some" of the dance was almost bawdy (see other reviewers who noticed the same thing). I was wondering why parents would buy this for their children? This seemed to be a very adult version, but then again, people go to the circus.

Since I never saw the original show, I have nothing to compare this too. As the longest running show in Broadway, it ended on September 10, 2000. Overall, I felt that the dancers were excellent and if you think of what went into the production, that alone is amazing.

Rumpleteazer was the most beautiful cat and her makeup is worth seeing. Victoria is also stunning as a white cat. (Which is a lucky color for cats). They show how they transformed the dancers into cats and go behind the scenes to show the makeup application in the second video. If you are a Cats fan, you will want to see the second video for sure.

Well, most "cats" have no plot in their lives either, they simply just enjoy life. If you go in expecting to see a elaborate plot, you will be disappointed. Perhaps I should go read T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" so I will understand this video more. While I have read some of the poems, reading the entire book might be a good idea before purchasing this video.

If you love cats, you might also want to find a book called CAT by Juliet Clutton-Brock here at Amazon. Allia Zobel also has the cutest books which are just laugh out loud funny.

Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self. -Jean-Luc Godard

Meowingly yours,

~The Rebecca Review

>^..^<


Absolutely Awful!   November 27, 1999
Richard Whitt (Berkeley, CA)
7 out of 16 found this review helpful

As an avid fan of the musical CATS, I eagerly awaited the release of this video. However, I'm glad I rented this piece before I bought it. Renting it made me decide NOT to buy this gut-wrenching adaptation of Webber's spectacular musical. Why do I so dislike the video? Well, mainly because the main characters--i.e., Grizabella, Rum Tum Tugger, Old Deuteronomy--are portrayed by actors which are either not the part or whose days of passionate singing are over. Elaine Paige, for example, sounded a hundred times better on the Original London Cast of CATS than she did on the video. And so did Ken Page as Old Deuteronomy (he was on the Original Broadway Cast). And John Partridge . . . not the part! Every Rum Tum Tugger I've seen on stage was much better than Partridge. But I think the worst crime this video commits is to exclude "Growltiger's Last Stand." They couldn't do this scene because it would have been too much a physical strain on the elderly Sir John Mills--the man cast to play Asparagus. The production team of the CATS video was obviously more concerned with a big name cast than with a QAULITY cast. And the consequence was a second-hand adaptation of a first-rate stage musical. This video is indeed deja vu of A CHORUS LINE. If only I could rate this video with -5 stars . . .


A Wonderful Version of a Broadway Classic   July 14, 1999
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I saw a travelling production of Cats and it didn't come close to this. Michael Gruber is the best Munkustrap I have seen yet, and John Partridge gave a fabulous invigorating performance as The Rum Tum Tugger. I also give kudos to cast members Jacob Brent, Rosemarie Ford, Aeva May, Drew Varley, Jo Gibb, Jason Gardiner, and Verlee Castelyn for creating some very memorable characters. The costumes, makeup, and wigs were wonderfully done, and the music was wonderful. I also give Elaine Paige a standing ovation for her heartfelt performance as Grizabella. I liked it so much that I learned how to sing Memory, Macavity, and several other songs as well as reading the original poems to my senior englich class and then showing them my video. They loved it and so do I.


How Much Do You Like Variety Shows?   December 1, 2001
Gary F. Taylor (Biloxi, MS USA)
7 out of 11 found this review helpful

The stage-to-video version of CATS neatly captures the effect of the London and New York stage versions. The performers are expert, the music occasionally memorable, the choreography and costumes exceptional, the scenic designs are pretty nifty too--but ultimately how much you like CATS will depend on how much you like variety shows. For CATS is exactly that: one long variety show, no plot, no story, just one musical number after another. Your reaction to the film--will rather depends on how much you like variety shows. Simple as that.