TRACK OF THE CAT
DVD Review by David Blackwell
DETAILS: 102 minutes, audio commentary, featurettes, trailers, and photo gallery
STUDIO: Paramount/ Batjac
RELEASE DATE: 6-6-2006
Once upon a time there were three brothers named Kurt (Robert Mitchum), Arthur, and Harold (Tab Hunter). A cat is terrorizing
the remote family ranch- a black panther. Kurt goes out to kill it and the disfuctional family he belongs to starts to crumble.
Many things are revealed about how everyone acts.
TRACK OF THE CAT is a Western art film. It is one part atmospheric mood piece/ one part stage play. The film didn't intrigue
me at times. It got better near the end. I see how everyone plays against each other as each want their own way. It all starts
to unravel and change with Kurt gone. TRACK OF THE CAT isn't your usual film. It is a strange one as pyschology plays a big
role in the story. Will the characters change? Will Kurt get the cat or will the cat (or something else like fear) get him?
Will Harold marry the girl he loves? Will the parents come out of their shells?
VIDEO: 2.55:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)
The image detail is great, but lots of the print damage shows on the transfer.
AUDIO: English 4.0 Dolby Surround, English 2.0 DS
Subtitles: English
The music and the wind are the strongest sounds of the surround tracks.
SPECIAL FEATURES: The audio commentary for the film is by William Wellman Jr, Tab Hunter, and writer Frank Thompson. It's
not a strong commentary track. It just isn't as focused as the commentary Frank did with Glenn Ford's son for PLUNDER OF THE
SUN.
A few featurettes are included:
REMEMBERING WILLIAM WELLMAN as everybody (Robert Mitchum, Tab Hunter, Wellman' son) praise him and talk about the type
of director he was in addition to his directing work on TRACK OF THE CAT.
A NEW KIND OF WESTERN: THE WRITING OF WALTER VAN TILBURG CLARK focuses mainly on Track Of The Cat as readers praise it
and a writer examines teh characters in it. Only a little bit of time is spent on the background of Walter. It should have
focused more on some of the other novels he wrote after this one.
BLACK DIAMOND is about one of the horses used in the film and about animal safety (and movie horses).
TRACKING THE CAT is an unusual featurette about mountain lions.
Rounding out the extras are the Batjac trailer and a photo gallery.
FINAL ANALYSIS: TRACK OF THE CAT is the oddest of the Batjac DVDs. Stranger than RING OF FEAR and not for everyone.
