Dom Robinson reviews

Distributed by

Polygram

Cat.no: 047 994 2

Cert: E

Running time: 103 minutes

Year: 1998

Pressing: 1999

Region(s): 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (UK PAL)

Chapters: 20 plus extras

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Stereo

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch

Widescreen: 1.66:1 (15:9)

16:9-enhanced: No

Macrovision: Yes

Price: £19.99

Extras : Scene index, Interviews, Booklet

---

Director:

David Mallet (Lord of the Dance, U2: Popmart, U2: Zoo TV Live from Sydney)

Producer:

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Based on "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" by

T.S. Eliot

Music:

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Cast:

Grizabella: Elaine Paige
Gus The Theatre Cat: Sir John Mills
Deuteronomy: Ken Page

---

CATS is based on T.S. Eliot's magical "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats", with an extraordinary score by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose other stage musical hits include The Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Starlight Express and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

This two-hour spectacular was shot on film over 18 days at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End, the production was totally re-lit for filming and the music has been completely re-recorded with a seventy piece orchestra, mixing both stereo and full digital sound.

It was directed by David Mallet (Lord of the Dance, U2: Popmart, U2: Zoo TV Live from Sydney) and features original cast members in addition to the internationally reknowned Elaine Paige, the legendary Sir John Mills and Ken Page, as well as a supporting cast of 26.

The picture quality is very good with artifacts only noticeable if you're looking for them and then usually on static backgrounds so not a major problem. I couldn't determine the average bitrate though. The disc is not 16:9-enhanced for widescreen televisions, but this is obvious since the picture isn't quite that wide.

The sound on the disc is available in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Stereo - both being in English - and is first-rate but then it ought to be given that this is a musical, the most memorable song being Elaine Paige's rendition of "Memory".

Extras :

Chapters :

Booklet :

Interviews :

Languages & Subtitles :

The disc contains an English language soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Stereo, plus subtitles for English, French, Italian, Spanish, German and Dutch.

Menu :

The menu is static but works well. Another thing to note is that on playing the disc you can't skip past the copyright info after selecting the required menu language. There's no option to start from the beginning of the production so you need to go into "Select A Song" and click on "Opening Credits/Overture", which first brings up the Polygram logo.

Overall, fans of Cats will certainly enjoy the musical on show, but some biographies about the cast members would have served as a useful addition.