Cats

Video
1998
Approved
2h

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

6.2K

YOUR RATING

Veerle Casteleyn, Phyllida Crowley Smith, Jason Gardiner, Geoffrey Garratt, Jo Gibb, Michael Gruber, Leah Sue Morland, and Drew Varley in Great Performances (1971)

Play trailer1:45

1 Video

99+ Photos

Musical

"Jellicle" cats join for a Jellicle ball where they rejoice with their leader, Old Deuteronomy. One cat will be chosen to go to the "Heavyside Layer" and be reborn. The cats introduce themse... Read all"Jellicle" cats join for a Jellicle ball where they rejoice with their leader, Old Deuteronomy. One cat will be chosen to go to the "Heavyside Layer" and be reborn. The cats introduce themselves."Jellicle" cats join for a Jellicle ball where they rejoice with their leader, Old Deuteronomy. One cat will be chosen to go to the "Heavyside Layer" and be reborn. The cats introduce themselves.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

6.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

User reviews111

Featured review

7/10

Cats are finally on video!

Since I first saw the musical, "Cats", in 1987, I have always wanted to see it on video. I was thrilled when it finally arrived. I immediately bought it.

The video performance was terrific: better than I expected. Instead of seeing it from the viewpoint of being in the audience, cameras were actually on stage, moving throughout the performers! The sound is terrific, and it played on my audio system wonderfully.

Of course, there is a flaw in the video. To me, it is actually a glaring flaw: a major segment of the musical, my favorite sequence in fact, is missing. Maybe it was cut for time, but I was very disappointed. "Growltugger's Last Stand" is one of the more elaborately staged portions of "Cats". For it to be removed from this performance will certainly upset many of the true fans of "Cats".

I was prepared to score a 10 out of 10 for this show, but with the editing, I can only score it a 7. Andrew Lloyd Webber himself produced this video. He should have left that portion in.

George

GEM-20
Sep 11, 1999
Permalink

Trivia
The closing credits indicate that the characters of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were "dubbed" by other singers. Drew Varley and Jo Gibb sang the entire song themselves but they couldn't get the giggling and "Shh"-ing at the beginning of the song down.

Goofs
The poem/song "The Naming of Cats" states that a cat's "second name," such as those used by the characters in this show, is unique and not shared by any other cat. However, the song introducing Old Gus the Theatre Cat says that his full name is Asparagus, which is also the name of another cat in the show. This is because John Mills, who played Gus, was unable to do the rest of the singing and dancing the role required, so the character was split into two identically-named characters.

Quotes
Grizabella: Touch me! It's so easy to leave me all alone with the memory of my days in the sun. If you touch me, you'll understand what happiness is. Look! A new day has begun.