Catwoman (film)
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| Catwoman | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Pitof |
| Produced by | Denise Di Novi Edward McDonnell |
| Written by | Comic Book: Bob Kane Story: Theresa Rebeck John Brancato Michael Ferris Screenplay: John Brancato Michael Ferris John Rogers |
| Starring | Halle Berry Benjamin Bratt Sharon Stone |
| Music by | Klaus Badelt |
| Cinematography | Thierry Arbogast |
| Editing by | Sylvie Landra |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | July 23, 2004 |
| Running time | 104 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $85,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
| Ratings | |
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| United States: | PG-13 |
Catwoman is a 2004 film directed by Pitof and released by Warner Brothers on July 23, 2004. The movie was adapted by John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris and John Rogers, from a story by Theresa Rebeck, Brancato and Ferris. The film stars Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, Benjamin Bratt and Lambert Wilson, Frances Conroy and Alex Borstein.
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[edit] Plot
Patience Phillips (Halle Berry) is a shy woman who works for a cosmetics company. One morning, she sees a cat outside her window. Thinking that it is stuck, she climbs out onto a ledge and almost falls off. A police officer on the sidewalk thinks that she is attempting suicide, but rescues her when he realizes she is stuck. Later at work, she is killed because she overhears her boss's evil plot to sell defective beauty products that initially makes human skin look younger and prettier, however makes the skin decay after it is not used for a period of time. After being murdered, she is brought back to life by the cat she saw earlier. When she wakes up, she is Catwoman, a warrior with the force of a cat, who prowls the night in search of justice. Determined to find out why she was to be murdered (she forgot the events that occurred the night of her murder) she learns about the beauty product. She tells her boss's wife about the plan and asks her to keep an eye out for anything unusual. The wife contacts Catwoman later, and tricks her into entering a room with Patience's brutally murdered boss in it. The wife then calls the police. As she flees the house, Catwoman realizes that the wife was the one who insisted on the product's release. The two of them meet again and fight, however the wife's face is now like "living marble" from using the product for so long. Finally, Catwoman slashes her face and causes it to rip. The wife is horrified by her reflection in a mirror and falls out of a window, although Catwoman attempts to rescue her.
[edit] Response
The film was heavily criticized by fans of the Catwoman comic book character for departing from the basics of the character, with bad word of mouth starting to spread a full year before the film was released.[citation needed]
This debate subsided when it was learned that Berry would not be playing Selina Kyle, the "real" Catwoman, but a woman named Patience Phillips, who works at a cosmetics company in the beginning of the movie, therefore belonging to a 'parallel reality' and not belonging in the Batman universe. However there was still apprehension in that the plot created for the movie closely resembled the premise of another comic book title, The Crow, which was also adapted into a film.
Catwoman was poorly received, both critically and at the box office. The film appeared on the list of Roger Ebert's most hated films and received seven Golden Raspberry nominations in 2005. It "won" in the categories of Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay. Halle Berry accepted the award for Worst Actress personally, apologizing for the film, and speaking frankly in interviews about her views regarding problems with the film.
Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks ran a series where Riley is punished by being forced to watch Catwoman. He subsequently campaigns to have being forced to watch Catwoman considered to be a form of child abuse.
MSN Movies ranks Catwoman as the third worst superhero movie to date, behind Batman and Robin and Daredevil.[1]
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Halle Berry | Patience Phillips / Catwoman |
| Benjamin Bratt | Tom Lone |
| Sharon Stone | Laurel Hedare |
| Lambert Wilson | George Hedare |
| Frances Conroy | Ophelia |
| Alex Borstein | Sally |
| Michael Massee | Armando |
| Byron Mann | Wesley |
| Kim Smith | Drina |
| Peter Wingfield | Dr. Ivan Slavicky |
| Berend McKenzie | Lance |
[edit] Sequel
In 2004, soon after the release of the movie, a sequel was announced named Catwoman 2. This sequel was cancelled, though Berry did say that she was "really hoping to do another Catwoman." [2]
