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| Catwoman | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Pitof |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by |
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| Based on | |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Thierry Arbogast |
| Edited by | Sylvie Landra |
| Music by | Klaus Badelt |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 104 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States[2] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $100 million |
| Box office | $82.4 million[3] |
Catwoman is a 2004 Americansuperhero film directed byPitof and written byJohn Rogers,John Brancato and Michael Ferris from a story byTheresa Rebeck, Brancato and Ferris, with music byKlaus Badelt. It is loosely based on theDC Comics characterCatwoman. The film starsHalle Berry as the title character, along withBenjamin Bratt,Lambert Wilson,Frances Conroy andSharon Stone.
The film's plot centers on Patience Phillips, a meek graphic designer, who discovers a conspiracy within the cosmetics company she works for that involves a dangerous product that could cause widespread health problems. After being discovered and murdered by the conspirators, Patience is revived by anEgyptian mau cat that grants her cat-likemetahuman abilities, allowing her to become the crime-fightingsuperheroineCatwoman.
Produced byVillage Roadshow Pictures andDenise Di Novi's Di Novi Pictures,Catwoman was released in the United States byWarner Bros. Pictures on July 23, 2004, and was a critical andcommercial failure. The film grossed $82.4 million against a budget of $100 million, and was panned by critics. It's considered to be one of theworst films ever made, although it has developed acult following. Additionally, it also received sevenGolden Raspberry Award nominations, winningWorst Picture,Worst Director,Worst Actress (Berry), andWorst Screenplay.
Artist Patience Phillips is an intelligent, hard working and meek people-pleaser whose main support is her best friend Sally. She works for thecosmetics company Hedare Beauty, which is ready to ship a new skin cream called Beau-line that is able to reverse the effects of aging.
However, when Patience visits theR&D laboratory facility to deliver a redone ad design, she overhears a discussion between scientist Dr. Ivan Slavicky and Laurel Hedare, the wife of company-owner George Hedare, about the dangerousside effects from continually using the product. Laurel's guards discover Patience and are ordered to dispose of her.
Patience tries to escape using a conduit pipe, but the minions have it sealed and flush her out of it, drowning her. Washed up on shore, Patience is mysteriously revived by theEgyptian Mau cat Midnight, which had appeared at her apartment earlier. From that moment on, she develops cat-likemetahuman attributes.
From Midnight's owner, eccentric researcher Ophelia Powers, Patience learns that Egyptian Mau cats serve as messengers of the goddessBast. Patience realizes that she is now a "Catwoman",reborn with abilities that are both a blessing and a curse.
While at home, Patience is annoyed by the ruckus caused by her neighbor's party and lashes out by spraying the amplifiers with water to mute the noise. She disguises herself as a mysterious vigilante namedCatwoman to hide her identity then, under cover of darkness, searches for answers as to who killed her and why.
Eventually, Patience's search (which includes finding Slavicky's body and later being framed for his murder) leads her to Laurel. Patience asks her to keep an eye on George, to which she agrees. However, when Patience confronts George (who is attending an opera with another woman) as Catwoman, he reveals that he knows nothing about the side effects.
The police led by Patience's love interest, detective Tom Lone, arrive and Catwoman escapes. Later on, Laurel murders George for his growing suspicions and infidelity and admits to having Dr. Slavicky killed because he wanted to cancel the product's release. She contacts Catwoman and frames her for the murder, planning to release Beau-line to the public the following day. Tom then takes Catwoman into custody.
Patience slips out of her cell and confronts Laurel in her office, rescuing Tom, who came to question Laurel after second thoughts about Patience's guilt, in the process and revealing that Laurel is the one responsible for her death. As they fight, Patience sees she is unable to hurt Laurel.
Laurel reveals the product's side effects: discontinuing its use makes the skin disintegrate, while continuing its use makes the skin as hard as marble and the user impervious to pain. During the fight, she scratches Laurel's face several times, causing her to fall out of a window and grab onto a broken glass pipe. Laurel sees her rapidly disfiguring face in a window's reflection. Horrified, she fails to grab hold of Patience's outstretched hand, and falls to her death.
Although Patience is cleared of any charges made against her regarding the deaths of Dr. Slavicky and the Hedares, she decides to end her relationship with Tom so as to continue living outside the law and enjoy her newfound freedom as Catwoman.
Additional cast members include Berend McKenzie as Lance,Ona Grauer as Sandy, Landy Cannon as Randy,Michael Daingerfield as a police forensics analyst,Benita Ha as a forensics technician, andRyan Robbins as a bartender.Missy Peregrym appears uncredited as the Hedare factory computer monitor image (Beau-line graphics model), depicting the bad effects of the beauty product.[4] A photograph ofMichelle Pfeiffer asSelina Kyle inBatman Returns is among various photographs that Ophelia uses to explain the history of former Catwomen.[5]
WithWarner Bros. developingBatman Forever in June 1993, aCatwoman spin-off film was announced.Michelle Pfeiffer was cast to reprise her role fromBatman Returns,[6]Tim Burton became attached as director, and producer Denise Di Novi and writer Daniel Waters also returned.[7] In January 1994, Burton was unsure of his plans to directCatwoman or an adaptation ofThe Fall of the House of Usher.[8] On June 16, 1995, Waters turned in hisCatwoman script to Warner Bros., the same dayBatman Forever was released. Burton was still being courted to direct. Waters joked that "turning it in the dayBatman Forever opened may not have been my best logistical move, in that it's the celebration of the fun-for-the-whole-family Batman.Catwoman is definitely not a fun-for-the-whole-family script".[9][10] In an August 1995 interview, Pfeiffer reiterated her interest in the spin-off but explained her priorities would be challenged as a mother and commitments to other projects.[11]
The film labored indevelopment hell for years withAshley Judd as the lead in 2001,[12][13] but she eventually dropped out[14] soNicole Kidman was considered.[15] When Warner Bros. canceled aBatman vs. Superman film scheduled for 2004, the studio decided to quickly produceCatwoman as replacement, starringHalle Berry.[16] Warner Bros. mandated that the film should be separate from theBatman universe and not have the character mentioned.[17] Berry chose to be involved with the film after the cancellation ofJinx, aJames Bond spin-off featuring her character Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson fromDie Another Day (2002).[18]Josh Lucas was considered for the role of Tom Lone.[19]
The Catwoman character featured in the film is notSelina Kyle, her identity in the comics, but an original character named Patience Phillips. ScreenwriterJohn Rogers claimed this was due to "an insane rights issue."[20] The film likewise does not use any other characters or settings fromDC Comics, aside from a picture ofMichelle Pfeiffer as Kyle inBatman Returns.[5]
I checked out some to see how Catwoman is treated in the comics, to make sure that our Catwoman was in the same vein. But I didn't want to be too influenced by the comic book, because the whole point of the movie is to be first a movie, and to be different. Different fromBatman, different fromSpider-Man – this movie has its own identity. I tried to find my sources more in the character of Catwoman herself. To me, the Catwoman we're filming now with Halle Berry is in the continuity of the others. She's different than Michelle Pfeiffer's character, different from anybody who's played Catwoman in the past. But she is Catwoman. When you look at the differences between the comic book Catwoman and the TV or movie Catwoman, they're all different – but there's a feeling that they are all Catwoman. Halle brings her own personality, through her attitude and through the outfit.
The catsuit was designed byAcademy Award-winning costume designerAngus Strathie together with Berry, director Pitof, and producers Di Novi and McDonnell. Strathie explained that they wanted a "reality-based wardrobe to show the progression from demure, repressed Patience to the sensual awakening of a sexy warrior goddess".[22]
Berry started intensive fitness training withHarley Pasternak in June 2003.[23] ChoreographerAnne Fletcher instructed Berry in cat-like movement,[24] and in the Brazilian martial art styleCapoeira.[23] Berry was trained to crack a whip by coach Alex Green.[23]
Principal photography began in late September 2003. Shooting took place on 4th Street in downtownLos Angeles,California, inWinnipeg,Manitoba, atLionsgate Film Studios,Vancouver,British Columbia, and atWarner Bros. Burbank Studios, 4000 Warner Boulevard,Burbank, California. Most of the cats cast in the film came from animal shelters throughout California. Filming finished in March 2004.[24]
Pitof said reshoots happened as late as June 2004 — one month before release — after working cuts yielded confusing, incomplete dialogue sequences and awkward visual transitions. New scenes were added, including a fresh ending that shifted Patience's relationship with Tom from a “romantic comedy”-style conclusion, as Pitof calls it, to a darker, open-ended closer.[17]
Writer John Rogers claimed he was fired during filming due to arguments with the producers, saying "nobody in power knew what movie they wanted."[20]
Catwoman was initially slated for a simultaneousIMAX release alongside its general theatrical debut, as promoted by marketing materials featuring the tagline "CATch Her in IMAX." However, on June 30, 2004, Warner Bros. announced the cancellation of the IMAX release due to delays in the film's visual effects, which prevented sufficient time for remastering the film for the IMAX format.[25]
Catwoman was released onVHS andDVD on January 18, 2005, and later onBlu-ray on September 8, 2009.[26]
Catwoman grossed $40.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $42.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $82.4 million against a production budget of $100 million,[3] becoming abox office flop.[27]
The film grossed $16.7 million in its opening weekend at 3,117 theaters with a $5,366 per-theatre average, ranking third behindThe Bourne Supremacy andI, Robot.[28] The biggest market in other territories being France, Spain, Japan and Mexico where the film grossed $5.2 million, $4.05 million, $3.05 million and $2.9 million, while topping the Bulgarian weekend listing.[29]
Catwoman was widely panned by critics upon release.[27]The Village Voice reported that critics "universally—and predictably—tore apartCatwoman".[30]
On thereview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 8% based on 197 reviews, with an average rating of 3.2/10. The site's consensus reads: "Halle Berry is the lone bright spot, but even she can't save this laughable action thriller."[31] OnMetacritic, it has a weighted average score of 27 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[32] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[33]
San Diego Metropolitan Magazine praised Berry's appearance in the costume and the film's action sequences but criticized the script and narrative coherence, stating that the actors struggled "to make sense" of the material and calling it one of the worst films of the year.[34] Kirk Honeycutt ofThe Hollywood Reporter compared the film toShowgirls (1995), suggesting it might gain traction as a cult favorite for its camp value.[35]
Roger Ebert included the film in his list of most hated movies.[36] In his review, he criticized the lack of depth in Berry's character and the film's failure to explore her transformation, stating that the focus was instead on "Halle Berry's beauty, sex appeal, figure, eyes, lips, and costume design."[37] OnAt the Movies, both Ebert and co-hostRichard Roeper gave the film a "thumbs down".[38]
In a scholarly critique of female-led action films, Caroline Heldman et al. argued thatCatwoman portrays femaleagency and power as derivative ofsexualization, concluding that the film's ending reinforces themale gaze.[39]Bill Muller ofThe Arizona Republic commented that Berry should "give back herAcademy Award" for participating in the film.[40]
In July 2024, marking the film's 20th anniversary,IndieWire describedCatwoman as a "superherocult classic" and a "sleeper hit". DirectorPitof defended the film, stating that it was "ahead of its time" and that audiences were unprepared for a superhero film led by an African American woman. He noted that younger viewers have received the film more positively, in part due to shifts in inclusivity and expectations within the genre.[27] Conversely, the film's screenwriter John Rogers called it "a shit movie" with “zero cultural relevance" in 2018.[20]
Despite its critical reception, Berry has expressed affection for the film in retrospect, stating that she enjoyed the experience and appreciates its growing cult following.[41]
Berry accepted theGolden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress in person at the25th Golden Raspberry Awards for her performance inCatwoman. Arriving on stage with herAcademy Award for Best Actress forMonster's Ball (2001) in hand, Berry delivered a humorous and self-deprecating acceptance speech, describingCatwoman as a "god-awful movie" and joking, "It was just what my career needed."[42]
In a later interview, Berry revealed that Warner Bros. was aware of her plans to attend the ceremony and supported her decision to approach it with humor. She stated, "I don't think it's a God-awful film, but I was at the Razzies, so I had to do what they do; I shit on it because they shit on it!" She also noted the speech was carefully written to show she did not take the criticism too seriously, adding, "You can never take away my Oscar, no matter how bad you bash me!"[27]
| Award | Ceremony date | Category | Subject | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Raspberry Awards | February 26, 2005 | Worst Picture | Warner Bros. | Won | [43] |
| Worst Director | Pitof | Won | |||
| Worst Actress | Halle Berry | Won | |||
| Worst Supporting Actor | Lambert Wilson | Nominated | |||
| Worst Supporting Actress | Sharon Stone | Nominated | |||
| Worst Screen Couple | Halle Berry and eitherBenjamin Bratt or Sharon Stone | Nominated | |||
| Worst Screenplay | John Brancato and Michael Ferris,John Rogers | Won | |||
| Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | 2005 | Worst Picture | Warner Bros. | Won | [44] |
| Least "Special" Special Effects | Won | ||||
| Most Intrusive Musical Score | Nominated | ||||
| Worst Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
| Worst Director | Pitof | Won | |||
| Worst Actress | Halle Berry | Won | |||
| Worst Supporting Actress | Sharon Stone | Won |
A video game based onCatwoman was developed byArgonaut Games and published byElectronic Arts UK. The game features voice acting byJennifer Hale as the titular character.[45] Although it draws inspiration from the film, the game's plot differs significantly. Upon release, it received negative reviews like the film it was based on and holds a low rating onMetacritic.[46]
In 2003,Warner Bros. approachedBatman: The Animated Series producerBoyd Kirkland to write a script for adirect-to-videoCatwoman animated feature intended as a tie-in to the film. Although the script was completed, the project was ultimately cancelled following the film's critical and commercial failure.[47]
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