The Cat ( aka Die Katze) is a late 80s German bank robber thriller, with some distinctive elements, and clever twists 'n’ turns in its make-up. It’s a film that quickly pulls you, then nicely notches up the tension, as a tense chess game-like unfold between the robbers & police. Here, from Radiance for the first time outside Germany, is a Blu-ray release of the film, featuring a new scan of the film, and new interviews/ selected scene commentary track.

The Cat is from the year 1988- it was directed by Munich, Bavaria-born Dominik Graf. Between the late 70’s and early 2020’s he has eighteen feature-length films to his name, as well as thirty-six short & TV credits. His features go from déjà vu-led horror-drama Das Zweite Gesicht (1982), romantic comedy Spieler (1990), thriller drama Der Felsen ( 2002), and 1930s-set romantic drama Fabian: Going to the Dogs (2021).

The film has a just shy of the two-hour mark, which may sound a little too long for a bank robber thriller, but really zero fat or lull present, as Graf keeps the film's intrigue alive, its tension building, and more than a few rewarding twists along its length.

The film's credits introduce us to its two lead characters in a bedroom-bound bound sweaty embrace-  neatly moustached Probek (Götz George) and tightly permed (Gudrun Landgrebe). When dressed, we find out the pair and in a hotel room, and are having an affair. He is a smartly dressed man, who we find out has rented this particular room in order to oversee a bank robbery which is due to occur in the bank below, so as the gang can have an eye in the sky observing/listening to what the authorities are doing outside.

The on-the-ground bank robbers are Junghein ( Heinz Hoenig) and Britz ( Ralf Richter)- the first is a middle-aged career criminal who has more than a few robberies under his belt, and the second is a younger/ less experienced. Outside of the bank, leading up the police side, we have middle-aged, rather jaded, monobrowed, and thick mat of haired Einsatzleiter Voss(Joachim Kemmer).

The idea of having someone watching a bank robbery from above is a great one, and as far as I’m aware, this is the first/ only time it’s turned up in a film. And I must say it is used to great effect, as the police just can’t understand why the robberies seem so ahead of their next move. George is perfect as the sleekly suited/cool-as-a-cucumber watcher, and later he brings in some sharp-shooter skills.

The rest of the main cast are all pretty good/ believable, with other not mentioned/ notable actors being  Ulrich Gebauer as Filialleiter as the braces, balding, and shell-shocked band manager. 

The Cat is most certainly one of the more original and distinctive heist movies I can recall.. It’s made all the better by the skilful direction, great acting, and effective main location.

On the extras side, we get a few things dating from 2024- they are in German with English subtitles.  There’s an interview with director Dominik Gra ( 65.00), an interview with screenwriter Christoph Fromm (32.01), and an Interview with producer Georg Feil(32.21). Lastly, we have thirteen minutes of selected scene commentary by Dominik Graf (2024). And a trailer.

In finishing, The Cat is a great, great heist film- with some neat/ original twists. It’s wonderful to see Radiance making the film available for English-language audiences