Above: A semi-human arm springs out 01 the torso of a dead panther as the dlslntegmtion process begins. Right Tom Burman's original concept sketch.
The Autopsy of Paul Gallier Makeup artist Tom Burman rewrites anatomy to reveal the startling seCKet qlthe Cat People. When a mysterious black panther tries to murder him, and is shot in the attempt, zoo curator John Heard decides to perform an autopsy. Though he knows there is something odd about the animal, Heard isn't prepared for what he finds: a human arm inside the dead panther (above), an odd twist of animal anatomy that helps explain the script's human-topanther transformations. Makeup artist Tom Burman made a number of sketches depicting stages of the autopsy (right), including a human face beneath the panther's skull and an entire " Picasso-ish" body inside the torso. Eventually, director Paul Schrader limited the sequence to the opening of the chest cavity and the subsequent diSintegration of the panther's body. Burman associate Lance Anderson Below: Paul Schrader (left) watches as effects technician Allan Hall and makeup designer Tom Burman (right) prepare the autopsy cat for filming.
and Allan Hall, a Universal effects technician working at The Burman's Studio, sculpted the panther, while Kathy Clark worked on the fake fur body. The innards were sculpted from a large hunk of foam rubber, and coated with polyurethane. Kayo syrup blood completed the illusion. "I have a philosophy that you should never use real animal guts," said Hall, who has previously worked on the corpses in COMA and on a fake body for Dennis Hopper's death scene in APOCALYPSE NOW (eliminated during editing) . " If you're shooting for more than one day, you have problems with rotting and deterioration. Sometimes you 're shooting for three or four days; by then , real animal guts stink!" To create the smoke and foam that accompanies the cadaver's myste-
rious disintegration, a variety techniques were used, including bubbling air through methyl cellulose, adding water to calcium and whipping up a special soap-like substance. The disintegration itself involved a second panther built around a large air bladder. A vacuum pump was used to rapidly deflate the bladder, and the cat was pu lled down through a specially-rigged table, "sort of like pulling a sock inside
out ," according to Hall . Although the effect was successfully shot, the sequence was largely left on the cutting room floor, part of Schrader's plan to limit the emphasis on makeup effects. All that remains is the beginning of the autopsy and the end result: puddles of "goo" on the autopsy table, and a stunned John Heard (bottom right). Left: Allan Hall (left) checks the air tube leading to the panther, as Tom Burman and Kart Miller (right) watch. Below: John Heard's startled reaction,
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