This 22-minute silent movie, seen as a classic of its genre, is a documentary produced in 1947 by the photographer/filmmaker Alexandr Hackenschmied (1907-2004) and avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren (1917-1961), who were married at the time. It shows a bit of the life of their two cats (“she” and “he”), including their production of a litter of five kittens.
I’ve put up a version with musical background (songs below):
Some background from Fandor:
Toward the end of their marriage, filmmakers Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid collaborated on the remarkable short THE PRIVATE LIVE OF A CAT. As the film’s furry protagonists, identified only as “She” and “He,” gave birth to a litter of kittens (a process recorded in the film in full though without sound), Deren and Hammid captured their sly, sidelong glances, their cuddles and licks, their resourcefulness and their casual, curious mannerisms. The filmmakers both adored cats and their admiration and affection for the creatures is evident here; their feline subjects occupy nearly every frame of the film, which was shot over the course of four weeks. The filmmakers themselves never appear in this piece; the world they created is inhabited by the animals alone. Here, Deren and Hammid exist only in the objects in their apartment; in the film’s sparse intertitles; in the appearance of the occasional saucer of milk; and in the presence of the camera. “One of the finest films that has ever been made,” said filmmaker Stan Brakhage of PRIVATE LIFE, a work that’s a character study, a work of cinematic anthropology, a narrative, a documentary, part drama and, perhaps above all, a romance. – Livia Bloom
The music (chosen and mixed by Mark M. Bravura)
The soothing, simply beautiful 3 song soundtrack was originally composed and performed by Tina E. Andrus-
Track #1- “Loulong Hamina”
Track #2- “Bamba Night Flute”
Track #3- “Banish Misfortune Flute Ladies”
Four white kittens and one tabby!
Great cat story & a thoroughly enjoyable 20 mins. Thank you Jerry. I kept expecting John Martyn to break into song during the first half ~ that heavy [seemingly] ganja-fueled stereo phasing weirdness!
THIS is Tina E. Andrus’s site where she offers:-
There’s also a Paypal Donate button
call it instinct or whatever, but the way she takes care of her children and knows just what to do…that’s love
Related to cat videos: http://sensuouscurmudgeon.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/discoveroids-early-april-fools-joke/
What I find amusing is that the creationist seems to think the cat videos are meant to support evolution and not a nice break from creation/evolution.
Nice video. I was particularly surprised to see “He” taking an interest in the kittens.
Incidentally, the kitten cam that JAC pointed us to a month or two ago has another batch on the go, the “Cosmo Kittens”, named after Russian cosmonauts:
http://new.livestream.com/FosterKittenCam/TheCosmoFosters
The kittens were born, iirc, on Feb 14.
Many years ago, a feral tom in my townhome complex adopted a kitten, presumably his own since they were both tuxedo cats. They were inseparable, and he took really good care of the kitten. It was very sweet. I don’t know what happened to the mom cat, but dad apparently stepped in to raise the young one.