The Private Life of a Cat

With graphic though not overly sickening closeups to show fully how cats give birth, "The Private Life of a Cat" is an interesting little documentary outlining the process of feline reproduction. I first found out about it by the fact that the co-director was the genius avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren, although because of the lack of surrealist qualities and the fact it's very straightforward in its story it was more the work of her husband Alexander Hammid. Congrats to both as this documentary, while not always thorough in the entire growth cycle, makes the whole film work as a basic outline. And, while technically just a home movie sort of project, the camerawork is quite good as such and shows remarkable skill.

The film begins with the two cats courting each-other briefly, before the mother goes to a box to give birth to the four kittens. The birth is particularly well shot, with detailed closeups and perfect views of how the process occurs. The father then comes into the room a moment later and inspects their newborns, before we go ahead two weeks and see how the kittens have grown and are learning to play.

What made this film so interesting was the fact that I've never seen a cat actually having birth, and this film depicts it in an admittedly graphic but very beautiful way. As stated above, it's really only an outline of how kittens are born and develop, but it didn't need to be any longer and nowadays we have all the technology we want to be able to capture hours of footage showing the complete thing. Worth seeing for any cat lover.

This film was so great. I adore cats, it's the only thing in life I can honestly say I've loved every day of my life. This was a beautiful film to watch. I have never seen the birth of kittens in real life and it is so amazing to see what it's like through this film. However, that is not why the film is so great. It is portrayed as if the cats have personalities and are comparable to human relationships and dating/child-raising. We get to see the looks on the mother's face as the she disciplines and feeds her kittens. We get to see the looks on the father's face when he, presumably, sees his kittens for the first time and decides to take part in "fathering". It's beautiful the way the cats react and I love how it was all caught on film and turned into a human-like story. It's a simple idea that can be almost sickeningly charming and adorable if shown to the right kind of person (i.e. cat lovers like myself). It is masterfully captured full cat emotion! Brought tears to my eyes. Well done! 10/10.

Show it to your kids!

The photography in this film is fabulous. It's amazing how they got the cats to "do their thing" unselfconsciously. If you've ever tried to actively film cats, you know that they somehow figure out that you're messing with their minds, and they don't do what you hope for. These cats acted as though they were totally unaware of the camera. That is a feat unto itself! I'd recommend this to any cat lover, any animal lover, and anybody interested in nature.

Great intro to the subject of reproduction for kids. I remember watching this process when I was 10 -- never forget it -- and this is the real thing. Nothing offensive at all.

(Film can be found on-line at the Internet Archive. Apparently it is in the public domain.)

Feeling frisky Maya Deren's white male cat gets into some afternoon delight with the female and reaps the whirlwind with a series of lookalikes that he will have a hard time denying are his. The two get along well though and the old man actually shows interest in the offspring.

Outside of a graphic birth scene, Private Life is simply a banal short subject in search of a perky narrator. The stakes are high though with avant garde darling Maya Deren and her trusty live-in camera man Alex Hammid both of groundbreaking Meshes in the Afternoon fame as authors. But outside of the comic stereotyping of the the tom in the last scene (actually a repeat of the first) the only thing this feline film can claim is that it was far ahead of the curve for what is in this day and age the rage, cat videos!

Calling all cat lovers!

'The private life of a cat' is a simple, uncomplicated short film documenting the lives of two housecats, identified merely as "he" and "she." We watch the cats groom one another and explore their surrounds; footage of the felines is broken up by some shots that imitate their perspective as they look about their surroundings.

Perhaps most notably, this short includes stark footage of the female cat giving birth to a litter of kittens, a scene rarely depicted in cinema. This leads to further pleasing video as the new parents raise their young, and we get to see them develop from newborns to unsteady crawlers to playful small cats. All the while, filmmakers Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid arrange shots and scenarios that allow the audience to enjoy a variety of cat behavior - peeking under a door or pushing it open, climbing a scratching post, and more.

The film is plain and straightforward in every way, yet Deren and Hammid carefully sequenced the shots to impart a minor sense of narrative as we watch the kittens grow, their parents lovingly tending to them. This is bolstered by the light, unobtrusive music laid over top that echoes the tranquility of the visuals.

There's not much else to say. 'The private life of a cat' is a fun, unsophisticated classic short film that fills a small niche in the filmmakers' oeuvre. Cat lovers especially should give it a watch, but it's a fine view for any general audience that appreciates the unbusy purity of life caught on camera.