Mad Quickies

Mad Quickies 5.22

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The Private Life of a Cat (1944)

Found at Dangerous Minds.
{via la bibliotequetress}

A strangely compelling film that predates Henri le Chat Noir by decades.

from the page
A 1944 silent documentary by by Czechoslovakian-born filmmaker Alexandr Hackenschmied, aka Alexander Hammid, aka Hackensmid. Alexander Hammid’s intimate study of a female cat and the birth and maturation of her five kittens. It is said that Maya Deren directed and Hammid did the filming and editing.

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Star Wars VS Star Trek – The Rivalry Continues

from the page
For years, Star Wars fans have squared off against Star Trek fans over which space fantasy is the better choice. As a result, both franchises have been embroiled in a continuing battle for merchandise sales, publicity and box-office receipts. The science-fiction genre has never seen anything like it and, as these fictional universes continue to expand, the competition seems to be never ending. Star Wars vs. Star Trek: The Rivalry Continues compares the space opera worlds of George Lucas and Gene Roddenberry for a one-of-a-kind intergalactic documentary. It traces the origin and development of Star Trek from conception to the spin-offs and film series. It also takes an in-depth look at Star Wars from its sci-fi influences in the past to its continuing box-office clout. Interviews with such stars as William Shatner, George Lucas, Leonard Nimoy, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, James Doohan and many more help to explain the amazing phenomenon.

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Featured image is from an installation by Carnovsky at the Johanssen Gallery, Direktorenhaus, Berlin. Photo by Alvise Vivenza.

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Donna

Geologic Universe, vault-keeper. Sheer Brick Studio, principal. Empty Set, designer. Bethlehem Mounties, media. WDIY 88.1FM NPR station programmer. Skepchick.

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3 Comments

  1. Donna

    Those Nano “flowers” look a lot like I would imagine plant life might look on another planet.

  2. “It is said that Maya Deren directed and Hammid did the filming and editing.”

    “Although credited solely to Hammid, it’s thought that Deren was more the director of the film, while Hammid did the shooting and the editing.”

This notion is absolutely untrue. My father was the sole creator of The Private Life of a Cat. He was very supportive of his wife Maya Deren, refusing to add his credit to several of her films in which he was an essential contributor. At Land is the most notable for his input though lack of credit. My father was an established and well known film maker at that time and he felt his credit in her films might overshadow her. In Maya’s letters she describes this explicitly.

If Maya had anything to do with The Private Life of a Cat he would have surely given her credit. After the film was finished he added a narrative sound track using Maya’s voice but scrapped that version for the original silent one.
    Tino Hammid
    Los Angeles

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