Cat's Cradle is an experimentalshort film by Stan Brakhage, produced in 1959. The film was described by Brakhage as "sexual witchcraft involving two couples and a 'medium' cat."[1][2]
Cat's Cradle was filmed in Princeton, New Jersey.[3] The film features Stan Brakhage and his wife Jane, as well as composer James Tenney and visual artist Carolee Schneemann.[4] Schneemann, who appeared in several Brakhage films, wore an apron at Brakhage's insistence.[5] Despite her friendship with Brakhage, she later described the experience as "frightening," remarking that "whenever I collaborated, went into a male friend's film, I always thought I would be able to hold my presence, maintain an authenticity. It was soon gone, lost in their celluloid dominance--a terrifying experience--experiences of true dissolution."[5]
The entirely silent film was described by Brakhage as "sexual witchcraft involving two couples and a 'medium' cat."[1][2] The film features shots of the naked bodies that are, according to writer Walter Metz, "edited in such a way that very little narrative sense can be immediately gleaned from them. As the film wears on, however, it becomes clear that the viewer is witnessing some form of domestic conflict and the intimacy that follows (or perhaps precedes) it."[6] The editing style includes very brief "flash-frames" that interrupt longer shots, a technique that Brakhage would continue to use in such films as Tortured Dust (1984).[7]
Reception
Paul Arthur, in his essay for The Criterion Collection, wrote that Cat's Cradle "does not entirely suppress our recourse to naming but rather floods our typical eye-brain loop with stimuli for which attached language cues are either less than automatic or, in cases of purely sensory appeal, non-existent."[8] Fred Camper, in another essay for The Criterion Collection, remarked upon the mysteriousness of the four characters' interactions, but was nevertheless "kept on edge by the very rapid intercutting... the viewer is at once encouraged to come up with his own interpretations and prevented from settling on any one idea."[9]
^Metz, Walter (2001) ""What Went Wrong?": The American Avant-Garde Cinema of the 1960s", History of the American cinema: 1960-1969. The sixties, Volume 8 , University of California Press, p236
^Elder, R. Bruce (1998) The films of Stan Brakhage in the American tradition of Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, and Charles Olson, Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press, p256
^"Before the Beginning was the Word: Stan Brakhage's", Paul Arthur, published June 09 2003, The Criterion Collection. Accessed 13 February 2011
^"By Brakhage: The Act of Seeing...", Fred Camper, published June 09 2003, The Criterion Collection. Accessed 13 February 2011
cradle, film, cradle, experimental, short, film, stan, brakhage, produced, 1959, film, described, brakhage, sexual, witchcraft, involving, couples, medium, cradledirected, bystan, brakhagestarringstan, brakhage, jane, brakhage, james, tenney, carolee, schneema. Cat s Cradle is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage produced in 1959 The film was described by Brakhage as sexual witchcraft involving two couples and a medium cat 1 2 Cat s CradleDirected byStan BrakhageStarringStan Brakhage Jane Brakhage James Tenney Carolee SchneemannRelease date1959Running time6 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish Contents 1 Production 2 Reception 3 Preservation 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksProduction Edit Stan Brakhage in Cat s Cradle Cat s Cradle was filmed in Princeton New Jersey 3 The film features Stan Brakhage and his wife Jane as well as composer James Tenney and visual artist Carolee Schneemann 4 Schneemann who appeared in several Brakhage films wore an apron at Brakhage s insistence 5 Despite her friendship with Brakhage she later described the experience as frightening remarking that whenever I collaborated went into a male friend s film I always thought I would be able to hold my presence maintain an authenticity It was soon gone lost in their celluloid dominance a terrifying experience experiences of true dissolution 5 The entirely silent film was described by Brakhage as sexual witchcraft involving two couples and a medium cat 1 2 The film features shots of the naked bodies that are according to writer Walter Metz edited in such a way that very little narrative sense can be immediately gleaned from them As the film wears on however it becomes clear that the viewer is witnessing some form of domestic conflict and the intimacy that follows or perhaps precedes it 6 The editing style includes very brief flash frames that interrupt longer shots a technique that Brakhage would continue to use in such films as Tortured Dust 1984 7 Reception EditPaul Arthur in his essay for The Criterion Collection wrote that Cat s Cradle does not entirely suppress our recourse to naming but rather floods our typical eye brain loop with stimuli for which attached language cues are either less than automatic or in cases of purely sensory appeal non existent 8 Fred Camper in another essay for The Criterion Collection remarked upon the mysteriousness of the four characters interactions but was nevertheless kept on edge by the very rapid intercutting the viewer is at once encouraged to come up with his own interpretations and prevented from settling on any one idea 9 Preservation EditThe Academy Film Archive preserved Cat s Cradle in 2006 10 See also EditList of American films of 1959 List of avant garde films of the 1950sReferences Edit a b Cat s Cradle Canyon Cinema Film Accessed 13 February 2011 a b By Brakhage An Anthology Volume 1 DVD menu MacDonald Scott 2005 A critical cinema interviews with independent filmmakers p61 Banes Sally 1993 Greenwich Village 1963 avant garde performance and the effervescent body Duke University Press p90 a b An Interview with Carolee Schneemann Wide Angle 20 1 1998 p20 49 Metz Walter 2001 What Went Wrong The American Avant Garde Cinema of the 1960s History of the American cinema 1960 1969 The sixties Volume 8 University of California Press p236 Elder R Bruce 1998 The films of Stan Brakhage in the American tradition of Ezra Pound Gertrude Stein and Charles Olson Wilfrid Laurier Univ Press p256 Before the Beginning was the Word Stan Brakhage s Paul Arthur published June 09 2003 The Criterion Collection Accessed 13 February 2011 By Brakhage The Act of Seeing Fred Camper published June 09 2003 The Criterion Collection Accessed 13 February 2011 Preserved Projects Academy Film Archive External links EditCat s Cradle at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cat 27s Cradle film amp oldid 1106490649, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
