Moss (Paul F.)Ant City (1949)

Depicts ants as social creatures living in complex societies. Shows ways they control their environment.
Ken Smith sez: This is probably the most genuinely entertaining of all the John Kieran's Kaleidoscope films. The poor ants are anthropomorphised to the nth degree; we even hear The Wedding March when the queen and her drone fly away from the nest. Kieran's patter has never been more meandering; he sounds like a befuddled uncle narrating home movies. Clumsy but enjoyable.

PESTILENCE (ANTS)
VS of ants:
Building and repairing their city.
Birthing of grub.
Mating with queen.
Attacking a caterpillar.

This item is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Moss (Paul F.)
Production Company: Almanac Films
Audio/Visual: sound, B&W

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

Write a review Reviews

Downloaded 7,468 times Average Rating:

Reviewer: Spuzz - - August 22, 2003
Subject: And here we have an..er..um..ah.. ant!

More fun from John "I'll just make this up as we go along" Kieran (see Human Grace, Bee City, The heart etc). Kieran takes us on a tour of an Ant hill, where we get a brief education of what ants DO all day, he also tells us about the queen of the hill, and so on. Fairly interesting, if you're into his films.

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - July 23, 2003
Subject: Ant City

This science film about ant life is narrated by a guy who, though obviously knowledgeable about ants, sounds like he's winging it. He also makes a lot of lame-o comparisons between ant life and human life, perhaps the worst being his announcement of the queen's "wedding trip" with her preferred male, while "Here Comes the Bride" plays on the soundtrack. And, oh, that reminds me, the soundtrack is bizarre and bombastic, too. All of this adds up to a mildly bizarre viewing experience.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.