Killer of Sheep: The Charles Burnett Collection

Director: Charles Burnett
USA. 1977.
80 minutes. Black & White.

Cast:

Henry Gayle Sanders (Stan), Kaycee Moore (Stan’s Wife), Charles Bracy (Bracy), Angela Burnett (Stan’s Daughter), Eugene Cherry (Eugene), Jack Drummond (Stan’s Son)

See the Official Website: www.killerofsheep.com

The Charles Burnett Project was completed with the support of International Film Circuit, Inc., Steven Soderbergh and Turner Classic Movies.

Shot in 16mm, restored to 35mm by UCLA Film and Television Archive. Sound restoration by Audio Mechanics. ©1977 Charles Burnett.

Upcoming playdates for KILLER OF SHEEP can be seen at www.killerofsheep.com

Milestone, Steven Soderbergh and Turner Classic Movies present one of the most famous and acclaimed films by an African-American filmmaker, KILLER OF SHEEP was one of the first 50 films to be selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry and was chosen by the National Society of Film Critics as one of the 100 Essential Films. But, due to music licensing problems, the film has rarely been screened, and then only in ragged 16mm prints. On its thirtieth anniversary, Milestone Films has cleared all the rights and will present UCLA Film & Television Archives dazzling 35mm restoration of this landmark film.

Charles Burnett’s films focus on everyday life in black communities in a manner unseen in American cinema, combining incredibly lyrical elements with a starkly neo-realist, documentary-style approach that chronicles the unfolding story with depth and riveting simplicity.

In KILLER OF SHEEP, the protagonist, employed at the slaughterhouse, is suffering from the emotional side effects of his bloody occupation to such a degree that his entire life unhinges. His refusal to become involved in the similarly destructive, but human-focused occupations of his more affluent friends and acquaintances becomes the odd obstacle to the family’s well being. Burnett once said of the film, “[Stan’s] real problems lie within the family, trying to make that work and be a human being. You don’t necessarily win battles; you survive.”

Bonus Features

Charles Burnett’s acclaimed short films, Several Friends (1969), The Horse (1973) and When It Rains (1995).

Burnett’s latest short film, Quiet as Kept (2007) about a family displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Killer of Sheep commentary track with Charles Burnett and Richard Peña, Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Both versions of My Brother’s Wedding.

Killer of Sheep cast reunion video by Ross Lipman.

Liner notes by Armond White.

Killer of Sheep trailer.

Reviews

New York Times

"An American masterpiece, independent to the bone." -- Manohla Dargis

and

“A masterpiece. One of the most insightful and authentic dramas about African-American life on film. One of the finest American films, period.” -- Dave Kehr

NPR All Things Considered

"One of the masterpieces of American cinema!" -- Howie Movshovitz

 

Entertainment Weekly

"Way ahead of its time 30 years ago, and just as stunning today, Killer of Sheep is one of those marvels of original moviemaking that keeps hope of artistic independence alive... Here's to the miracle of a buried classic granted the opposite of a killing — here's to life. A" -- Lisa Schwartzbaum

New York Magazine

"In its crystalline restoration by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, Killer of Sheep can be seen (and reseen) as a great-the greatest-cinematic tone poem of American urban life.... Killer of Sheep is indelible." --David Edelstein

Time Out New York

"Six Stars! Perfect!" -- Melissa Anderson

and

"It’s hard not to hope that Killer of Sheep will influence a new generation of artists—of any color." -- David Fear

The Nation

"Stunning … humane in spirit, tentatively hopeful at the end, but rock-hard and pitiless in its honesty. Burnett persuades you that you're seeing the world as it really is for these characters… They have the grandeur of unchallengeable fact.… I feel safe in calling it one of the best new films of 2007." -- Stuart Klawans

New Yorker

"Affectingly beautiful … Burnett used many kinds of African-American music on the soundtrack, and the movie itself has the bedraggled eloquence of an old blues record." -- David Denby

Village Voice

"The film of the season, if not the year, is a Southern California slice-of-life from 1977 that hasn't aged a day... A stirring and sophisticated evocation of working-class Watts." -- Nathan Lee

and

"As fresh and observational as it was 30 years ago, Killer of Sheep seems even more universal now. Killer of Sheep is an urban pastoral... sweet, sardonic, deeply sad and very funny." –- J. Hoberman

Premiere

“Killer of Sheep immediately casts a peculiar spell that by the end leaves you not only emotionally charged because of the people and places and events you've seen, but filled with a new sense of what movies are and what they can do.… Anyone with a passion for cinema of both the past and the future owes it to herself to see it.” -- Glenn Kenny

Selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry