Killer of Sheep

Killer of Sheep: The Charles Burnett Collection by Charles Burnett
DVD Collection - Main Level - DRAMA KIL

Killer of Sheep takes place in the Watts district of Los Angeles during the 1970s. Stan is a husband and father working long hours at a slaughterhouse while trying to keep up with the work at home. Although there is not much of a plot, the film is filled with sad and interesting situations that are all centered on the difficult lives of these people. “I come from a working-class environment and I wanted to express what the realities were. People were trying to get jobs, and once they found jobs they were fully concerned with keeping them. And they were confronted with other problems, with serious problems at home for example, which made things much more difficult,” Charles Burnett said about making this film.

Charles Burnett wrote, directed, shot and edited this film for his final thesis at UCLA in 1978. The film did not get a theatrical release until 2007 because of licensing issues with the music. For this reason, Killer of Sheep has been relatively unknown to most of the public. Despite its popular anonymity, it has received the Critic’s award at the 1981 Berlin Film Festival, won the 1991 Independent Spirit Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay, was selected in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 1990, and in 2002 was selected as one of the National Society of Film Critics’ 100 Essential Films of all time.

If you enjoy the Italian neo-realist aesthetic (think Federico Fellini and Roberto Rossellini) or just appreciate a good film, then give Killer of Sheep a try.