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Editorial Reviews
Review
An American masterpiece, independent to the bone. --Manohla Dargis, New York Times
The finest film yet about African American life. --National Public Radio
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. Grade: A.-- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly --Acclaimed Reviews
The finest film yet about African American life. - --National Public Radio
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. Grade: A. - --Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
The finest film yet about African American life. --National Public Radio
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. Grade: A.-- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly --Acclaimed Reviews
The finest film yet about African American life. - --National Public Radio
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. Grade: A. - --Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
Product Description
Killer Of Sheep (1977) A masterpiece of African American filmmaking and one of the finest debuts in cinema history, Killer Of Sheep was chosen for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress and named one of the 100 Essential Films by the National Society of Film Critics. In the Los Angeles community of Watts, Stan, a sensitive dreamer, is growing detached and numb from the toll of working at a slaughterhouse. Frustrated by money problems, he finds respite in moments of simple beauty: the warmth of a teacup against his cheek, slow dancing with his wife, holding his daughter. Combining lyrical moments with neorealist style, Burnett unfolds his story with compassion and humor. Killer Of Sheep's haunting images and extraordinary soundtrack are a revelation in this new high-definition transfer from the UCLA Film & Television Archive's brilliant 35mm restoration.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Emerging from the shadows a sort of film urban legend is Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep, made in 1977 as his UCLA graduate thesis and finally given wide release thanks to film preservationists and Steven Soderbergh. For years I've had to listen to how great this film was without actually experiencing it for myself and now... let's just say I've only had the occasion three or four times to see a movie and realize that the director was put on earth specifically to make that film. An ethnographic study of life in the Watts ghetto of Los Angeles, Burnett's movie takes the best element of Renoir's romantic abstractions, Rossellini's neorealist cityscapes, Satyajit Ray's family dramas, Kenneth Anger's thematically and musically-linked visuals and Cassavetes' naked 16mm textures and mixes them into a sad and funny visual essay. Artistic camerawork and lighting, disorienting editing, the employment of nonprofessional but striking actors and virtuoso use of pop music confine Burnett's approach to no one recognizable style: instead, they form an audacious and wholly original aesthetic. Made up largely of a collection of entropic events from the neighborhood with supporting characters who comes and go, the film is sparse on dialogue, but Burnett speaks through the mise en scene in unique moments of narrative spontaneity. While the tone moves ambiguously between tender and bittersweet, social and isolated, frivolous and crushing, the overall feel of the film is simply vitalizing. Even through the grimness of its shots of tiny lambs moving to the voice of Dinah Washington, oblivious to their impending slaughter, Burnett discovers a transcendent beauty. Everyone owes it to himself to see it.
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Wyn
I saw this film a few months ago when it was shown for a weekend here in St. Louis. It is a masterpiece and truly unforgettable. No wonder the Library of Congress picked it as one of the top 25 movies in all of American film history. The scene with the couple dancing to Dinah Washington's, "This Bitter Earth", will haunt you for days after seeing the film.
37 of 45 people found the following review helpful
By C. Roberts
Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a review of the poorly-designed packaging of the great film "Killer of Sheep" only. Other reviewers have discussed the merits of this brilliant film and the unfortunately-neglected accompanying feature, "My Brother's Wedding".
Like the poor recent edition of "I Am Cuba", Milestone has released good-quality transfers of these significant and previously-unavailable films but shown them no respect by packaging in a way which compromise the DVD's themselves.
The DVD's are stuck into, truly, the tightest pouches(!) of a cardboard DVD case. Not only were the DVD's slid in once by the manufacturer--scratching the playing surfaces--but you must pull them out with some effort from the too-tight pouches to view them, thus scratching them again. For the price of this product, a standard plastic (double) snapcase would be reasonable to expect and much more secure storage.
Unfortunately, this is the only way to purchase "Killer of Sheep". I suggest pulling out the DVD's carefully and then placing them in another DVD case to prevent further desecration with subsequent viewings.
Like the poor recent edition of "I Am Cuba", Milestone has released good-quality transfers of these significant and previously-unavailable films but shown them no respect by packaging in a way which compromise the DVD's themselves.
The DVD's are stuck into, truly, the tightest pouches(!) of a cardboard DVD case. Not only were the DVD's slid in once by the manufacturer--scratching the playing surfaces--but you must pull them out with some effort from the too-tight pouches to view them, thus scratching them again. For the price of this product, a standard plastic (double) snapcase would be reasonable to expect and much more secure storage.
Unfortunately, this is the only way to purchase "Killer of Sheep". I suggest pulling out the DVD's carefully and then placing them in another DVD case to prevent further desecration with subsequent viewings.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
like "What's Happening!" but without the jokes
Uh, you'd think before UCLA saw fit to emblazon their name all over the packaging as being those responsible for this film's restoration, they'd have done something about the... Read more
Published on September 8, 2010 by Caraculiambro
5.0 out of 5 stars
The early genius of Charles Burnett
I started my educational career at UCLA in the History and Sociology departments from 1966 - 1971. I met Charles Burnett one early morning as he was headed to the north campus,... Read more
Published on February 20, 2010 by Thomas M. Penick
4.0 out of 5 stars
In the ghetto
Charles Burnett's rediscovered classic is the quiet story of a family in Watts. Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders) is a good man who has nearly been crushed by poverty. Read more
Published on December 14, 2009 by David Bonesteel
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding film
I'm astonished that Killer of Sheep has received a few negative reviews. These perhaps reflect some limitations of the audience rather than flaws in Burnett's rich film. Read more
Published on August 14, 2009 by Ryan Sarno
1.0 out of 5 stars
Do we have "shills" posing as Amazon reviewers?
I couldn't believe how bad this was.
It did have some entertainment value. I watched this with my wife. Read more
It did have some entertainment value. I watched this with my wife. Read more
Published on May 23, 2009 by A. DeGiralamo
1.0 out of 5 stars
Over Promised and Under Delivered
After reading most of the glowing reviews of Mr. Burnett's film, Killer of Sheep, I was excited about my purchase. Read more
Published on January 3, 2009 by phifedog
4.0 out of 5 stars
Slice of Life
This is not a Hollywood Blockbuster, and is made in Black and White. It is not a conventional film with a plot, rather it is a slice of the life of a man living in Watts. Read more
Published on December 17, 2008 by British Commentator
5.0 out of 5 stars
Genius!!!
i can't tell you, you have to watch and use your cognitive thinking skills. hopefully, your synapses will fire and connect and you too, like me, will be amazed and angered... Read more
Published on April 8, 2008 by ed boyd
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Raw Power of Film
Someone once said that you only truly witness art two or three times in your life... art that changes you completely, art that transforms your world. Read more
Published on March 23, 2008 by Brutus L.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A visual poem
Shot in the early 1970s in Watts as Charles Burnett's MFA master's thesis and later hailed by critics as a masterpiece, it has never been released theatrically until now. Read more
Published on February 8, 2008 by D. Ortega
