There are some films that possess the power to wash over you; to make you think, feel, and see the world around you. Beloved filmmaker Charles Burnett’s 1977 landmark directorial debut, Killer of Sheep, is definitely one of those films.
Buy Killer of Sheep (Criterion Collection) Blu-rayA lyrical portrait of urban decay, the film centers on Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders), a husband and father living in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, who works in a slaughterhouse. He is living his personal hell while trying to repair relationships with his wife (a beguiling Kaycee Moore) and two children, while others in the neighborhood are trying to make sense of their own daily struggles.
The film doesn’t have a real plot, but that it’s beauty. The “plot” is real life, where everyday people live ordinary lives of endless boredom, poverty, and suffering. There’s poetry in every frame from beginning to end – children playing in the streets and abandoned buildings, Stan working in the slaughterhouse, people gambling for a quick buck, Stan’s daughter (Angela Burnett) wearing a dog mask, and most profoundly, Stan and his wife slow dancing to Dinah Washington’s “This Bitter Earth,” which reveals the humanity even in the face of overwhelming odds.
Just with one viewing, I was very immersed in the way Burnett captures a certain time and place of Black life. The black and white cinematography (in new 4K!) really makes the film, and its themes shine in a way that color could never do. It’s maddening that these kinds of films are not made much anymore. They have a reality that showcase how life can be both bleak and hopeful at the same time, especially near the end where after going on a road trip, Stan, his wife, and their daughter come home. He tells a joke and there are smiles all around. That tells you that even with the biggest hardships that life throws at you, there are always moments that bring you joy.
Despite the fact that there are some special features from the original DVD released by Milestone Film & Video in 2007 not included in Criterion’s new release of Burnett’s masterpiece, they have definitely made up for that by providing amazing supplements to complement the film. They include commentary by Burnett and film scholar Richard Pena; new interviews with Burnett and Sanders; new appreciation with Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins; two short films by Burnett: Several Friends (1969) and The Horse (1973), with a new intro by Burnett; excerpt from a 2010 conversation between Burnett and film scholar/TCM host Jacqueline Stewart; A Walk with Charles Burnett (2019), a documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Robert Townsend; cast reunion from 2007; and trailer. There is also a great new essay by critic Danielle Amir Jackson.
In the world of film, there are those magical gems that are waiting to be unearthed and cherished all over again. Killer of Sheep will always be one of them. It’s an independent classic that hypnotizes you with its raw, urban beauty and provides a gateway to the importance of telling stories from the Black experience that should never be taken for granted.
