There are some films that you can watch only once but you’re forever changed by them. They have the power to move cinematic mountains and redefined storytelling. Legendary indie filmmaker Charles Burnett’s 1977 landmark Killer of Sheep is one of those films.
Buy Killer of Sheep (Criterion Collection) Blu-rayThis raw, stripped down look at urban decay centers on Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders), a Black worker dragged down by his slaughterhouse job, his relationships with his wife (a beguiling Kaycee Moore, icon of L.A. Rebellion cinema) and two children (Angela Burnett and Jack Drummond), and living in the downbeat Watts area of Los Angeles. He tries to make a break but doesn’t get very far while people around him also get beaten by their own increasing and bleak disappointments. The grim realities of the working class make everyone question whether the good life is even possible.
As I mentioned in my recent review, Burnett doesn’t infuse complete hopelessness into his film. There are some moments of hope, especially near the end of the film where Stan, his wife, and daughter come home after a road trip. He tells a playful joke which makes all of them smile. This suggests that even when life constantly brings you lemons, there are actual times where you get lemonade. Burnett made a film that manages to craft beauty that transcends the face of urban hell. Despite not having a real plot but told in a series of vignettes, you can still see how it became a seminal work of independent filmmaking, one that continues to be inspiring and beloved in film history.
Criterion has lovingly restored Burnett’s classic in a sublime new 4K restoration (being released this week on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray) that makes the film’s urban poetry shine even more. It includes an audio commentary by Burnett and film scholar Richard Pena, and supplements including new interviews with Burnett and Sanders; new appreciation by acclaimed filmmaker Barry Jenkins; two short films/intro by Burnett; trailer, and more.
If you’re looking for something special to add to your home collection, then Burnett’s minimalist but searing masterpiece is one that definitely deserves a place in it. It’s a universal work of art.
Other releases:
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (Vinegar Syndrome): A new 4K UHD & Blu-ray combo release of the highly underrated 1971 super creepy psychological horror film starring the great Zohra Lampert as Jessica, a young woman released from an institution after a nervous breakdown who seeks rest in the New England countryside. However, that rest is quickly upended by a mysterious woman who seems to have a chilling influence on the region that Jessica and her husband are staying.
In My Skin 4K (Severin): An incredibly disturbing descent into extreme body horror as a woman (the film’s star/writer/director Marina de Van) who becomes obsessed with mutilating her own body after being in a gruesome accident.
Bottoms (Kino): A hilarious queer film starring Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott as two unpopular high school lesbians who start a fight club to attract girls.
La Vie en Rose (Warner Archive): Marion Cotillard gives a harrowing, Oscar-winning performance as the legendary Edith Piaf, renowned French singer whose severe demons led to her early death at age 48.
