“An American masterpiece, independent to the bone.… Burnett’s most radical truth-telling.” — Manohla Dargis, New York Times
A quiet revelation of American independent filmmaking, Charles Burnett’s lyrical debut feature unfolds as a mosaic of Black life in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, where Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders), a father worn down by his job in a slaughterhouse, and his wife (Kaycee Moore) seek moments of tenderness in the face of myriad disappointments.
Burnett, who served as the director, writer, producer, cinematographer, and editor, captures the world of both children and adults. He finds poetry in everyday struggles through indelible images that radiate compassionate beauty. Although largely unseen for decades after its completion in 1977, “Killer of Sheep” is now recognized as a cornerstone of the groundbreaking LA Rebellion movement and is celebrated as a masterpiece that presents Black American lives with an intimacy unlike any film before it.
