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Blu-ray

Killer of sheep

Call Number

  • BLU-RAY DRAMA (CEN)

Edition

Director-approved Blu-ray special edition.

Languages

English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Performers

Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy, Angela Burnett.

Publication Information

[New York, NY] : Criterion Collection, [2025]

Physical Description

1 videodisc (80 minutes) : sound, black and white ; 4 3/4 in.

Audience

Not rated.

Summary

"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, a father worn down by his job in a slaughterhouse, and his wife seek moments of tenderness in the face of myriad disappointments. Equally attuned to the world of children and that of adults, Burnett--acting as director, writer, producer, cinematographer, and editor--finds poetry amid everyday struggles in indelible images that glow with compassionate beauty. Largely unseen for decades following its completion in 1977, Killer of Sheep is now recognized as a touchstone of the groundbreaking LA Rebellion movement, and a masterpiece that brought Black American lives to the screen with an aching intimacy like no film before."--Container.

Notes

Originally released as a motion picture in 1977.

Special features: New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Charles Burnett, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack ; audio commentary featuring Burnett and film scholar Richard Peña ; new interviews with Burnett and actor Henry Gayle Sanders ; new appreciation by filmmaker Barry Jenkins ; two short films by Burnett: Several Friends (1969) and The Horse (1973), with a new introduction to the latter by Burnett ; excerpt from the 2010 UCLA LA Rebellion Oral History Project, featuring an interview with Burnett by film scholar Jacqueline Stewart ; A Walk with Charles Burnett (2019), a documentary by Robert Townsend ; cast reunion from 2007 ; trailer.

Subjects