Killer of Sheep
“Killer of Sheep” was one of the first 50 culturally significant films selected for preservation by the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. But it is very likely the least seen of any of the movies on that prestigious list.
Considered a classic of independent and black cinema, “Killer of Sheep” was made in the late ’70s by Charles Burnett, then a student at UCLA’s film school. Shot on weekends with a minuscule budget of $10,000 and mostly amateur cast, “Killer of Sheep” is a revelation — a black-and-white portrait of life among the working poor in the predominantly black L.A. neighborhood of Watts.
Submitted for Burnett’s graduate thesis in 1977, “Killer of Sheep” didn’t have a theatrical release until now, largely because the director didn’t clear the pop music score that underlies the film. Those negotiations took six years and cost $150,000. Now the picture, beautifully restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, is making its way around the country on its 30th anniversary.
According to the list of theaters provided in the film’s news release, Lincoln is the fifth city in which “Killer of Sheep” has opened since late last month, and by far the smallest —a measure of the esteem in which the Ross Media Arts Center is held in the independent film world.
A lyrical film that is reminiscent of Italian neo-realism, “Killer of Sheep” looks at life in Watts through the eyes of Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders), a slaughterhouse worker who is struggling to provide for his wife and two children. Constantly exhausted from work both on the job and in their tiny home, Stan can’t sleep and drifts through life in a seemingly permanent state of defeat.
There’s not a conventional narrative in “Killer of Sheep.” Rather, the movie is a series of vignettes. At one point, for example, Stan is approached by a pair of hustlers trying to get him to join them in a robbery — the lure they present is that he’d make more money in the heist than he has in his life at the slaughterhouse.
Other scenes involve Stan’s wife (Kaycee Moore), a beautiful woman who works on her looks and is hot for her husband. But he’s so tired and distant that she can’t connect with the man she loves. That makes a scene in which they dance together to Dinah Washington’s “This Bitter Earth,” then drift apart, heart-rending.
As the movie moves along, the life of the working and not working poor comes into focus — the liquor store where checks are cashed is a community center, its white owner clearly coming on to Stan. A frustrating quest for a $15 car engine shows the need for independent transportation, especially in Southern California, and the constant disappointments for nearly every character, including the children, creates a telling story of ghetto life that continues to resonate 30 years after the movie was made.
“Killer of Sheep” also can be seen as a tour de force for its creator. Burnett served as writer, producer, director, cameraman and editor on the film and created a masterwork.
Even with the restoration, however, there are a few technical problems with “Kingdom of Sheep.” Most noticably, some of the dialogue is hard to hear, buried underneath the music or other sounds that seem to have come from real life in the neighborhood. But because there’s no need for that dialogue to carry a story, missing a word or two here and there isn’t that crucial.
Burnett went on to make “To Sleep With Anger,” the brilliant 1990 film starring Danny Glover. But now that it can be seen, “Killer of Sheep,” his student picture, will stand as his greatest film. The preservation, restoration and theatrical release of “Killer of Sheep” is well deserved. Now it deserves an audience.
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
Considered a classic of independent and black cinema, “Killer of Sheep” was made in the late ’70s by Charles Burnett, then a student at UCLA’s film school. Shot on weekends with a minuscule budget of $10,000 and mostly amateur cast, “Killer of Sheep” is a revelation — a black-and-white portrait of life among the working poor in the predominantly black L.A. neighborhood of Watts.
Submitted for Burnett’s graduate thesis in 1977, “Killer of Sheep” didn’t have a theatrical release until now, largely because the director didn’t clear the pop music score that underlies the film. Those negotiations took six years and cost $150,000. Now the picture, beautifully restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, is making its way around the country on its 30th anniversary.
According to the list of theaters provided in the film’s news release, Lincoln is the fifth city in which “Killer of Sheep” has opened since late last month, and by far the smallest —a measure of the esteem in which the Ross Media Arts Center is held in the independent film world.
A lyrical film that is reminiscent of Italian neo-realism, “Killer of Sheep” looks at life in Watts through the eyes of Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders), a slaughterhouse worker who is struggling to provide for his wife and two children. Constantly exhausted from work both on the job and in their tiny home, Stan can’t sleep and drifts through life in a seemingly permanent state of defeat.
There’s not a conventional narrative in “Killer of Sheep.” Rather, the movie is a series of vignettes. At one point, for example, Stan is approached by a pair of hustlers trying to get him to join them in a robbery — the lure they present is that he’d make more money in the heist than he has in his life at the slaughterhouse.
Other scenes involve Stan’s wife (Kaycee Moore), a beautiful woman who works on her looks and is hot for her husband. But he’s so tired and distant that she can’t connect with the man she loves. That makes a scene in which they dance together to Dinah Washington’s “This Bitter Earth,” then drift apart, heart-rending.
As the movie moves along, the life of the working and not working poor comes into focus — the liquor store where checks are cashed is a community center, its white owner clearly coming on to Stan. A frustrating quest for a $15 car engine shows the need for independent transportation, especially in Southern California, and the constant disappointments for nearly every character, including the children, creates a telling story of ghetto life that continues to resonate 30 years after the movie was made.
“Killer of Sheep” also can be seen as a tour de force for its creator. Burnett served as writer, producer, director, cameraman and editor on the film and created a masterwork.
Even with the restoration, however, there are a few technical problems with “Kingdom of Sheep.” Most noticably, some of the dialogue is hard to hear, buried underneath the music or other sounds that seem to have come from real life in the neighborhood. But because there’s no need for that dialogue to carry a story, missing a word or two here and there isn’t that crucial.
Burnett went on to make “To Sleep With Anger,” the brilliant 1990 film starring Danny Glover. But now that it can be seen, “Killer of Sheep,” his student picture, will stand as his greatest film. The preservation, restoration and theatrical release of “Killer of Sheep” is well deserved. Now it deserves an audience.
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
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