Killer of Sheep
Release: 1977
Runtime: 80
Language:
English
Burnett’s films focus on everyday life in black communities in a manner rarely in American cinema — combining lyrical elements with a starkly neorealist, documentary-style approach that chronicles the unfolding story with depth and riveting simplicity. In Killer of Sheep, Stan, employed at a slaughterhouse, is suffering from the emotional side effects of his bloody occupation to such a degree that his entire life unhinges. Burnett once said of the film, “[Stan’s] real problems lie within the family, trying to make that work and be a human being. You don’t necessarily win battles; you survive.”
"Burnett is one of film's poets. His extraordinary lyric gifts and strikingly humanistic imagery are abundantly present [in Killer of Sheep]. It shouldn't be missed... A flat-out treasure, impervious to time."
– — Jay Carr, The Boston Globe
“Killer of Sheep caught the lives of the children with a fidelity to how kids really do fight, play, and cry — and how they can sometimes be cruel simply because they’re so scared.”
– — Roger Ebert
“Killer of Sheep is one of the most striking debuts in movie history and an acknowledged landmark in African-American film.”
– — Terrence Rafferty, GQ
“Killer of Sheep represents the highest example of contemporary black American life put on screen because of Burnett’s integrity to view it purely, without typical corrupted Hollywood devices.”
– — Armond White, Film Comment
-
"Burnett is one of film's poets. His extraordinary lyric gifts and strikingly humanistic imagery are abundantly present [in Killer of Sheep]. It shouldn't be missed... A flat-out treasure, impervious to time."
– — Jay Carr, The Boston Globe
-
“Killer of Sheep caught the lives of the children with a fidelity to how kids really do fight, play, and cry — and how they can sometimes be cruel simply because they’re so scared.”
– — Roger Ebert
-
“Killer of Sheep is one of the most striking debuts in movie history and an acknowledged landmark in African-American film.”
– — Terrence Rafferty, GQ
-
“Killer of Sheep represents the highest example of contemporary black American life put on screen because of Burnett’s integrity to view it purely, without typical corrupted Hollywood devices.”
– — Armond White, Film Comment
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