Killer of Sheep (2007)
91%RT Audience Score: 84%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 3 nominations
Killer of Sheep is a cinematic masterpiece that captures the essence of poverty in the ghetto with a quiet, understated, and unblinking approach. Charles Burnett’s documentarian empathy and easygoing skill as a dramatic essayist result in a film that doesn’t look, feel, or breathe like any American work of its generation. The film’s brilliant reflections and collage portrait provide no answers, only a complicated and timeless reflection of the human condition. With emotive acting, Burnett’s melancholic tone, and brilliant cinematic framings, Killer of Sheep is virtually a blues symphony that will leave you moved and haunted long after the credits roll. It’s a film that deserves more recognition and appreciation for its influence on artists in the late 20th and early 21st century.
Killer of Sheep is a film that will make you feel all the feels. It’s not your typical Hollywood blockbuster with guns and explosions, but rather a quiet and understated portrayal of life in the ghetto. You’ll find yourself rooting for the hard-working people just trying to get by and keep their hopes alive. And even though it may fill you with despair at times, you won’t be able to look away. Charles Burnett’s first film is a haunting masterpiece that deserves all the recognition it can get.
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros.,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
1978
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Mono
-
Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
-
Runtime:NA
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Sep 15, 2009
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Henry G Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy, Angela Burnett, Eugene Cherry, Jack Drummond, directed by Charles Burnett, written by Charles Burnett, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Mark Feeney, Roger Ebert, Marta Barber, Terry Lawson, Jeff Shannon, Michael Phillips, Jas Keimig, Tom Meek, David Lamble, Mattie Lucas, Ren Jender, Tanner Tafelski, produced by Charles Burnett, MPAA rating, inner-city life, African-American, Los Angeles, slaughterhouse, family, poverty, hope, hard-working, human condition, melancholic tone, unprofessional actors, blues symphony, haunting, influential, urban, dark intentions, stress, quality of life, dailiness, mood, sympathy, humane glimpse, unblinking, layered, complicated, collage portrait, reflections
Worldwide gross: $468,460
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,294,767
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,376
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 250,247
US/Canada gross: $404,508
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,981,496
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,038
US/Canada opening weekend: $26,154
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $128,116
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,839
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $100,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $489,853
Production budget ranking: 2,114
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $263,786
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,541,127
ROI to date (est.): 204%
ROI ranking: 622
Kaycee Moore – Stan’s Wife
Charles Bracy – Bracy
Angela Burnett – Stan’s Daughter
Eugene Cherry – Eugene
Jack Drummond – Stan’s Son
Charles Burnett – Director, Producer, Writer
Director(s)
Charles Burnett
Writer(s)
Charles Burnett
Producer(s)
Charles Burnett
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (81) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (79) | Rotten (2)
It’s quiet, unhurried, understated, unblinking. Mood matters more than style, dailiness more than incident.
September 21, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mark Feeney
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Poverty in the ghetto is not the guns and drugs we see on TV. It is more often like life in this movie: Good, honest, hard-working people trying to get by, keep up their hopes, love their children and get a little sleep.
July 2, 2018 | Rating: 4/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
A film that is hard to forget.
November 9, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4
Marta Barber
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
It may fill you with despair or offer up relief, but you will not be unmoved.
September 7, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
As timeless as the human condition.
August 17, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Burnett’s documentarian empathy, coupled with his easygoing skill as a dramatic essayist, result in a film that doesn’t look, feel or breathe like any American work of its generation.
August 2, 2007 | Rating: 4/4
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
It’s a complicated, collage portrait that doesn’t provide answers, only brilliant reflections.
December 8, 2021
Jas Keimig
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
It’s a very internal film, brought out by some incredibly emotive acting, Burnett’s melancholic tone and some brilliant cinematic framings.
June 11, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Tom Meek
Cambridge Day
Killer of Sheep is virtually a blues symphony.
May 21, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
Even with a cast of unprofessional actors, Killer of Sheep is always vibrantly alive and unflinchingly real.
June 5, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
Mattie Lucas
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
The differences between the ’70s and now are deeper than just a matter of hairstyles, fashion, and phones. We can see that difference clearly, and beautifully, in Black writer-director Charles Burnett’s haunting first film, Killer of Sheep.
March 12, 2019
Ren Jender
Bitch Flicks
Charles Burnett still hasn’t gotten his due… In spite of his later difficulties, Burnett’s first feature-his thesis film at UCLA-Killer of Sheep (1978), has gone on to influence quite a few artists in the late 20th and early 21st century.
November 18, 2018
Tanner Tafelski
Kinoscope…
Plot
In Killer of Sheep, a man named Stan struggles to provide for his family while working at a slaughterhouse in Watts, Los Angeles, and faces difficult situations outside of his home that make him question if a better life is possible.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Henry Gayle Sanders plays the lead role of Stan in Killer of Sheep.
Charles-Burnett.jpg
