Killer of Sheep (1977)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Charles Burnett

Writer:

Charles Burnett (writer)

Release Date:

20 June 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Stan works in drudgery at a slaughterhouse. His personal life is drab. Dissatisfaction and ennui keep...

Plot Keywords:

Slaughterhouse | Teenage Boy | Mother Son Relationship | Dancer | Doll

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Henry G. Sanders	...	Stan (as Henry Gayle Sanders)
Kaycee Moore	...	Stan's wife
Charles Bracy	...	Bracy
Angela Burnett	...	Stan's daughter
Eugene Cherry	...	Eugene
Jack Drummond	...	Stan's son

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | UK:12A

Trivia:

No permits were obtained in the filming of the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Stan and his friend load the engine block on the truck, they drive away and it falls out, and a car is then seen parked along the curb. The car was not there when they carried the engine out.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywoodn't (2009)

Soundtrack:

My Curly Haired Baby

memory lane

I couldn't wait to see this movie when it came to town. I only read about it in magazines. I've never knowingly seen a movie before that has been declared a national treasury by the national film registry.

The first thing that stood out for me is the way the kids were playing. I pictured myself playing those games and wearing those clothes. The editing of the film is nothing like what happens in todays movies. Our attention span is much too short. There is a scene where two men are carrying an engine down a flight of stairs and into the back of a truck. The camera holds while the men struggle to carry it, pausing in mid-flight for a rest and then continuing on. This film is very real in the sense of how the neighborhoods looked back then and the struggles with money and staying on your feet. Even though I am not from the area, this film reminded me in some ways of how I grew up. I wasn't born yet when this film was in production.

My expectations were set very high for this film because of its previous awards. I started to wonder why it was selected for the national film registry. Possibly because it showed what the area looked like in the post-watts riot era, or was it a film that was created in the blaxploitation era but set itself apart from other films, or did it have to do with watching how kids grow up or how African-Americans were living at the time. I could be unfairly trying to compare this film with the movies that are block busters in our current time. Make sure you see this film.