Henry G. Sanders Kaycee Moore Charles Bracy Angela Burnett
Cinematography
Charles Burnett
Edited by
Charles Burnett
Distributed by
Third World Newsreel[1]
Release dates
November 14, 1978 (1978-11-14) (Whitney)
March 30, 2007 (2007-03-30) (United States)
Running time
80 minutes[2]
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$10,000
Box office
$416,509[3]
Killer of Sheep is a 1978 American drama film edited, filmed, written, produced, and directed by Charles Burnett. Shot primarily in 1972 and 1973, it was originally submitted by Burnett to the UCLA School of Film in 1977 as his Master of Fine Arts thesis. It features Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, and Charles Bracy, among others, in acting roles.
The film depicts the culture of urban African-Americans in Los Angeles' Watts district in a style often likened to Italian neorealism. Critic Dana Stevens described its plot as "a collection of brief vignettes which are so loosely connected that it feels at times like you're watching a non-narrative film."[4] There are no acts, plot arcs or character development, as conventionally defined.
Killer of Sheep premiered at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York on November 14, 1978.[5] It did not receive a general release because Burnett had not secured rights to the music used in its production. The music rights were purchased in 2007 for US $150,000 and the film was restored and transferred from a 16 mm to a 35 mm print. Killer of Sheep received a limited release 30 years after it was completed, with a DVD release in late 2007. The film was restored by the UCLA preservationist Ross Lipman and produced on DVD by Steven Soderbergh and Milestone Films.[6] In 1990, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[6][7][8]
^"Distributor FAQ: Third World Newsreel". Independent Magazine. October 1, 1998. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
^"KILLER OF SHEEP (12A)". British Film Institute. British Board of Film Classification. September 10, 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
^Killer of Sheep at Box Office Mojo Retrieved February 11, 2014
^"Black Sheep: A legendary film from 1977 gets its due." by Dana Stevens, Slate.com, March 30, 2007
^Maslin, Janet (November 14, 1978). "Screen: 'Killer of Sheep' Is Shown at the Whitney:Nonprofessional Cast". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
^ abNaremore, James (2017). "Charles Burnett: A Cinema of Symbolic Knowledge". Cinéaste. 42 (3): 20–23. ISSN 0009-7004. JSTOR 26356944.
^"Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^Gamarekian, Barbara; Times, Special To the New York (October 19, 1990). "Library of Congress Adds 25 Titles to National Film Registry (Published 1990)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
Julie Dash. Moore starred in films including KillerofSheep, Bless Their Little Hearts, and Daughters of the Dust. Her work was received positively, and...
for meat. Also see killer. Cut-out – the completion of shearing a flock. Dags – clumps of dried dung stuck to the wool of a sheep, which may lead to fly-strike...
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) Alambrista! (1977)≈ Eraserhead (1977) ≈ Furies (1977) The Hills Have Eyes (1977) KillerofSheep (1977)≈ Opening...
Burnett's 1978 film KillerofSheep was reproduced in red tint. The Ecstatic charted at number nine on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release and eventually...
General, The Battle of the Century Charles Burnett: KillerofSheep, To Sleep with Anger Shirley Clarke: The Cool World, Portrait of Jason Joel and Ethan...
Unsolved Case of New England's Deadliest Serial Killer. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN 0-451-40546-3. McIntyre, Tommy (1988). Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: The...
The Year of the Hare Ice Castles Interiors KillerofSheep You Are Not Alone Das zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages Hathiar The Marriage of Maria Braun...
This is a list of American films released in 1978. The highest-grossing American films released in 1978, by domestic box office gross revenue, are as follows:...
Most of the known victims were sex workers who advertised on Craigslist. The perpetrator in the case is known as the Long Island Serial Killer. One of the...
Spider-Man (1977) The Driver (1978) Grease (1978) Heaven Can Wait (1978) KillerofSheep (1978) Straight Time (1978) Thank God It's Friday (1978) Up in Smoke...
'Bush Mama' Tells Story of a Coast Ghetto:Hartford Ballet to Offer Chilean 'Carmina Burana' - The New York Times KillerofSheep|The Seventh Art Tony Safford...
of the Lepus (1972; giant rabbits) Black Sheep (2006; genetically engineered killersheep) Slugs (1988; abnormally large killer black slugs) Bride of...
"Killer Roche Has Date With Death Thursday". Daily News. Ruth Reynolds (February 26, 1956). "Wanton Killer: Black sheepof family made career of burglary...
that of Chantal Akerman, Woody Allen, Spike Lee, Godard but notes that Jim McBride's David Holzman's Diary (1967) and Charles Burnett's KillerofSheep (1977)...
who became known as the Los Angeles School of Black filmmakers, along with Charles Burnett (KillerofSheep), Jamaa Fanaka (Penitentiary), Ben Caldwell...
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