Killer of Sheep

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 released   = Spring of 2007
 runtime        = 81 min

Killer of Sheep (B&W, 81 min.) is a 1977 film that depicts the culture of urban African-Americans in Los Angeles' Watts dstrict; the film is considered an alternative to "Blaxploitation" films. It stars Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy, Angela Burnett, Eugene Cherry and Jack Drummond.

The film was written and directed by Charles Burnett. Though the film won an award at the Berlin Festival, it never saw popular release due to complications in securing the music rights for the soundtrack (which included such big names as Dinah Washington and Earth, Wind and Fire, among others). It has remained in obscurity for nearly thirty years, garnering much critical and academic praise and earning a reputation as a lost classic.

Killer of Sheep has been likened by a number of critics and scholars to the Italian neorealists, particularly Vittorio De Sica, for his documentary aesthetic and use of non-professional actors. Interestingly enough, he did not see De Sica's The Bicycle Thief until after he had finished Killer of Sheep. His self-professed influences are Jean Renoir and Basil Wright.

The film was chosen by the National Society of Film Critics as one of the 100 Essential Films of all time and has been named a National Treasure and selected for preservation in the United States Library of Congress' National Film Registry.

The film was recently restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, who then contacted the film distribution company Milestone Films. Milestone Films picked it up and cleared the music rights, readying it for its first-ever popular release (in theaters and on DVD)

[edit] External links

• Killer of Sheep at the Internet Movie Database

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