Film Review: Killer of Sheep (1977)

A masterpiece of a film depicting everyday life in 1970s Los Angeles among African Americans, Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep is an important film which is about to be released in a stunning 4K restoration. Not to be missed. 

Please, if you are anywhere near Film Forum NYC on 18^th April, give yourself a treat and go see Killer of Sheep, Charles Burnett’s newly restored masterpiece of everyday African American life in the Watts area of Los Angeles.

Originally made in 1977, this black and white slice of life follows Stan (Henry G. Sanders) and his family and friends over the course of a very ordinary few days of work, play and some leisure. One of the first fifty films named to the Library of Congress National Film Registry, Killer of Sheep currently stands at number 44 on Sight and Sound’s Greatest Films of All Time 2022 and thoroughly deserves its spot.

It’s easy to say that Killer of Sheep is a film in which nothing really happens – and this could be true in comparison to regular action or drama narratives. But what actually takes place in these 80 screen minutes is life. Life happens. Everyday things like going to work, fixing the car, caring for family. Worrying about money, visiting relatives, a day out at the weekend. Ordinary things which ordinary adults do every day. The children play on the streets, on the rooftops, in the alleyways. A lot of their ‘play’ is aggressive, almost a preparation for adult life, although audiences will hope the offspring have the opportunity to be more like Stan and his wife than the ones who plan to rob the liquor store.

That’s not to say Stan’s life is perfect. He would like more from life, but holding down a job at the local slaughterhouse at least means he can put food on the table for his family. His wife (Kaycee Moore) stays at home to care for their three children and have a meal ready at the end of the day. Stan doesn’t say much, but it’s easy to see that he’s doing his best to be an upstanding man and do the best for his family.

Several scenes stand out for different reasons; at one point, children are playing by leaping from roof top to roof top and your heart will be in your mouth – to them, it’s a bit of fun, a challenge, but the viewer will be all too aware of the terrible possibilities of an accident. On her own doorstep, Stan’s wife (with dialogue improvised by Kaycee Moore) heavily berates a couple of men who would try to lure her taciturn husband into some criminal activity. And a beautiful, tender scene of the married couple gently swaying together to the strains of Dinah Washington singing This Bitter Earth.

And if the visual storytelling isn’t enough, the musical choices are another real strength of Killer of Sheep. Featuring Paul Robeson, Elmore James, Louis Armstrong, Earth, Wind & Fire and several others, alongside Dinah Washington, the soundtrack is rich, warm and bitter. In fact, one of the reasons that Killer of Sheep wasn’t as widely distributed in the past was the issue of securing the rights to all of the music included. For this beautiful 4K restoration, that has been sorted.

This new restoration provides an opportunity for a whole new audience to experience this pivotal piece of American art.

Killer of Sheep opens in a new 4K restoration on 18^th April 2025, at Film Forum in New York City.