Killer of Sheep: The Charles Burnett Collection

Killer of Sheep: The Charles Burnett Collection
by Charles Burnett

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DVD details

Actor: Henry Gayle Sanders, Kaycee Moore
Director: Charles Burnett
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 81 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-11-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: New Yorker Video/Milestone Cinematheque

DVD Reviews of Killer of Sheep: The Charles Burnett Collection

DVD Review: Over Promised and Under Delivered
Summary: 1 Stars

After reading most of the glowing reviews of Mr. Burnett's film, Killer of Sheep, I was excited about my purchase. Being an avid viewer of indie films, with a special interest in African American indie films,I was all the more intrigued by this film. Much to my chagrin, this movie was horrible. I can only think that perhaps I missed something, but I do not think that this is the case at all. Compared to films like Carl Seaton and Kenny Young's One Week, or Wendell B Harris, Jr's Chameleon Street, or Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have it, this film falls flat, and boy does it fall hard! I would not recommend spending a dime on this movie. I have to think that the good reviews that it has received have been the result of payoffs, or great politicking, because this film, in this viewer's strong opinion, warrants none of the praise it has received. To consider it a classic, is to do a disservice to the many other critical Black films that are truly worthy of this title

DVD Review: Slice of Life
Summary: 4 Stars

This is not a Hollywood Blockbuster, and is made in Black and White. It is not a conventional film with a plot, rather it is a slice of the life of a man living in Watts. There is nothing remarkable in his life, and it delves into the notable tedium and frustrations of his rather regular existence. A million miles from contemporary Blaxploitation films, or more recent Hood flicks. The film has innovative cinematography and interesting visuals for one made on a low budget. Not an "entertaining" film, but an interesting and challenging one.

DVD Review: Genius!!!
Summary: 5 Stars

i can't tell you, you have to watch and use your cognitive thinking skills. hopefully, your synapses will fire and connect and you too, like me, will be amazed and angered alternatively. amazed because, well, like i said: watch! angered because the PTB(powers that be) realized that giving widespread release of ANY chas. burnett material would encourage people to think about themselves and the world's conditions and ultimately do something righteous! THANX for listening!!!

DVD Review: The Raw Power of Film
Summary: 5 Stars

Someone once said that you only truly witness art two or three times in your life... art that changes you completely, art that transforms your world.

So if you've got any left in you, be sure you see this film. I saw it rather accidentally I was on a three day vacation in a mountain cabin. But the damn place had satelite television. I had no intention of sitting in front of a screen, but once this film started I could not turn away.

Unfortunately, too many reviewers give away vital pieces of the film, or cannot construct a coherent sentence.

All you need to know is that this is a vital piece of American culture that should be viewed by everyone. What is most profound about this film is that, while about the poverty-stricken black experience in Los Angeles, it is NOT about race. It is not about injustice in the political system. It is not about socioeconomic conditions.

This film is about humanity, and it's so refreshing to see an artist work at this level; with no axe to grind, no sacred cows to slaughter.

The ending is so profoundly beautiful, that it nearly brings me to tears remembering it.

See it. Now.

Brutus

Echo Detained

DVD Review: A visual poem
Summary: 4 Stars

Shot in the early 1970s in Watts as Charles Burnett's MFA master's thesis and later hailed by critics as a masterpiece, it has never been released theatrically until now. Lovingly restored, it is a profound visual poem depicting poverty and listlessness among urban African-Americans, both timeless and perfectly expressing its time. Burnett shot the film himself, and dozens of the images he captured caught my breath with their off-kilter candor.

Description of Killer of Sheep: The Charles Burnett Collection

One of the 100 Essential Films. -National Society of Film Critics

DVD Details: USA, 1977, 80 minutes, B&W, Region 0, NTSC, In English; Special Features of this 2-disc deluxe box set: KILLER OF SHEEP commentary track with Charles Burnett and the Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Richard Pe?a; KILLER OF SHEEP cast reunion video by Ross Lipman (who restored the film); KILLER OF SHEEP trailer; Burnett's second feature, MY BROTHER'S WEDDING (1984. Color. In English. Starring Everett Silas and Jessie Holmes): the original 115-minute cut and the director's 82-minute cut; three rediscovered short films: SEVERAL FRIENDS (1969. 23 minutes.), THE HORSE (1973. 13 minutes.), and WHEN IT RAINS (1995. 13 minutes.); the new short on Hurricane Katrina, QUIET AS KEPT (2007. 5 minutes.); and liner notes by film critic Armond White.

A masterpiece of African American filmmaking and one of the finest debuts in cinema history, KILLER OF SHEEP was chosen for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. In the Los Angeles community of Watts, Stan, a sensitive dreamer, is growing detached and numb from the toll of working at a slaughterhouse. Frustrated by money problems, he finds respite in moments of simple beauty: the warmth of a teacup against his cheek, slow dancing with his wife, holding his daughter. Combining lyrical moments with neorealist style, Burnett unfolds his story with compassion and humor. KILLER OF SHEEP's haunting images and extraordinary soundtrack are a revelation in this new high-definition transfer from the UCLA Film & Television Archive's brilliant 35mm restoration.

View the trailer here: http://www.killerofsheep.com/trailer.html.

The 2-disc special edition also includes an additional full-length feature (original release & director's cut), MY BROTHER'S WEDDING: When MY BROTHER'S WEDDING was rushed to a festival screening before the director could make his final cut, it received mixed reviews and was never released - denying audiences the chance to discover Burnett's remarkable second feature. The film critic Armond White called this 'a catastrophic blow to the development of American popular culture.' Revisited decades later, following restoration by the Pacific Film Archive and a complete re-edit by Burnett, MY BROTHER'S WEDDING proves to be funny, heartbreaking and timeless. Pierce Mundy works at his parents' South Central dry cleaners with no prospects for the future - his childhood buddies are all in prison or dead. With his best friend just getting out of jail and his brother busy planning a wedding to a snooty upper-middle-class black woman, Pierce navigates his conflicting obligations while trying to figure out what he really wants.

A treasure that demands to be unearthed in all its funny-sad tenderness. - Village Voice

Astonishing! Marvelous and rare... Humorous, loving and honest, devoid of either condescension or political posturing... An indelible reminder of what real independence looks like. - A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Never less than engrossing! As ever, it's a joy to look at and listen to: Burnett's movies are quite unlike anyone else's. - Time Out New York

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