Killer of Sheep
Directed by Charles Burnett • 1977 • United States
Starring Henry Gayle Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy
A quiet revelation of American independent filmmaking, Charles Burnett’s lyrical debut feature unfolds as a mosaic of Black life in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, where Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders), a father worn down by his job in a slaughterhouse, and his wife (Kaycee Moore) seek moments of tenderness in the face of myriad disappointments. Equally attuned to the world of children and that of adults, Burnett—acting as director, writer, producer, cinematographer, and editor—finds poetry amid everyday struggles in indelible images that glow with compassionate beauty. Largely unseen for decades following its completion in 1977, KILLER OF SHEEP is now recognized as a touchstone of the groundbreaking LA Rebellion movement, and a masterpiece that brought Black American lives to the screen with an aching intimacy like no film before.
KILLER OF SHEEP was restored and remastered by UCLA Film & Television Archive, Milestone Films, and the Criterion Collection.
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Killer of Sheep
Directed by Charles Burnett • 1977 • United States
Starring Henry Gayle Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles BracyA quiet revelation of American independent filmmaking, Charles Burnett’s lyrical debut feature unfolds as a mosaic of Black life in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, where Stan (Henr...
Extras
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KILLER OF SHEEP Commentary
This commentary track, recorded in 2007, features director Charles Burnett and film scholar Richard Peña.
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Charles Burnett Interview, 2025
In this interview, conducted in 2025, Charles Burnett looks back on KILLER OF SHEEP—his thesis film for UCLA—and what inspires him as a director.
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Henry Gayle Sanders
In this interview, conducted in 2025, actor Henry Gayle Sanders recalls portraying Stan in KILLER OF SHEEP and filming on location in Watts, Los Angeles.
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Barry Jenkins on KILLER OF SHEEP
This interview with filmmaker Barry Jenkins was recorded in 2025.
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Several Friends
Directed by Charles Burnett • 1969 • United States
Charles Burnett’s first film already displays the director’s neorealist, poetry-of-the-everyday style as it follows a group of friends over the course of an aimless day in Los Angeles.
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Charles Burnett on THE HORSE
This interview with Charles Burnett was recorded in 2025.
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LA Rebellion Oral History Project
These excerpts from oral histories, recorded in 2010, feature director Charles Burnett in conversation with film scholar Jacqueline Stewart. They discuss the LA Rebellion: a pivotal period, beginning in the late 1960s, when the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television brought together filmmak...
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A Walk with Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett is an unsung master of American cinema who led the way for black independent filmmakers to tell their stories on-screen with poetic-realist revelations like KILLER OF SHEEP and TO SLEEP WITH ANGER. In this original documentary, Burnett joins another trailblazing African American d...
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Cast Reunion
This short documentary was recorded in 2007 after a Los Angeles screening of KILLER OF SHEEP.
