Killer of Sheep
A weary slaughterhouse worker drifts through South Los Angeles while family devotion and neighborhood pressures test his capacity for tenderness and moral resistance.
Overview
A poignant exploration of life’s struggles in a gritty urban landscape.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- melancholic
- contemplative
- witty
- reflective evening
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a humane, formally ambitious, and culturally significant portrait of inner-city working-class life.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Burnett combines on-location Los Angeles shooting and mostly nonprofessional actors with Italian neorealist influences.
Stan's slaughterhouse labor, family interactions, neighborhood errands, and minor exchanges form the film's dramatic substance.
The soundtrack places songs by Dinah Washington, Paul Robeson, Louis Armstrong, and Earth, Wind and Fire against images of labor and urban hardship.
Stan's family and South Los Angeles community are observed with tenderness, humor, and attention to their daily pressures.
Films like Killer of Sheep, and why
Bicycle Thieves
shared italian neorealist influence, documentary aesthetic, working-class hardship, and humane attention to ordinary lives
Street of Shame
shared black-and-white social realism, intimate family tensions, neighborhood detail, and naturalistic performances
Wanda
shared contemplative pacing, working-class domestic drama, nonprofessional acting, and compassionate observation
Bush Mama
shared l.a. setting, independent filmmaking, community-centered storytelling, and understated emotional realism
Movie Details
- Director
- Charles Burnett
- Release Date
- 1978-11-14
- Runtime
- 80 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (152)
Cast
- Henry G. Sanders
- Kaycee Moore
- Charles Bracy
- Angela Burnett
- Eugene Cherry
- Jack Drummond
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Killer of Sheep about?
- A weary slaughterhouse worker drifts through South Los Angeles while family devotion and neighborhood pressures test his capacity for tenderness and moral resistance.
- What is Killer of Sheep like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Killer of Sheep as slow, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Killer of Sheep violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Killer of Sheep as moderate.
- What did critics think of Killer of Sheep?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a humane, formally ambitious, and culturally significant portrait of inner-city working-class life.
- Which films are like Killer of Sheep?
- Films with a similar feel include Bicycle Thieves, Street of Shame, Wanda, and Bush Mama.
- How long is Killer of Sheep?
- Killer of Sheep runs 80 minutes.
- Where can I watch Killer of Sheep?
- In United States, Killer of Sheep streams on Kino Film Collection.
