Killer Of Sheep DVD – Kaycee Moore, Eugene Cherry 

Low-budget, realist feature drama, recently rediscovered and restored, from acclaimed African-American director Charles Burnett. Stan (Henry G Sanders) is a gentle dreamer whose job at a slaughterhouse is starting to take a toll on his psyche. On top of the pressures of his work, he’s also beset by financial problems. Despite these trials, he still manages to find respite and solace in life’s simpler pleasures – slow dancing with his wife (Kaycee Moore), embracing his daughter (Angela Burnett), the feel of a warm cup of coffee when he holds it against his cheek. The film offers no quick fix; it presents Stan’s life as it is – sometimes bleak, sometimes filled with joy and humour.

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 and named one of the 100 Essential Films by the National Society of Film Critics. 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.