Killer of Sheep (1978)

“Man, I ain’t poor. Look, I give away things to the Salvation Army; you can’t give away nothin’ to Salvation Army if you poor. I mean, we may not have a damn thing sometimes – you wanna see somebody that’s poor? Now, you go around and look at Walters. Now, he be sittin’ over a oven, and, and with nothin’ but a coat on, and, and sittin’ around there rubbin’ their knees all day and eatin’ nothin’ but wild greens picked out of a vacant lot. Now, that ain’t me… and damn sure won’t be. ” – Stan

Number of Times Seen – 1 (18 Oct 2021)

Brief Synopsis – A worker in a Watts slaughterhouse takes a look at his life and tries to find a way to make a change.

My Take on it – Intriguing look at the life of a “simple” man living in Watts.

The story gives the viewer a very intimate view of his life and lifestyle and things are shot in a way that makes it all seem even more realistic since the story arc is almost non-existent; instead there seems to be a documentary feel for the way things play out.

The characters are all presented in a very realistic manner which helps add to the power of the story since it seems more and more as everything that is happening could be based on reality.

The film fails to develop any of the characters in a real manner tho and that hurts things a bit because it doesn’t allow for the viewer to get even closer on a more emotional level with the way it all moves along.

Some of the scene sin the slaughterhouse are quite vivid and give a very clear impression of what this kind of work entails.

Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The Library of Congress has declared “Killer of Sheep” as a national treasure and one of the first fifty on the National Film Registry. The National Society of Film Critics selected it as one of the “100 Essential Films” of all time. However, since the film was made without the proper legal permits and rights acquisition (due to the expense of the music rights) the film was never shown theatrically or made available on video. It had only been seen on poor quality 16mm prints at a scant few museums and film festivals. Thirty years after it’s premiere the new 35mm print of Killer of Sheep was brilliantly restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive. In addition, all rights were secured for the music, allowing the film to be shown on the film festival circuit, theaters, and nationally broadcast by Turner Classic Movies. The film is also available on DVD. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)