NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD / Blu-ray (May 2025): Criterion have transferred Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep to Blu-ray and 4K UHD. Both are cited as being from a "New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Charles Burnett" and for the 4K UHD package: "One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features".

Like 4K UHD transfers of The Long Wait, I, the Jury, and many others below, Criterion's 2160P transfer of Killer of Sheep does not have HDR applied (no HDR10, HDR10+, nor Dolby Vision.) We have seen many other 4K UHD transfers without HDR; Mondo Macabro's Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf, Cult Film's Django 4K UHD, Umbrella's 4K UHD transfer of Peter Weir's The Last Wave and Criterion's 4K UHD transfers of Chungking Express, Winchester '73, The Mother and the Whore, I Am Cuba, The Others, Rules of the Game, Branded to Kill, In the Mood For Love, Night of the Living Dead and further examples, Masters of Cinema's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Kino's 4K UHDs of Bob le Flambeur, Last Year at Marienbad, Nostalghia, The Apartment, For a Few Dollars More, A Fistful of Dollars, In the Heat of the Night, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, as well as Koch Media's Neon Demon + one of the 4K UHD transfers of Dario Argento's Suspiria.

While we are in possession of the 4K UHD disc, we cannot resolve the encode yet, and therefore, cannot obtain screen captures. We hope to add to this review at some point in the future. So, the below captures are from Criterion's 2025 1080P Blu-ray transfer.

Back in 2008 we compared the Milestone and BFI DVDs of Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep, HERE. Comparatively this 4K restoration offers a significant leap in clarity and contrast. The earlier releases, while groundbreaking for its time, suffered from the limitations of standard definition. The new digital releases has more information in the frame, rich grayscale, consistent grain textures, and more subtle contrast layering. The 16mm origins (35mm blow-up) mean the image can’t match the razor-sharp clarity of modern 4K restorations. Some shots remain soft due to the original cinematography, but this is a minor quibble given the source material’s constraints. The image is free of significant scratches or splices, a marked improvement over earlier releases. There are even instances of depth in the frame. The new HD presentation - "Digital Film Restoration (2025) from Illuminate Hollywood Photochemical supervised by Ross Lipman and Jillian Borders in consultation with Charles Burnett" - is a revelation.

NOTE: We have added 56 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray and 4K UHD, Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Killer of Sheep's evocative audio - comprising a soulful soundtrack, ambient sounds, and naturalistic dialogue - create a raw, poetic portrait of African-American life in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. The film captures the ambient texture of the neighborhood - children’s laughter, barking dogs, distant train whistles, and the hum of traffic. These sounds, recorded on location with basic equipment, evoke the rhythm of daily life, from the chaos of kids playing to the quiet of Stan’s home. The slaughterhouse is particularly striking, with the bleating of sheep, the clank of machinery, and the squelch of blood creating a visceral, unsettling atmosphere that parallels Stan’s emotional grind. The soundtrack of Killer of Sheep is a cornerstone of its emotional and thematic impact, featuring an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, spirituals, and classical music that serves as both a cultural archive and a narrative chorus. Curated by Burnett, the music was a significant hurdle for the film’s release due to costly rights clearances, delaying wide distribution until 2007. The soundtrack includes iconic tracks like Dinah Washington’s “This Bitter Earth,” played during Stan and his wife’s slow dance, its lyrics (“What good is love / That no one shares”) mirroring their strained intimacy. Paul Robeson’s “The House I Live In” and “Going Home” evoke resilience and spiritual longing, while Etta James’s “I’d Rather Go Blind” underscores moments of loss. Spirituals like “Jesus Gave Me Water” and classical pieces, such as Rachmaninoff’s piano works, add unexpected depth, juxtaposing high culture with working-class struggle. Music is often diegetic, emanating from radios or record players in Stan’s home, grounding it in the characters’ world. Non-diegetic tracks, like “This Bitter Earth,” amplify emotional beats, acting as a lyrical commentary on the action. The eclectic mix reflects Watts’ cultural richness, countering its material poverty, and aligns with the L.A. Rebellion’s emphasis on Black artistic heritage. The music elevates the film’s vignettes into a cohesive emotional arc, providing soulful resonance that complements the visual poetry. The uncompressed monaural soundtrack is a faithful and pristine restoration, maximizing the potential of the original mono mix. It delivers clear dialogue, soulful music, and evocative effects, immersing viewers in the film’s world while preserving its raw, lo-fi authenticity. For a 1970s independent film, the audio quality is exemplary. Criterion offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray and Region FREE 4K UHD.

The Criterion Blu-ray and 4K UHD offer the previous audio commentary that pairs Burnett with Richard Peña, a Columbia University film professor and former program director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The track is a scholarly yet accessible deep dive, with Burnett reflecting on the film’s production challenges (e.g., the $10,000 budget, shooting in Watts) and Peña providing historical context on the L.A. Rebellion and neorealist influences. Burnett shares anecdotes, like casting non-actors from his community, while Peña analyzes thematic elements, such as the slaughterhouse as a metaphor for systemic oppression. The commentary is insightful, balancing personal reflection with academic analysis. It’s particularly valuable for understanding Burnett’s intentions and the film’s place in Black cinema history, though some may find Peña’s scholarly tone a bit dry compared to Burnett’s warmth. The Criterion release includes a robust slate of special features on the Blu-ray disc, offering deep insights into the film’s creation, context, and legacy. In a 2025, 13-minute, interview, Burnett discusses the 4K restoration process, his initial motivations for making the film as a UCLA thesis project, and its delayed recognition due to music rights issues. He reflects on the L.A. Rebellion’s mission to create authentic Black narratives and shares how Watts’ post-1965 riots landscape shaped the film’s aesthetic. The interview is concise but packed with insights, offering a contemporary perspective from the now-82-year-old filmmaker. Henry Gayle Sanders, who played Stan, recounts his experience, for 17-minutes, as a non-actor cast by Burnett, a friend from UCLA. He discusses the emotional toll of embodying Stan’s despair, the improvisational nature of the shoot, and the film’s impact on his career (later roles include Selma, 2014). Sanders’ warmth and humility shine through, making this a heartfelt companion to Burnett’s interview. Both interviews are engaging and complementary, providing personal perspectives from the director and lead actor. Barry Jenkins (of the brilliant Underground Railroad,) a vocal admirer of Burnett, delivers a passionate 20-minute video essay on Killer of Sheep’s influence. Jenkins highlights the film’s poetic visuals, its rejection of Hollywood stereotypes, and its impact on his own work, particularly in depicting Black interiority. He analyzes key scenes, like the “This Bitter Earth” dance, and praises Burnett’s ability to find beauty in struggle, drawing parallels to his own filmmaking ethos (Medicine for Melancholy, If Beale Street Could Talk and Moonlight.) Jenkins’ appreciation is both personal and analytical, offering a modern filmmaker’s perspective on the film’s enduring relevance. His eloquence and deep admiration make this a standout feature, especially for viewers interested in the film’s influence on contemporary Black cinema. Included are two short films by Charles Burnett previously available on the DVD editions. Several Friends is from 1969. This early short, made while Burnett was at UCLA, is a precursor to Killer of Sheep, featuring a loosely structured narrative about Black friends in Watts navigating daily life, from casual conversations to a car repair mishap. Shot in 16mm black-and-white, it shares Killer of Sheep’s neorealist style, with naturalistic performances and a focus on community dynamics. The restoration quality is solid, though the image is softer than the main feature, reflecting its age and budget. The second short is The Horse from 1973. A more allegorical work, this short depicts a Black boy and his father waiting to mercy-kill an injured horse on a rural farm, observed by white landowners. The film explores themes of labor, race, and empathy, with haunting visuals and sparse dialogue. The Horse also offers Burnett’s new introduction that briefly contextualizes the film’s origins, noting its personal significance and its exploration of moral dilemmas. The restoration is crisp for a 16mm short, with clear audio preserving the ambient sounds (e.g., wind, horse whinnies.) These shorts provide crucial context for Burnett’s evolution as a filmmaker, showcasing his early experimentation with neorealism and social commentary. Several Friends feels like a rough draft for Killer of Sheep, while The Horse reveals Burnett’s range with its symbolic depth. Included is a 19-minute excerpt is from interviews conducted in 2010 by film scholars Jacqueline Stewart, Allyson Nadia Field, and Jan-Christopher Horak as part of the UCLA LA Rebellion Oral History Project. Stewart’s voice is the primary off-screen interviewer. In the segment, Burnett discusses the L.A. Rebellion’s ethos, his experiences at UCLA, and the making of Killer of Sheep. He reflects on the movement’s goal to create authentic Black narratives, the influence of Third Cinema, and the challenges of shooting in Watts, including casting non-actors and securing locations. This excerpt provides a scholarly perspective on the L.A. Rebellion, with Stewart’s probing questions eliciting thoughtful responses from Burnett. It’s particularly illuminating for understanding the movement’s historical context and Burnett’s role within it, complementing the new interviews with a more academic lens. A Walk with Charles Burnett is a 2019 documentary by Robert Townsend running just shy of an hour. A text screen explains that the term “LA Rebellion” was coined by film writer Clyde Taylor in 1986 during a Whitney Museum series in New York, which spotlighted Black filmmakers’ transformative works that reimagined Black representation in cinema, defying Hollywood norms. Many of these artists were UCLA students or alumni, dubbed the “LA Rebellion” by Taylor. The documentary, directed by Robert Townsend (Hollywood Shuffle, 1987), follows Burnett through Los Angeles, visiting key locations like Watts and UCLA. Burnett shares stories about his upbringing, the L.A. Rebellion, and his filmmaking philosophy, interspersed with clips from his works and interviews with peers like Julie Dash. This documentary is a comprehensive portrait of Burnett, blending biography, history, and cinematic analysis. Townsend’s conversational style makes it engaging, while the focus on physical locations grounds Burnett’s story in a tangible sense of place. It’s a fitting centerpiece for the extras, offering a broader view of Burnett’s career beyond Killer of Sheep. Cast Reunion from 2007 runs 6-minutes. A text screen details that the Milestone release of the restored Killer of Sheep opened at the NuArt cinema in Los Angeles on April 7th, 2007. Before the screening, cast members Henry G. Sanders and Charles Bracy reunited with Kaycee Moore at the Dolores Coffee Shop in Santa Monica. The video captures Kaycee arriving with her son and a friend, discussing the dance scene with Sanders, with the conversation resuming later as she talks with actor Nate Hardman. This short featurette, that was on the initial Milestone DVD, captures a heartfelt reunion, with Sanders, Moore, and Bracy reflecting on their experiences filming Killer of Sheep. The casual coffee shop setting adds warmth, though the video’s brevity limits deeper exploration. The later segment with Nate Hardman, who had a minor role, provides additional context. The reunion offers a rare glimpse of the cast’s chemistry and reflections 30 years later, adding a personal touch to the release. It’s a nostalgic, if brief, addition that fans will appreciate. Lastly is a trailer and the package has an essay Danielle Amir Jackson, a critic known for her work on Black culture and cinema. The essay explores Killer of Sheep’s thematic depth - poverty, resilience, and Black interiority - and its place within the L.A. Rebellion. Jackson draws on contemporary perspectives, linking the film’s depiction of systemic oppression to ongoing social issues, while praising Burnett’s poetic humanism.

Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep alternates between Stan’s (Henry G. Sanders) personal struggles - his insomnia, strained marriage, and financial woes - and broader glimpses of his community, including children playing in vacant lots, friends scheming to make ends meet, and neighbors grappling with despair. These vignettes, often non-chronological, create a mosaic-like portrait of daily life, with recurring motifs (e.g., sheep imagery, broken machinery) tying the fragments together. The lack of a traditional narrative arc reflects the cyclical, unchanging nature of poverty and systemic oppression, emphasizing mood and texture over dramatic resolution. The Criterion Collection’s 2025 4K UHD is a definitive presentation of this seminal work of American independent cinema and a cornerstone of the L.A. Rebellion film movement. This dual-format release, featuring a 4K UHD disc and a Blu-ray disc with the film and an extensive array of special features, showcases a meticulous restoration approved by Burnett himself. The enhanced detail and rich grayscale make the film’s poetic visuals more immersive than ever, while respecting its raw, neorealist roots. This is the best the film has ever looked, a fitting tribute to Burnett’s vision and a must-see for fans and newcomers alike. Our highest recommendation.

Gary Tooze