Killer of Sheep played at a handful of colleges and festivals before receiving the Critics’ Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1981. In 1990, the Library of Congress declared the film a national treasure and placed it among the first 50 films inducted in the National Film Registry for their historical significance. In 2002, the National Society of Film Critics selected the film as one of the 100 essential films of all time.

Despite these accolades, Killer of Sheep never saw widespread commercial distribution due to the expense of the clearing of the music rights to the songs featured on the film’s soundtrack. Now, over 45 years after its initial release, the film has been restored and remastered by UCLA Film & Television Archive, Milestone Films, and the Criterion Collection for a new life on the big screen.

In Watts, an urban and mostly African-American section of Los Angeles, Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders), employed at a slaughterhouse, is suffering from the emotional side effects of his bloody occupation to such a degree that his entire life unhinges.

Reviews
"Killer of Sheep may be heralded as a document and testament of black cinema." – TIME

"A masterpiece of unforced, vernacular movie-making." – The Guardian

"This may be Mr. Burnett’s most radical truth-telling." – The New York Times