---
title: "Killer of Sheep: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/killer-of-sheep/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/killer-of-sheep"
critics_score: 88
critics_reviews: 13
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Killer of Sheep (1978): what the critics said

Critics' score 88 from 13 reviews: 13 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative.

The consensus is firmly positive: all thirteen reviews praise Charles Burnett’s patient, unsentimental account of working-class Black life in Watts. Critics repeatedly single out the black-and-white photography, the natural dialogue and the attention paid to children’s play and adults’ daily pressures. Music is another point of agreement, with the dance to Dinah Washington’s ‘This Bitter Earth’ frequently cited as a scene of particular emotional force. The praise centres on how much the film finds in ordinary incidents without forcing them into melodrama.

The differences are chiefly in the degree of enthusiasm, rather than competing readings of the film. The AV Club acknowledges some amateurish acting while praising the photography and dialogue. The episodic, largely plotless structure attracts little resistance across the reviews; critics generally treat its looseness as essential to the observation of everyday life. There is no substantial negative dissent in this selection.

## Time Out — Melissa Anderson

Rating 5/5. 10 September 2012. 

The film is one of cinema's greatest evocations of everyday life, capturing quotidian details of children at play, a man’s emotional withdrawal, and the insidious effects of poverty in Watts. It singles out the resonant use of songs that enhance scenes, such as Dinah Washington’s “This Bitter Earth” during a dance and slaughterhouse work.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/killer-of-sheep)

## IndieWire — Chris Wisniewski

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 March 2007. 

The critic celebrates the long-overdue theatrical re-release of Burnett's landmark film as a homecoming for an essential work of American independent cinema. He highlights its quiet, observational power in depicting everyday Black life in Watts without sentimentality or agenda.

[Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-homecoming-charles-burnetts-killer-of-sheep-74880/)

## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 6 April 2007. 

Turan marvels at the film's enduring power three decades later, praising the naturalness of its episodic structure and indelible moments such as the slow-dance scene set to Dinah Washington.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-apr-06-et-killer6-story.html)

## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 June 2025. 

The critic calls Killer of Sheep a 1977 masterpiece that offers an unpretentious, matter-of-fact yet totemic vision of Black life in Watts, distinct from more commercial portrayals. He singles out its poetic rhythm, humanist essence, and the restored soundtrack's closing use of Dinah Washington's 'Unforgettable' for particular praise in the Criterion 4K edition.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/killer-of-sheep-4k-uhd-blu-ray-review-charles-burnett/)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 June 2008. 

The critic calls it a brilliant low-budget masterpiece of unforced, vernacular movie-making and a hidden gem. The free-wheeling cinematography, improvised dialogue and serendipitous scenes are singled out for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/jun/20/filmandmusic1.filmandmusic29)

## The New Yorker — Richard Brody

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 April 2010. 

Brody calls the restored film a stunning revelation and one of cinema's great debuts, highlighting its exquisite use of lived music and the mercurial emotional depth it evokes from everyday particulars.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/dvd-of-the-week-killer-of-sheep)

## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 March 2007. 

Dargis hails the film as an American masterpiece, commending Burnett's visual compositions that evoke photographers like Helen Levitt and Robert Frank along with its neo-realist authenticity.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/movies/30kill.html)

## The Times — Ed Potton

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 19 June 2008. 

The critic recommends it as an example of combining contemplation and authenticity, praising the documentary naturalism, non-actor cast and potent black-and-white photography with a transcendent soundtrack.

[Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/the-killer-of-sheep-x3xm9fqprkf)

## Evening Standard

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. 

The critic hails Charles Burnett's debut as one of the least known great modern American movies and a masterpiece of black independent cinema. It singles out the film's fractured images and melancholy poetry as especially resonant and relevant.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-great-lost-american-move-7407447.html)

## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 29 July 2007. 

Ebert praises the film's poetic observation of ordinary daily life in a Watts family, noting its portrayal of quiet nobility amid poverty and the central role of its carefully chosen music.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-killer-of-sheep-1977)

## The AV Club — Noel Murray

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 November 2007. 

The review praises the restored film's striking black-and-white photography and authentic, often funny dialogue that rings true to working-class life. It notes the episodic, plotless structure effectively captures poignant everyday incidents while acknowledging some amateurish acting.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/killer-of-sheep-my-brothers-wedding-1798203380)

## Eye for Film — Jeff Robson

Rating ★★★★★. 15 May 2008. 

The critic hails the restored 1977 film as a profound, lyrical masterpiece that overturns expectations of 1970s Black American cinema by depicting ordinary life with warmth, humanity and dignity rather than cliché or polemic. It singles out the small, observed vignettes, the eclectic soundtrack evoking historical struggle, and the moving dance scene to Dinah Washington's 'This Bitter Earth' as emblematic of its meditative, uplifting power.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/killer-of-sheep-film-review-by-jeff-robson)

## Paste — Garret Martin

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 June 2025. 

The review praises Charles Burnett’s 1978 film as a masterful, unsentimental slice-of-life portrait of working-class Black America in Watts that avoids melodrama and captures human performances and children’s private worlds with precision. It highlights the film’s documentary-like power, minimalism reminiscent of Bresson, and Altman-esque naturalism, calling it a true classic now more accessible via the new Criterion 4K edition.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/physical-specimens/new-4k-reviews-killer-of-sheep)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/killer-of-sheep.md