Charles Burnett

Episode notes

This week on Bullseye, we talk to filmmaker Charles Burnett. He’s been making films since he was a student in the 70s. Burnett wrote and directed one of his most famous films, Killer of Sheep, as part of his Masters’ thesis at UCLA Film School. It was never a blockbuster, but the influence of Killer of Sheep has lasted decades. Now, it’s in the Criterion Collection and the Library of Congress.

Killer of Sheep is set in Watts, Los Angeles. It follows a handful of people who live there, including Stan, a more or less regular guy who works at a local slaughter house. It’s shot in black and white – reminiscent of Italian classics like Bicycle Thieves and the work of Roberto Rosselini and Federico Fellini.

Burnett has gone on to make a bunch of other great films such as: To Sleep With Anger, starring Danny Glover; The Glass Shield, a 90s crime drama with Ice Cube; and, in 1999, the Annihilation of Fish, which has just been restored.

The Annihilation of Fish stars James Earl Jones and Lynn Redgrave as Fish and Poinsettia, respectively. Fish and Poinsettia are seniors. Fish believes he’s being followed around by a literal demon. Poinsettia believes she’s in love with a literal ghost. It’s a romance.

In our conversation, Charles Burnett talks about representing communities authentically, the tension of studying at UCLA and living in South Central, and his regrets about the roof-jumping scene in Killer of Sheep.