Charles Burnett’s iconic film Killer of Sheep has released a new theatrical trailer for its 4K restoration.

      Just last week, we featured an interview with the legendary Charles Burnett, whose 1999 film The Annihilation of Fish has been revived and is now being released in theaters. This spring, Kino Lorber will also be giving another of his newly restored films a theatrical release in collaboration with Milestone Films. Burnett's pivotal 1977 film Killer of Sheep, created as his thesis project at UCLA, has been newly restored in 4K and is set to debut on April 18 at NYC’s Film Forum. This new 4K restoration also reintroduces the complete original soundtrack, including the closing song performed by Dinah Washington, “Unforgettable.”

      Here’s the synopsis: “The narrative follows Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders), a slaughterhouse worker who is exhausted and feels estranged from his wife, his children, and himself. Stan and his neighbors are struggling to survive, with the children, who leap from roof to roof, seeming to possess a mobility that their elders lack. Burnett’s film portrays daily life within Black communities in a way that is seldom depicted in American cinema—blending lyrical elements with a stark neorealistic, documentary-style approach that combines profound nuance with compelling simplicity. Burnett once remarked about the film, ‘[Stan’s] real problems lie within the family, trying to make that work and be a human being. You don’t necessarily win battles; you survive.'”

      Here are the details regarding the restoration: “Killer of Sheep has been digitally restored to 4K and remastered by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, Milestone Films, and the Criterion Collection. Picture Restoration was handled by Illuminate Hollywood. Photochemical Film Preservation was done by the Film Technology Company. The sound mix and restoration were accomplished by John Polito of Audio Mechanics and Larry Blake. Audio transfers were done by DJ Audio and Endpoint Audio Labs. Music rights were managed by Chris Robertson, Global ImageWorks, and Milestone Films. The restoration was supervised by Ross Lipman and Jillian Borders in consultation with Charles Burnett. An earlier photochemical restoration received funding from the Ahmanson Foundation in association with the Sundance Institute. The film was preserved from the original 16mm B&W negative A and B rolls, the original 35mm three-track master sound mix, and the original 16mm master mix. The Film Technology Company enlarged the film to 35mm. Sound restoration and transfer services were provided by John Polito of Audio Mechanics and Peter Oreckinto of DJ Audio. The UCLA Film & Television Archive extends special thanks to Charles Burnett, the Stanford Theatre Foundation Film Preservation Center, and YCM Laboratories.”

      You can watch the new trailer and view the poster below.