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Shp the just
BURNE1T REFUSED TO SHOW NEGATIVE
Kaleem Aftab celebrates the films of African American cinema's greatest
unknown filmmaker Charles Burnett
oogle Charles Burnett’s name and you will
come across ecstatic proclamations such as 3
‘considered one of America’s greatest
filmmakers’. That may come as a shock to the many 5 who have never heard of the African American 3
filmmaker or seen any of his films.
So, if this guy is so good why isn’t he as famous as Spike Lee or mentioned in the same breath as Scorsese and Spielberg? The answer is also the reason Burnett is so admired by his fans — he makes small, lyrical films that are slices of African- American life that rarely branch into melodrama and feel so close to reality that it’s often hard to believe that they’re really non-narrative.
While Scorsese often talks about his love of Italian post-war movies in interviews. it’s actually Burnett who has come closest to transplanting the lyricism of ltalian-neo-realism to American soil, successfully mixing the aesthetic of European arthouse with the cross-class African—American experience.
The quintessential Charles Burnett film is his 1977 UCLA graduation film Killer ofSheep. Despite being chosen by the National Society of Film Critics as one of the ‘100 Essential Films’ and winning the critics’ award at the 198] Berlin Film Festival, Killer of Sheep has been a hidden gem because of problems securing the music rights to the songs featured in it.
It was also available only on a 16mm print until 2007. That was when the music rights were finally secured — although the song in the final scene was changed from Dinah Washington’s ‘Unforgettable’ to ‘This Bitter Earth’ — and a 35mm film made. Now
26 THE LIST 21 Aug—4 Sep 2008
Scottish audiences will finally get a chance to see the film that established Burnett as a filmmaker to watch.
It was Burnett. not Spike Lee, who first started telling stories of the African-American middle class as a rebuke to the stereotypical black characters , found in blaxploitation movies. But his 1985 film '
My Brother’s Wedding was not nearly as popular as Lee’s She '3' Gotta Have It. released a year later, and Burnett was destined to remain in the shadows.
Attempting a comeback in I990, Burnett put '
Danny Glover in To Sleep with Anger, but the
resulting film left many critics wondering whether j
Killer of Sheep was a fluke. Throughout the 90s.
Burnett continued to make non-confrontational films with a realist perspective that never progressed to the ;
mainstream.
The director complained that his refusal to show ,
negative images of black people in his films ensured
that he lost out to in-vogue filmmakers such as John
Boy: n The Hood Singleton.
Critically, at least, Burnett enjoyed a return to form '
with 1994’s The Glass Shield, but the film’s box— office failure forced him into making TV movies,
LIST
THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES
>i<
II: Her Name is Sabine French actress Sandrine Bonnaire‘s sensitive but powerful portrait of her autistic sister Sabine. Bonnaire examines the compromises that have been made by all involved in Sabine’s care and the failures of the French health service to deal with people they view as ‘psychologically infantile’. See review, page 28. GFT, Glasgow, Fri 22—Mon 25 Aug.
# Killer of Sheep Slaughterhouse blues, Los Angeles style. Charles Burnett’s admired but little seen 1977 portrayal of the black urban experience finally emerges from obscurity on a 35mm print. See preview, left and Also Released, page 29. Fi/mhouse. Edinburgh, Fri 22-Mon 25 Aug. =5: Mad Detective Likeably deranged Hong Kong policier that nicely juxtaposes an insane but supernaturally gifted detective and his serial killer prey. See review, page 29. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 29—Sun 37 Aug.
=3: Akira Kurosawa Fantastic season of 13 films from master Japanese filmmaker kicks off with brilliant King Lear adaptation Ran. Fi/mhouse. Edinburgh, Fri 22- Thu 28 Aug. =5: Badlands Lovely new print of Terrence Malick’s 1973 killing spree romancer with Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. See Also Released, page 29. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 29 Aug—Thu 4 Sep.
*- The Dark Knight Batman finally comes of age in this remarkable if overlong crime thriller. Try and catch it on IMAX in Glasgow if you can, it’s an awesome experience. Out now
such as The Wedding, starring Halle Berry, and Selma. Lord, Selma. : Ultimately however, it’s not by looking at his CV I that you’ll find the reason Burnett is considered one of the great filmmakers, it’s by watching Killer of Sheep, a work of’ almost unbearable beauty.
on general release.
* The Producers Mel
Brooks‘ 1968 comedy musical
classic gets a great new DVD
, release with a ton of great
I extras. See review, page 30. Out Mon 25 Aug (Optimum).
Killer of Sheep, Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Frl 22 to Mon 25 Aug.