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KILLER OF SHEEP is a micro-budget student thesis project shot in black and white on 16MM film. If you're still reading, you just might be the target audience for this brilliant work, which manages to be hopeful, depressing, joyous, disheartening, funny, sad, and ultimately insightful about the Black experience in America.

The film is set over a few days in Watts, CA. It centers around a Black couple who are struggling to make a comfortable life for their children and themselves. The man of the house works at a slaughterhouse, and it's clear by his facial expressions while at work that he'd rather be doing something (anything?) else for a living. We also get to know his wife, their kids, their friends, and the other Watts residents they encounter. The scenes with the neighborhood kids playing are particularly enjoyable (and cinematic), as we see them play in dirt, around a train, and anywhere they can derive entertainment without money. Their happiness-filled game-playing serves as a stark contrast to the main couple's frustrations with living in near-squalor; the wife seems particularly depressed about her difficulties in providing for her family much of the time.

While this subject matter may sound equally as alienating as the film's aesthetic, there are a number of scenes that are dynamic, romantic, and even hilarious (a scene with the leading man and his pal selling an old motor to a man who is infatuated with his own hair had me laughing heartily).

Writer/director Charles Burnett was one of the driving forces behind the L. A. Rebellion cinema movement, and KILLER OF SHEEP was one of the first feature-length offerings born of it. While there are other fine L. A. Rebellion films, KILLER OF SHEEP remains my favorite. After about a dozen screenings, it continues to call me back, and it never fails to impress me profoundly on a number of levels. Those who find it difficult - or impossible - to connect with movies that display no Hollywood-style storytelling tropes will probably jump ship long before the closing credits, but if you are looking for one of the key staples of Black cinema, or if you tend to champion "arthouse" films, you'll want to prioritize seeing this highly praised gem.

NOTE: If after seeing KILLER OF SHEEP you find yourself craving more, I highly recommend the following L. A. Rebellion films: PASSING THROUGH (1977), BUSH MAMA (1979), and BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS (1983). There are other feature films in the movement that are worth seeing, as well as a good many short films, but the afore-mentioned titles are my personal favorites. Enjoy.

FRAMED is an exceptional action film. Unfortunately it is not well-known, which is odd considering that it was directed by the great Phil Karlson, who also directed the previous year's WALKING TALL, which was a major hit that launched star Joe Don Baker's acting career.

Baker stars as Ron, a bar owner with a passion for gambling at poker. He's also passionate about his gorgeous girlfriend Susan (Conny Van Dyke), who sings frequently for his bar patrons. Ron scores big at a high stakes poker game, but his thrills are short-lived when, during his drive home that night, he witnesses a seemingly victimless shoot-out. When he arrives home, a sheriff's deputy accosts him in his garage and tries to arrest him without citing any charges. Ron and the deputy duke it out (a disturbing and exceptionally well-staged fight scene), leading to Ron being charged and convicted, not for the altercation with the deputy but for supposedly killing someone in the shoot-out he witnessed. Before he knows it, he's in prison, where he befriends a jailed mob boss (John Marley) and concocts his revenge strategy for when he gets out. Upon his eventual release, he sets out on his investigation, looking to uncover the truth about his wrongful conviction and punish those responsible.

Director Karlson, who was mostly known for his many outstanding film noir efforts (e.g. KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL and THE PHENIX CITY STORY), directs this - his final film - with a tough, gritty edge. It's a neo-noir, to be sure, with a protagonist who is strong, intelligent and furious. Baker gives one of his finest performances, proving yet again that he could carry a film with his charisma, everyman qualities and undeniable acting skill. The movie's violence is graphic and hard-hitting, earning its R rating with ease, so fans of violent action cinema will likely derive much satisfaction from this one. If you gravitate toward movies of this type, you'll definitely want to seek out FRAMED.

FINGERS is a brilliant film. Superficially it is a tough, gripping and unusual crime film about a violence-prone collector of gambling debts, but beneath the surface it is a psychologically complex (and presumably autobiographical) portrait of a man struggling with self-worth, sexual inferiority, and impending mental illness.

Harvey Keitel stars as Jimmy, an aspiring concert pianist who is striving to impress his mother, who is a once-promising piano prodigy now confined to a mental institution. He also longs for the acceptance of his father (Michael V. Gazzo), a two-bit loan shark who used to be a big-shot bookmaker. Jimmy's father occasionally requests (demands, really) that Jimmy collect money owed by clients who are delinquent on their payments, which typically requires intimidation or violence. Jimmy is conflicted: He wants to be a peaceful musician, but his father's approbation means a great deal to him as well.

Meanwhile, Jimmy strikes up a bizarre tryst with a beautiful, emotionally reclusive woman named Carol (Tisa Farrow), whose heart belongs to a quick-tempered former boxer (Jim Brown). Jimmy and Carol rush into a sexual relationship, but she is wholly apathetic toward Jimmy, seemingly using him as a means by which to pass the time between meetings with her real boyfriend.

Jimmy is always reaching for various modes of acceptance, regardless of the source: He is deeply flattered by attention from gay men, and is even distracted greatly when an underage girl visibly finds him charming. He even forces himself on an ultimately willing gangster's moll. (Jimmy's constant pursuit of sexual acceptance seemingly mirrors that of writer/director James Toback, whose own pursuits became public knowledge when the #metoo movement formed.)

The performances are searing (Keitel and Gazzo are especially compelling), the writing is uncommonly sharp, and Toback's direction is impressive, despite the film's low budget roots. The NYC locations are often as grimy and unnerving as the content itself, adding to the film's already brooding and seedy tone. The occasional bursts of violence are also upsetting: When Jimmy employs violence, he is brutal and animalistic.

FINGERS is essential viewing for crime movie buffs and connoisseurs of emotionally charged, psychologically layered cinema alike. Its lean 90 minute run time contains a great deal of content, owing to its abundance of subtext. It is Toback's finest offering, and stands as one of the finest films of its decade.