Charles Burnett: Interviews

Charles Burnett is a groundbreaking African American filmmaker who remains largely unknown. His films, such as Killer of Sheep (1977) and To Sleep with Anger (1990), are considered classics, but few filmgoers have seen them or heard of him. This volume explores this paradox and sheds light on the work of a rare film master whose stories bring to the screen the texture and poetry of life in the black community. Hollywood has been largely inept in responding to this marketing challenge, making it difficult for Burnett to make films that chronicle the black experience in America.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 252 pages
Publication date: 30 July 2019
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi

Charles Burnett (b. 1944) is a groundbreaking African American filmmaker and one of this countrys finest directors, yet he remains largely unknown. His films, most notably Killer of Sheep (1977) and To Sleep with Anger (1990), are considered classics, yet few filmgoers have seen them or heard of Burnett. The interviews in this volume explore this paradox and collectively shed light on the work of a rare film master whose stories bring to the screen the texture and poetry of life in the black community. The best qualities of Burnetts films rich characterizations, morally and emotionally complex narratives, and intricately observed tales of African American life are precisely the things that make his films a tough sell in the mass marketplace. As many of the interviews reveal, Hollywood has been largely inept in responding to this marketing challenge. It takes an extraordinary effort to keep going, Burnett told Terrence Rafferty in 2001, when everybody is saying to you, No one wants to see that kind of movie, or Theres no black Audience. All the interviews selected for this volume span more than three decades of Burnetts directorial career, including his recent work, and examine, in various degrees, Burnetts status as a true independent filmmaker and explore his motivation for making films that chronicle the black experience in America.

Charles Burnett (b. 1944) is a groundbreaking African American filmmaker and one of this countrys finest directors, yet he remains largely unknown. His films, most notably Killer of Sheep (1977) and To Sleep with Anger (1990), are considered classics, yet few filmgoers have seen them or heard of Burnett. The interviews in this volume explore this paradox and collectively shed light on the work of a rare film master whose stories bring to the screen the texture and poetry of life in the black community. The best qualities of Burnetts films rich characterizations, morally and emotionally complex narratives, and intricately observed tales of African American life are precisely the things that make his films a tough sell in the mass marketplace. As many of the interviews reveal, Hollywood has been largely inept in responding to this marketing challenge. It takes an extraordinary effort to keep going, Burnett told Terrence Rafferty in 2001, when everybody is saying to you, No one wants to see that kind of movie, or Theres no black Audience. All the interviews selected for this volume span more than three decades of Burnetts directorial career, including his recent work, and examine, in various degrees, Burnetts status as a true independent filmmaker and explore his motivation for making films that chronicle the black experience in America.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781496825599