DAVID LEVINSON reports from the Auckland Film Society. This week: in recognition of Charles Burnett.

LA-BASED filmmaker Charles Burnett finally received due critical attention last year when his seminal thesis-film, Killer of Sheep (1977), was released from the purgatory of an uncleared soundtrack, and made to tour the festival circuit. Seen today – in a climate given to either Klumps grotesquerie, public-service campaigning or lurid tales-from-the-ghetto – the result is a relevation: Shot on scratchy 16mm, spare in its use of sound, and overwhelmingly sensitive to the minor uplifts and long-standing inertia of everyday life, Killer of Sheep casts a neo-realist look at the residents of L.A.’s Watts area – in the process nearly single-handedly redefining the limits of black domestic cinema.

BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM reports from the Wellington Film Society. This week: the thin blue line.

ONE OF the United States’ most important independent directors, Charles Burnett and his oeuvre is starting to get a bit of attention following last year’s re-release of his landmark 1977 film Killer of Sheep. The Glass Shield for example was buried upon release, and today, almost feels like it’s laying the groundwork for shows like The Wire – though admittedly, Burnett’s take is slightly more uneven and simplistic (but then The Wire has five seasons to work through its stories…). But Burnett’s tale of police corruption and idealism does contain some special kind of fury, right the way up to its pointed ending.

BRANNAVAN GNANALINGAM reports from the Wellington Film Society. This week: animal instincts.

PAUL SCHRADER’s career took a nose-dive with Cat People. The genius writer behind Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and director of Blue Collar attempted to burn as many bridges as possible during the making of this film (including copious drug usage, and threats to put compromising shots of lead actor Nastassja Kinski into the film after she broke off a relationship with Schrader). Furthermore he was re-making an iconic (if slightly dated) B-Movie and Schrader’s version bombed upon release. It also features the truly awful David Bowie theme song. And to top it all off, the film print shown at the screening wasn’t in the best quality. Having said all that, the film is actually quite good.