Personal Info
Birth date
1944-04-13 (81 Years)
Gender
Male
Known for
Directing
Place of birth
Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA
Also known as
찰스 버넷
Charles Burnett
Biography
Charles Burnett is an American film director, producer, writer, editor, actor, photographer, and cinematographer. His most popular films include Killer of Sheep (1977), My Brother’s Wedding (1983), To Sleep with Anger (1990), The Glass Shield (1994), and Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation (2007). He has been involved in other types of motion pictures including shorts, documentaries, and a TV series. Considered by the Chicago Tribune as “one of America’s very best filmmakers”, and by the New York Times as “the nation’s least-known great filmmaker and most gifted black director”, Charles Burnett has had a long and diverse filmmaking career.
Filmography
Independent Lens
6.467
Overview:
This acclaimed Emmy Award-winning anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of their independent producers and featuring unforgettable stories about a unique individual, community or moment in history.The Story of Film: An Odyssey
7.59
Overview:
A worldwide guided tour of the greatest movies ever made and the story of international cinema through the history of cinematic innovation.The Blues
7.3
Overview:
The Blues is a 2003 documentary film series produced by Martin Scorsese, dedicated to the history of blues music. In each of the seven episodes, a different director explores a stage in the development of the blues. The series originally aired on PBS in the United States.To Sleep with Anger
6.721
Overview:
An enigmatic drifter from the South comes to visit an old acquaintance who now lives in South-Central LA.Is That Black Enough for You?!?
7.4
Overview:
A look at the Black revolution in 1970s cinema, from genre films to social realism, from the making of new superstars to the craft of rising auteurs.The Glass Shield
4.9
Overview:
J.J. is a rookie in the Sheriff's Department and the first black officer at that station. Racial tensions run high in the department as some of J.J.'s fellow officers resent his presence. His only real friend is the other new trooper, the first female officer to work there, who also suffers similar discrimination in the otherwise all-white male work environment. When J.J. becomes increasingly aware of police corruption during the murder trial of Teddy Woods, whom he helped to arrest, he faces difficult decisions and puts himself into grave personal danger in the service of justice.Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation
5.9
Overview:
Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation is a 2007 epic film on the Namibian independence struggle against South African occupation as seen through the life of Sam Nujoma, the leader of the South-West Africa People's Organisation and the first president of the Republic of Namibia.Killer of Sheep
6.5
Overview:
An African-American man working at a slaughterhouse in the Watts area of Los Angeles leads a dissatisfied and listless existence.These Amazing Shadows
7.4
Overview:
Tells the history and importance of The National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself.The Annihilation of Fish
6.6
Overview:
A Jamaican widower recently released from a mental institution and a former housewife with an imagined lover in the form of 19th-century composer Giacomo Puccini become the unlikely tenants of an eccentric widow in Los Angeles.Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property
6.1
Overview:
In 1831, Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in the United States that resulted in the murder of local slave owners and their families, the eventual execution of 55 rebels and the retribution lynching of more than 200 innocent slaves. Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property examines how the story of Turner’s revolt has been interpreted throughout history and how it continues to raise new questions about the nature of terrorism and other forms of violent resistance to oppression. The film adopts an innovative structure by interspersing documentary footage and interviews with dramatizations of these different versions of Turner’s story. A unique collaboration between MacArthur Genius Award feature director Charles Burnett, acclaimed historian of slavery Kenneth S. Greenberg and Academy Award-nominated documentary producer Frank Christopher, Nat Turner is a compelling look at one of history’s most mysterious figures.The Wedding
8.3
Overview:
Shelby Coles (Halle Berry) is engaged to marry talented white jazz musician Meade Howell, but the pair face opposition from both Meade's family, who object to an inter-racial marriage, and Shelby's parents, who want her to marry a professional. As Shelby is afflicted by pre-marital doubts, handsome Lute McNeil arrives on the scene, determined to make Shelby his at any cost.Warming by the Devil's Fire
6.9
Overview:
Director Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep, My Brother's Wedding, To Sleep with Anger) presents a tale about a young boy's encounter with his family in Mississippi in the 1950s, and intergenerational tensions between the heavenly strains of gospel and the devilish moans of the blues.Nightjohn
5.6
Overview:
John is a man of many talents, including one forbidden skill: he can read. When he teaches a young slave girl named Sarny to read and write, she learns an unforgettable lesson about the power of words and the true meaning of freedom.We Blew It
5.6
Overview:
How did America change from Easy Rider into Donald Trump? What became of the dreams and utopias of the 1960's and 1970's? What do the people who lived in that golden age think about it today? Did they really blow it? Shot in Cinemascope - from New Jersey to California - this melancholic and elegiac road-movie draws upon the portrait of a confused, complex and incandescent America one year after the start of the electoral campaign. That golden age has become its last romantic border and an inconsolable America is about to pull on a trigger called Trump.Bless Their Little Hearts
6.2
Overview:
Charlie Banks, chronically unemployed, struggles to find dignity and a meaning for life in the impoverished Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts.Relative Stranger
5.143
Overview:
After the death of his father, a former football star reunites with the family that he abandoned years earlier.42 One Dream Rush
NYR
Overview:
Collection of short films by various directors based on dreams, 42 seconds each. It was produced by the world's most awarded vodka "42 Below", known for doing things differently , with other Chinese User Generated Films.My Brother's Wedding
6.7
Overview:
A young African-American man, living in Los Angeles without direction in his life, reluctantly agrees to be the best man for his brother, an upwardly mobile lawyer.Quiet as Kept
5.2
Overview:
A teenage boy leaves a moment of boredom while his father works on his old car, and the mother wishes to go out for a stroll around the block. One more relocated family post Hurricane Katrina.Dreams Are Colder Than Death
6
Overview:
What does it mean to be Black in America in the 21st century? The recently formed Black American film group TNEG™ has set out to elucidate this very question. Hearing from the likes of fine artist Kara Walker and musical artist Flying Lotus, the film is based on a deceptively simple approach -- asking a refined list of black 'specialists' as well as 'uncommon folks' questions about what they think, and more importantly as lead director Arthur Jafa states, 'What they KNOW' -- the film is an unprecedented 'stream of the black consciousness' and a strikingly original and rarefied look at black intellectual and emotional life. What's so unorthodox about this simple approach is that the interviews were recorded separately from the images in the film. What results is a breathtaking, kaleidoscopic look of American black life from the dawn of three original filmmakers.The Horse
5.6
Overview:
This critically acclaimed 1973 short is about an aristocratic white farming family who has a horse that is being put away, by the father of a young black boy named William. William cares for said horse in its last moments, as the male family members eagerly wait for his dad to arrive.Several Friends
5
Overview:
An improvised late '60s short-subject student film, and debut movie of Charles Burnett, done in the neo-realist, documentary film style. A day-in-the-life South Central L.A. tale about a rag-tag group of unemployed black male pals.Finding Buck McHenry
NYR
Overview:
Jason Ross is an 11-year-old boy whose love for baseball exceeds his talent for the game. When cut from his little league team, Jason's undefeatable spirit leads him to try and create an expansion team. In searching for a new coach, Jason comes to believe that Mack Henry, the custodian at his school, is really Buck McHenry, the legendary pitcher from the old Negro Baseball Leagues. While Mack begins to coach this small rag-tag team, Jason and his friends set out to prove his true identity.Selma, Lord, Selma
7.1
Overview:
In 1965 Alabama, an 11 year old girl is touched by a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. and becomes a devout follower. But her resolution is tested when she joins others in the famed march from Selma to Montgomery.A Walk with Charles Burnett
NYR
Overview:
Filmmaker Robert Townsend executive-produced the following fifty-six-minute program for Criterion’s Meet the Filmmakers series in 2018. In it, he and Charles Burnett reflect on Burnett’s groundbreaking career in cinema, returning to South Central Los Angeles and the shooting locations of his landmark films Killer of Sheep and To Sleep with Anger.Bush Mama
6.7
Overview:
The story of Dorothy and her husband T.C. He is a discharged Vietnam veteran who thought he would return home to a "hero's welcome." Instead he is falsely arrested and imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. Her life revolves around the welfare office and a community facing poverty and unemployment. As a result of the film's events, both the main characters become radicalized and Dorothy eventually turns to violence.The Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution
NYR
Overview:
Tells the poignant chapter in the historic struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans. Central to the story is the tale of how a new national program, Medicare, was used to mount a dramatic, coordinated effort that desegregated thousands of hospitals across the country in a matter of months.Acting
2022Is That Black Enough for You?!? as Self
2022Charles Burnett : Le rebelle silencieux de Watts as Self
2019A Walk with Charles Burnett as Self
2017We Blew It as Self
2014Dreams Are Colder Than Death as Unknown
2011The Story of Film: An Odyssey (1 Episode) as Self
2011These Amazing Shadows as Self
2003Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property as Lucinda
2000Olivia's Story as Umpire
Directing
2020Cinetracts '20 ... Director
2018The Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution ... Director
201042 One Dream Rush ... Director
201042 Second Dream ... Director
2009Relative Stranger ... Director
2007Quiet as Kept ... Director
2007Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation ... Director
2003Warming by the Devil's Fire ... Director
2003The Blues (1 Episode) ... Director
2003For Reel? ... Director
2003Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property ... Director
2000Finding Buck McHenry ... Director
2000Olivia's Story ... Director
1999The Annihilation of Fish ... Director
1999Independent Lens (1 Episode) ... Director
1999Selma, Lord, Selma ... Director
1998The Wedding ... Director
1997Documenta X - Die Filme ... Director
1997The Final Insult ... Director
1996Nightjohn ... Director
1995When It Rains ... Director
1994The Glass Shield ... Director
1991America Becoming ... Director
1990To Sleep with Anger ... Director
1983My Brother's Wedding ... Director
1978Killer of Sheep ... Director
1973The Horse ... Director
1969Several Friends ... Director
Writing
2020Cinetracts '20 ... Story
2007Quiet as Kept ... Writer
2007Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation ... Writer
2003Warming by the Devil's Fire ... Writer
2003The Blues (1 Episode) ... Writer
2003For Reel? ... Writer
2003Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property ... Writer
1997The Final Insult ... Writer
1995When It Rains ... Writer
1994The Glass Shield ... Writer
1991America Becoming ... Writer
1990To Sleep with Anger ... Writer
1984Bless Their Little Hearts ... Writer
1983My Brother's Wedding ... Writer
1978Killer of Sheep ... Writer
1973The Horse ... Writer
1969Several Friends ... Writer
Editing
2007Quiet as Kept ... Editor
2000Olivia's Story ... Editor
1982Illusions ... Editor
1979Your Children Come Back to You ... Editor
1978Killer of Sheep ... Editor
1973The Horse ... Editor
1969Several Friends ... Editor
Production
2007Quiet as Kept ... Producer
1983My Brother's Wedding ... Producer
1978Killer of Sheep ... Producer
1973The Horse ... Producer
1969Several Friends ... Producer
Camera
2007Quiet as Kept ... Director of Photography
1997The Final Insult ... Director of Photography
1993Sa-I-Gu ... Camera Operator
1991America Becoming ... Director of Photography
1989From Rags to Reality ... Director of Photography
1986Crocodile Conspiracy ... Director of Photography
1984Bless Their Little Hearts ... Director of Photography
1983My Brother's Wedding ... Director of Photography
1982A Different Image ... Director of Photography
1980The Pocketbook ... Director of Photography
1979Bush Mama ... Director of Photography
1979Your Children Come Back to You ... Director of Photography
1978Killer of Sheep ... Director of Photography
196969 Pickup ... Director of Photography