#963: BURNETT, Charles: To Sleep With Anger (1990)

BURNETT, Charles (United States)
To Sleep With Anger [1990]
Spine #963
Blu-ray


A slow-burning masterwork of the early 1990s, this third feature by Charles Burnett is a singular piece of American mythmaking. In a towering performance, Danny Glover plays the enigmatic southern drifter Harry, a devilish charmer who turns up out of the blue on the South Central Los Angeles doorstep of his old friends. In short order, Harry's presence seems to cast a chaotic spell on what appeared to be a powerful household, exposing smoldering tensions between parents and children, tradition and change, virtue and temptation. Interweaving evocative strains of gospel and blues with rich, poetic-realist images, To Sleep with Anger is a sublimely stirring film from an autonomous artistic sensibility, a portrait of family resilience steeped in the traditions of African American mysticism and folklore.

102 minutes
Color
2.0 Surround
1:85:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2019
Director/Writer


Charles Burnett was 46 when he wrote and directed To Sleep With Anger.

Other Burnett films in the Collection:

#1262: Killer of Sheep (1978)

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Eight-panel poster featuring an essay by critic Ashley Clark.

Commentary

None.

Of Family and Folklore

An interview program featuring Burnett, actors Glover and Ralph, and associate producer Linda Koulisis.

A Walk with Charles Burnett

An hour-long conversation between Burnett and filmmaker Robert Townsend that revisits Burnett’s films and shooting locations.

Short video tribute

To Burnett produced for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Governors Awards ceremony in 2017.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Complete Criterion Collection By Director

#331: OZU, Yasujiro: Late Spring (1949)

#589: KIEŚLOWSKI, Krzysztof: Three Colors: White (1994)