Though its film stock had nearly turned to vinegar by the time UCLA stepped in with a timely restoration, Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep is of a vintage that only gets better with age. Its neorealist approach to the life of a neighborhood is rich, but the surprise is that it's also as fresh as the day it was made 30 years ago. Milestone Film and Video - the company that secured the music rights for the film (with the help of Steven Soderbergh) and encouraged the UCLA restoration of the work, is releasing it theatrically this spring and on DVD along with My Brother's Wedding (1983) this fall.

Susan Gerhard spoke with Burnett over the phone from Los Angeles, a few weeks before Killer of Sheep itself celebrated a milestone with the help of a film company that goes by the same name.

Killer of Sheep is now available on DVD, at long last.