Charles Burnett’s heart-warming romantic comedy sees two great actors pair off against each other with hilarious results.

Charles Burnett may be one of the great American directors of the past half-century, playing a part in formulating the famed LA Rebellion school and bringing a hard-nosed reality to tales of Black American life. And yet, The Annihilation of Fish, starring James Earl Jones, Lynn Redgrave and Margot Kidder, is a rare light-hearted work from him. That it has gone without distribution since release is as absurd an indictment of the vagaries of film industry politics as you could possibly find. Only now is this being rectified.

The Annihilation of Fish finds Burnett playfully ruminating on ageing and romance, via the guise of a sweet and sincere comedy, as two new tenants (Earl Jones and Redgrave) in an apartment building, both with peculiar eccentricities (Earl Jones has been recently released from a mental institution for fighting with a figment of his imagination; Redgrave has recently broken up with her ‘lover’ the long-dead 19th-century composer Puccini). As the two grow closer together, Burnett uncovers their unique humanity amidst the hijinks and whimsical humour - yet without sensationalising or poking fun at their life experiences.

A 4K restoration by UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.