Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)

Director:

Barbara Kopple

Release Date:

28 September 1977 (France)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A filmed account of a bitterly violent miner strike.

Plot Keywords:

Male Nudity | Murder | Funeral | Profanity | Miners Strike

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

W.A. 'Tony' Boyle	...	Himself
Basil Collins	...	Himself - mine foreman
Carl Horn	...	Himself
Lawrence Jones	...	Himself - shooting victim
John L. Lewis	...	Himself (archive footage)
Arnold Miller	...	Himself
Florence Reece	...	Herself
Lois Scott	...	Herself
William Simon	...	Himself
Richard Trumka	...	Himself
Billy G. Williams	...	Himself - Harlan County sheriff
Nimrod Workman	...	Himself
Joseph Yablonski	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ken Yablonski	...	Himself

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:U | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Brookside, Kentucky, USA

Company:

Cabin Creek

Trivia:

When filming began, the film was intended to be about the 1972 campaign by Arnold Miller and Miners For Democracy to unseat UMWA president Tony Boyle, in the aftermath of Joseph Yablonski's murder; but the Harlan County strike began and caused the filmmakers to change their principal subject, with the campaign and murder becoming secondary subjects.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Harlan County USA' (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Coal Tatoo

1976 film detailing a bitter mining strike

Barbara Kopple's film Harlan County U.S.A details a bitter coal mining strike. The film is shot from the perspective of the strikers and in particular the wives of the strikers. From the beginning of the strike to the tragic murder of one of the strikers Kopple presents both the struggle of the workers for fairness and the extreme poverty of this particular niche of society. The wives of the strikers played an integral role in both the film and the strike. The women put themselves in harms way and organized apart from their husbands. Often during the film the women seemed more involved in the strike than the men who were actually striking. In particular one woman stood out as the leader of the women and was the first person in the film who addressed the need for the strikers to carry guns. From the outset of the strike it was apparent that the company side employed the use of guns. The strikers often lamented the fact that they were unable to properly defend themselves while the company could intimidate them with firearms.While the men steered away from the use of guns as long as possible the women took steps to protect themselves before anyone else. This action showed the place of the woman in this subset of society as that of protector and aggressor. Kopple took great care in presenting these women as the support that broke the company and saved jobs and lives.