Harlan County USA
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Harlan County USA |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1976 |
| length | 103 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Barbara Kopple |
| production | Barbara Kopple |
| music | Hazel Dickens, Merle Travis, David Morris |
| camera | Kevin Keating, Hart Perry, Tom Hurwitz |
| cut | Nancy Baker, Mary Lampson |
Harlan County USA is an American documentary from 1976 by filmmaker Barbara Kopple about the Brookside Strike , an endeavor by 180 coal miners and their wives for safer and fairer working conditions and fairer pay. The film was first shown on October 15, 1976 at the New York Film Festival .
At the 49th Academy Awards , the documentary won an Oscar in the “ Best Documentary ” category.
background
Kopple initially wanted to make a film about Miners for Democracy , a dissident movement within the United Mine Workers of America , and their efforts to remove union leader Tony Boyle from his post. When miners at the Brookside Mine in Harlan County , Kentucky went on strike in June 1973, Kopple went there to film the UMWA organized strike against the Duke Power Company . The strike turned out to be the more interesting subject, so Kopple changed the focus of her film.
Kopple initially met resistance from the miners, as no one knew what the "snooping hippie crew from New York" was doing there.
Kopple and her crew spent years with the families featured in the film, documenting the plight they found themselves in while striking for safer working conditions, fair work practices, and decent wages. They followed them on the strike on the New York Stock Exchange, filmed interviews with people with anthracosis and even got miners in front of the camera who were shot on strike.
The main point of contention of the strike was the company's insistence on including a no-strike clause in the contract. The miners feared that including such a provision in the agreement would limit their impact on local working conditions.
Instead of an overarching narrative, Kopple let the words and deeds of the people speak for themselves. For example, those involved try to hide their weapons from the camera at the beginning of the strike. When the strike has lasted a year, both sides openly show their weapons. Kopple felt it was important to keep filming (or pretending to be when there was no film left) because her presence and support actually kept the violence in check.
Kopple also provides statistics on the companies and employees in support of the strikers, such as: For example, the Duke Power Company's profits were up 170 percent in a single year. Meanwhile, the striking miners, many of whom lived in poor conditions with no utilities such as running water, received a 4% pay rise despite the fact that the cost of living rose 7% in the same year.
Joseph Yablonski was a passionate, popular union representative who was loved by many miners. Yablonski challenged WA "Tony" Boyle to the UMWA presidency in 1969, but lost in an election that was widely viewed as corrupt. Later that year, Yablonski and his family were found murdered in their home. Tony Boyle is shown in good health early on in the film. He is later seen frail, sickly, and in a wheelchair as he is carried up the courthouse steps to face a conviction for giving another union executive $ 20,000 for the three contract killers.
After almost a year, a striking miner named Lawrence Jones is shot dead during a fight. Jones was very popular, young, and had a 16 year old wife and a baby. The documentary shows how his mother collapses during his funeral, screams in agony and is carried away by the men present. This moment, more than any other, ultimately forces the strikers and management to come back to the negotiating table.
A central character in the documentary is Lois Scott, who plays an important role in mobilizing the community to support the strike. She is seen several times scourging those who she believes may have missed the picket lines. In one scene, Scott pulls a gun from her bra.
In an interview with Variety, Kopple was asked if she was in danger while working on Harlan County USA . She revealed that the chief scabbard, Basil Collins, wanted to hire someone to shoot her, but the most dangerous thing was the violence perpetrated by the mine owners against the miners. The mine owners “paid local prisoners to beat people up and shoot at houses. People had to line their walls with mattresses ”.
Awards
The film was at the Oscar ceremony in 1977 with the Oscar in the category " Best Documentary Award".
In 1990 Harlan County USA was added to the National Film Registry .
reception
Harlan County USA received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes , the movie has a 100% rating based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7 / 10.
Roger Ebert praised the film after a re-screening, writing, "The film retains all its power in the history of a miners 'strike in Kentucky where the company used armed thugs to escort strikers into the mines and the most effective strikers were the miners' wives - Upright, invincible and brave. The film contains a famous scene in which the strikers are shot at in the dark before dawn, and Kopple and her cameraman are beaten and beaten. "
Individual evidence
- ^ A b The Academy Awards 1977. In: oscars.org. Retrieved January 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Back to Harlan County, USA . Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ↑ Gaydos, Steven (July 24, 2015) "Barbara Kopple Reflects on Joys and Dangers of Filming 'Harlan County, USA'" , Variety .
- ↑ Harlan County USA at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- ^ Roger Ebert: Harlan County USA review. In: Chicago Sun-Times . February 16, 2006, accessed January 18, 2019 .
Web links
- Harlan County USA in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Harlan County USA at Rotten Tomatoes (English)