From 1910 to 1920, the population tripled. Use the HTML below. Menu. By the end of the largest strike in 1931, the mine operators had made no concessions to the workers. What happened in Harlan County is a microcosm of what happened in the coal industry and the union movement throughout the 20th century. The audience is pulled into sympathy with the workers through guilt by association. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. However, when she heard about the strike, she headed down to Harlan County. None of the so-called “gun-thugs” who shuttled the strikebreakers back and forth wanted the filmmakers to catch them on camera brandishing their pistols. Harlan County, U.S.A. is one of the seminal documentaries for its time, its power derived from the way Kopple intimately involved herself in documenting the plight of the miners, avoiding unnecessary artistic flourishes and depicting the poverty as it is. What is important is that the main characters of the film are unique enough to give the film legitimacy. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. Reviews: Harlan County War. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Another method that Kopple uses is interviewing the "town elders." At the height of the largest strike in Harlan County history, there were 5,800 strikers to 900 strikebreakers. Then, to keep themselves afloat, they cut the worker’s wages. The area has been an important site in the history of the labor movement in the US. However, when they presented their contract to the mine operators, their bosses ignored them. Add the first question. He made it out just in time, but Blair spent the night terrorizing Florence and the children. On the other hand, it takes away from the legitimacy of the film. Kopple continued to work on her documentary for the next two years. They then enlisted local law enforcement to protect the scabs. TV Shows . These instances give the audience a sense of history with the community and explain that the plight of the current workers is nothing new. I also participated in a UMWA strike in 1989 (as a female student in high school) so I understand the nature of a sometimes violent strike that lasts for over a year. In 2019, a mining company named Blackjewel Coal declared bankruptcy, leaving miners in the lurch without pay or access to their 401(k)s. When workers learned that the company planned to transport about $1 million worth of coal out of a mine in Harlan County, they were furious. One night, infuriated at the harassment of her family by local law enforcement, she wrote the song. When three hundred thousand members of the Love Generation collided with a few dozen Hells Angels at San Francisco's Altamont Speedway, the bloody slash that transformed a decade's dreams into disillusionment was immortalized on this film. Many miners and their families lived without running water. The UMW’s message had made it to the non-unionized workers. However, it’s also been the black poison whose negative effects have seeped down through generations of residents. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. There’s Shorty Metcalf, Brutus Metcalf, Henry Metcalf, Ray Metcalf, all guardians of the law. It’s where a long battle has been waged between coal mine operators and workers. Even when there were no strikes, the mine operators and their cronies still intimidated, attacked, and even murdered workers and union advocates. A year into the strike, a strikebreaker shot a beloved local miner named Lawrence Jones, who left behind a teenaged wife and a new baby. Thanks for your help! Coal mining was the lifeblood of Harlan County. My mom never told me how her best friend died. View production, box office, & company info. A film about the greatest pre-Woodstock rock music festival. A Kentucky woman whose mine-worker husband is nearly killed in a cave-in, and whose father is slowly dying of black lung disease, joins the picket lines for a long, violent strike. Author and activist Theodore Dreiser conducted an investigation under the auspices of the National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners (NCDPP) of the American Communist Party. Director: Jehane Noujaim | Stars: Samir Khader, Josh Rushing, George W. Bush, Hassan Ibrahim. Then, in the decade after that, it doubled. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Barbara Kopple’s documentary camera looks at this forgotten corner of 1970s America, the site of some of the bitterest labor violence in American history. This is what a good political documentary tries to do. Harlan County USA (1976) **** I used to consider Gates of Heaven and Harlan County USA as in deadlock for the best documentary ever made, but upon watching Harlan County USA again and all the extras available on the Criterion DVD, I have no choice but to move it into the sole number One position. The labor movement met a period of stagnation and union membership went down. That’s one of the harsh realities of Harlan County USA. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history. She used the paper to write a song she called “Which Side Are You On?” It became one of the most enduring and well-known songs of the labor movement, and an anthem for workers on strike. Despite her reverence for pop culture, she is often LVP (least valuable player) at trivia night. First, when necessary and only occasionally, background information is just read as subtitles on the screen. Late one night Blair and his men went to the house of Sam Reece, a union leader. However, like everything else in the US, it all came to a standstill in 1929. Documentary. This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA. On May 5, 1931 the pot boiled over; in Harlan County Kentucky, heavily armed deputies and company men, called “gun thugs” by miners, confronted disgruntled union men on a road near Evarts. This subject was untouched at the time and still is. "Harlan County, USA" is real-life drama of the highest order. At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. The film portrays coal mine workers in Eastern Kentucky throughout a thirteen month long strike and the effects the strike has on their demeanor. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. As Sam’s wife Florence later recounted, someone came to warn him that Blair and his men were coming to shoot him. The song plays during the end credits of the 2016 drama In Dubious Battle. The song, Florence Reece, and the Harlan miner's strike feature in episode 2 of Damnation. Verwaltungssitz (County Seat) ist die in der westlichen Hälfte des Countys gelegene Kleinstadt Harlan The Dreiser Committee also discovered the labor folk singer Aunt Molly Jackson and her younger half-brother Jim Garland, putting them on a tou… Chronicles the six-month strike at Hormel in Austin, Minnesota, in 1985-86. Sometimes, Kopple would even pretend to keep shooting even when she had no film left, in hopes that she could protect the workers and their families. A black girl from Senegal becomes a servant in France. The end of WWI led to a coal boom. The local union, P-9 of the Food and Commercial Workers, overwhelmingly rejects a contract offer with a $2/hour ... See full summary ». Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from “Life” to “Compact Cars and Trucks” to “A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius.” We’ll get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics you’re interested in. Please reach out to us to let us know what you’re interested in reading. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA. Harlan County, USA is a 1976 Oscar-winning documentary film covering the "Brookside Strike" ,an effort of 180 coal miners and their wives against the Duke Power Company-owned Eastover Coal Company's Brookside Mine and Prep Plant in Harlan County, southeast Kentucky in 1973. Often called “nearly insufferable” and “surprisingly vulgar,” Samantha Henman is a senior editor at Factinate. Tom, fifteen years old, a son of Adrian Metcalf, Deputy U.S. Movies. Catherine of Aragon was King Henry VIII’s first wife and longest-lasting Queen of England. As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure…. Although Catherine's successor Queen Anne Boleyn suffered an infamously dark fate, Aragon's own life was somehow even more tragic. He spent his time terrorizing miners and their families on behalf of their employers. Release Calendar DVD & Blu-ray Releases Top Rated Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Showtimes & Tickets In Theaters Coming Soon Coming Soon Movie News India Movie Spotlight. A documentary on perception of the United States's war with Iraq, with an emphasis on Al Jazeera's coverage. Men worked in the mines, lived with their families in company houses, and bought everything they needed from company-owned stores. That film, Harlan County U.S.A., went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary for 1976. But on a local scale, it’s nothing short of a catastrophic tragedy. The coal miners, lean and tough from Kentucky mountain life, knew how to fight back. The tension grew in Harlan County. Celebrate Black History Month with IMDb's exclusive galleries, recommendations, videos, and more. Harlan County U.S.A. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? "Harlan Co., USA" satisfies several essential characteristics of a political documentary. So, they agreed to go on strike. Made famous in the 1976 documentary Harlan County USA, this pocket of Appalachian coal country has been home to generations of miners--and to some of the most bitter labor battles of the 20th century. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life. Unemployment is regularly much higher than the national average, and so is the average income. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. The pink wad is brain tissue from a striker shot in the head by a strikebreaker. Jim H Super Reviewer Jan 06, 2011 Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? It has also produced a rich tradition of protest songs and a wealth of fascinating culture and custom that has remained largely undiscovered by outsiders, until now. Miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, have drawn national attention with their direct action—occupying a railroad track to halt a coal train until the miners get paid the wages they are owed for digging it up. Release Calendar DVD & Blu-ray Releases Top Rated Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Showtimes & Tickets In Theaters Coming Soon Coming Soon Movie News India Movie Spotlight. September to December 1st 2020. Harlan County ist ein County im Bundesstaat Kentucky der Vereinigten Staaten.Es wurde 1819 gegründet, liegt in der südöstlichen Ecke von Kentucky an der Staatsgrenze zu Virginia und ist Bestandteil des Kohlereviers im östlichen Teil des Staats. Blair and his lackeys. But when the mining companies first used the railroad to ship their product out in 1911, everything changed. Finally, the film is often very one-sided and bias. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary at the 49th Academy Awards. We’re always looking for your input! The coal companies ran most towns in Harlan County. When they finally left, a furious Florence Reece ripped a calendar off the wall. Fear & Loathing In Cabrini-Green: When Utopia Goes Wrong, Bone-Chilling Moments We'll Never Be Able To Explain, I’m Done: These People Quit Their Bad Jobs And Toxic Relationships In Epic Ways, Bloody Facts About Ivan the Terrible, The Mad Tsar Of Russia, These Jerks Had No Idea Who They Were Messing With, Over My Dead Body: These Outrageous Funerals Prove Drama Never Dies, These People Shared The Worst Moments Of Their Lives…And They’re Utterly Brutal, These Mortifying Mistakes Make Us Want To Hit “Undo”, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Wife, These Ultra-Spoiled Brats Made Our Eyes Roll Into Our Heads. Not only does the film focus on the extreme degree of poverty and working conditions that are accepted in Appalachia, but specifically follows the wives of the strikers. A documentary following Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old WW2 veteran notorious for his protests against Emperor Hirohito, as he tries to expose the needless executions of two Japanese soldiers during the war. Whether the focus on the wives was intentional or due to lack of access by the men is not important. During the Harlan County War, the mine operators had Blair completely under their thumb. They saw what the mine operators had done to their colleagues, and decided to stand in solidarity with them. In the intervening 40 years, things did not get better in Harlan County—at least they didn’t for the miners. Although these miners today have no union, the mines of Harlan County have a storied history of grassroots labor militancy. The national attention became the impetus for the company to settle with the miners, who ended the strike after two months. For example, the "scabs" are portrayed as thugs and their arrival is reminiscent of the "bad guys" galloping into town in a western. Watch these modern period pieces after "Bridgerton" for all the scandal, comedy, and romance your heart desires. In addition, the police are compared to the pinkertons of the 1930s. What happened in Harlan County is one of the most remarkable and harrowing stories in the history of labor, filled with tragedy, intrigue, violence—and most importantly, solidarity. Was this review helpful to you? TV Shows . Sadly, they were the ones who the mine operators targeted first. Certificate: GP Documentary covering Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan. For the first time, the governor dispatched state forces to protect the miners instead of the mine operators and their strikebreakers. Eastovers refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined with the United Mine Workers of America) led to the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent battles between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and the picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Reece’s husband was a coal miner involved in the Harlan County War: a period of violence, strikes and bombings that began early in the Great Depression. The film, while dramatic, is an example of a standard political documentary in the 1970s. But eventually, things bubbled over. Get Up, Stand Up: The Story of Pop and Protest part 1, 2003 documentary. This is done to save time and to avoid any bias. Title: This put them even further below the poverty line than they already were. Barbara found a subject that a normal American at the time would have neither cared about nor had access to if they did care. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. There was already coal mining in Harlan County at the turn of the 20th century. They wanted to unionize not just a few of their miners, but all of them. The UMW had made great inroads with the people of Harlan County. Coal mining is notoriously dangerous, and the unions have fought to ensure that the way of life for their workers doesn’t constitute a death sentence. Instead of just telling the audience in the first person what is going on or key pieces of background information, she creatively interjects them into the film in three ways. We want our readers to trust us. #TCMParty, Sight & Sound: Greatest Documentaries of All Time, Self - Pres., Eastover Mining Co. (Owned by Duke Power). With Harlan County U.S.A., Barbara Kopple brought the exploitation of miners in the Appalachian region to national attention. This is very effective in "Harlan Co., USA" because the music provides both very useful information and an added feeling of the culture of the area. Directed by Tony Bill. They formed a blockade on the tracks to stop the train, once again shining a spotlight on Harlan County. Movies. Votes: 4,999 | Gross: $2.59M Martin Lewison . Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Harlan County has long respected the men of the Metcalf family as honest, fearless, and capable officers of the law.