When miners at the Brookside Mine in Harlan County, Kentucky, went on strike against Duke Power Company in June 1973, Kopple went there to film the strike, which the UMWA had helped to organize. It was settled in 1819 by Virginians led by Samuel Howard and was known as Mount Pleasant until renamed in 1912 for Major Silas Harlan, who was killed during the American Revolution at the Battle of Blue Licks (August 19, 1782). Organizer Garfield Lewis wrote, The people have been so starved out that they are flocking into the Union by the thousands I organized 9 Locals Tuesday.. For nearly a century, Harlan County, K.Y., has occupied an outsized place in the American consciousness. A lot of people get hung up on using coal because if we stopped we would lose so many jobs..yada yada But coal is a finite resource and eventually we will run out of it and have to make the transition anyway. It gets a little too dramatic at times and I think it was in some ways exaggerated, but I thinks it's one of the better documentaries to be made in the last 30 years. Things are good for the moment, says Judy, 52, who recently moved from part- to full-time status at Walmart. Still, there is a spirit that lives in Harlan, along with the ghosts of battles past. "[12], In a 2015 interview with Variety, Kopple was asked if she was in danger while working on this film. With unprecedented access, Kopple and her crew captured the miners' sometimes violent struggles with strikebreakers, local police, and company thugs. . In: A. McColl. The women of Harlan County provided much of the lifeblood of the strike, and Kopples documentation of the strike provided publicity, dignity, and a way to begin to heal. It was thinly populated, never wealthy, and Romero and isolated. This sticking point became moot when, a few years after the strike, the UMWA folded the agreement won by this group of workers into a global contract. [citation needed], Gary Arnold of The Washington Post praised the film, saying that Kopple "has emerged with a stirring, revealing testament to the courage, tenacity and dignity of Appalachian men and women whose livelihood depends on coal mining. Some of the politicians say theyll bring the coal back, but the coal will never be back., Bobby Simpson, 79, has been blind for more than a half-century, but still managed to shovel coal. Copyright Fandango. Link to Are You There God? Organizers were shot at, their homes gassed. [7], Harlan County, USA was preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in conjunction with New York Women in Film & Television, in 2004. A very ambitious documentary that was incredibly ahead of its time. wide, Release Date (Streaming): Coal is the lifeblood of Harlan, where miners fierce battles against deadly working conditions remain a symbol of union grit and militance. So when this strike came up, I saw the opportunity and I jumped right in there. And jump right in they did. It was [and still is]used to signify that what happened in the realm of politics, a field largely controlled by men, affect womens everyday lives. With unprecedented access, Kopple and her crew captured the miners' sometimes violent struggles with strikebreakers, local police, and company thugs. Mine workers in Harlan won living wages and benefits following a series of strikes and violent clashes with scabs and mine owners in the 1930s that earned the county the nickname Bloody Harlan.. We do them no favor when we dont show them where the trends are going, he said. Jerry Johnson, one of the striking Eastover miners, attributes the conclusion of the strike to the presence of Kopple and her film crew: "The cameras probably saved a bunch of shooting. Miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, have drawn national attention with their direct actionoccupying a railroad track to halt a coal train until the miners get paid the wages they are owed for digging it up. Categories: Usa. Barbara Kopple, Producer: I asked Kopple what she thought about other styles of documentaries, like Michael Moore's first-person adventures, or the Oscar-nominated "Story of the Weeping Camel," which is scripted and has people who portray themselves, but is not a direct record of their daily lives. Jones was well liked, young, and had a 16-year-old wife, and a baby. In April 1977, she watched from nearby mountains as floods caused by strip mining washed away everything her family owned. By Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, Photography by Jon Lowenstein. Cinemark Get more of what the mainstream media leaves out. Harlan, city, seat of Harlan county, southeastern Kentucky, U.S., in the Cumberland Mountains, on the Clover Fork Cumberland River. Barbara Kopple's Academy Award-winning Harlan County USA unflinchingly documents a grueling coal miners' strike in a small Kentucky town. Meanwhile, the striking miners, many of whom are living in squalid conditions without utilities or running water, were offered a 4% pay increase, at a time when the estimated cost of living increase was 7% for that same year. In the documentary, his mother can be seen breaking down during his funeral, screaming and being carried away by male attendees. The question is back: Which Side Are You On?. [11], In the film's 2004 Criterion Collection special feature, The Making of Harlan County, USA, associate director Anne Lewis compares Scott to Women's Liberation activists. The county became nationally famous in 1931 and 1932 when it was the site of one of the earliest and bloodiest labor battles of the decade. She decided it was the more compelling subject, so switched the focus of her film. Harlan County, Kentucky, USA. Furthermore, the idea that coal mining is the job for men in Harlan County, Kentucky prevails. He described the film as "One of the better and more rousing labor strike films that calls attention to class war in America, though it doesn't offer enough analysis or balance on the issues (it sees the struggle solely through the miners' eyes)The film does a good job chronicling the plight of the miners and telling their personal stories in a moving way, and the meaningful catchy coal mining songs add to the emotional impact of the historical event. Barbara Kopple's Academy Award-winning Harlan County USA unflinchingly documents a grueling coal miners' strike in a small Kentucky town. Sometimes he would cough and keep coughing, and it was just black-looking, like that old coal dust.. HARLAN COUNTY, U.S.A. sets up the conflict between the homes and the miners in a very similar way. The music acted as a narator, and we followed along almost dismally as the plot seemed to turn down a darker and more corrupt path every minute. On July 1, Blackjewel LLC abruptly shut down its six Harlan mines, filed bankruptcy, and sent the miners home without pay. Work is often erratic for Robert, but he recently found three months work building a home. Their daughter, Cherish, lives at the front of the property; their other three children, two of whom are from Roberts first marriage, live elsewhere in Harlan County and in Richmond. the Terms and Policies, and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes. Union members were beaten, their families terrorized. Oct 16, 1976 I found out that the union officials were working with the coal companies. A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line. The mine owners have as little regard as ever for the lives of miners and their families. As the strike dragged on for nearly a year, both sides eventually openly brandished their weapons. All rights reserved. At this point, the women are running the show. It contains a famous scene where guns are fired at the strikers in the darkness before dawn, and Kopple and her cameraman are knocked down and beaten. The British Isles. "Fight the Boss, Build the Union" T-shirt. Which Side Are You On? was written in the immediate aftershock of a midnight raid on Reeces home and her children by Harlan County Sheriff J.H. He was unmoved. Thousands of others from Appalachia made the same migration. "I found out later that they planned to kill us that day," Kopple said later, in a discussion I chaired at the Filmmakers' Lodge. The rank-and-file group Miners for Democracy was organized at the funeral. Who were the Howards and Turners? While the womens meeting temporarily devolves into cattiness, the voice of reason prevails. CEO Don Blankenship was convicted of willfully violating safety standards and spent a year in prison. In Episode 2 of the The Drunk Projectionist, producer and host Todd Melby interviewed Barbara Kopple about Harlan County USA, her impressive first film.The 1976 documentary won an Academy Award. The film crew, working for over a year, was able to capture stark images of miners covered in coal dust, miners suffering the diseases that come with coal mining, scenes of violence that are shocking in their reality and nearness, and the overall spirit of the town. Inc. town, 1884; city, 1912. It's Me, Margaret. Richard Dick Aos, age 85, of Pine Lake near Gonvick, MN, passed away on Friday, June 22nd, at Sanford Hospital in Fargo, ND. Here was a combination of the whole thing, you see: you had to bump against the whole combination of them. She said that the mine owners would hire "local prisoners to beat people up, [shoot] at houses. A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line. I also found that the Catholic hierarchy was working with the coal companies. 'Harlan County U.S.A.' could stand a little more tunnel vision "Harlan County U.S.A." took 26-year-old upstart Barbara Kopple about four years to finish. "Tony" Boyle for the presidency of the UMWA in 1969, but lost in an election widely viewed as corrupt. Pop. Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. Had she stopped at one, she probably would've had a helluva movie. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. In 1969, Tony Boyle was challenged for the UMWA presidency by Jock Yablonski, who promised democracy in the union. http://dochouse.org/cinema/screenings/harlan-county-usaIn a small Kentucky town in 1976, a coal miners' strike is underway. Barbara Kopple 's Academy Award-winning Harlan County USA unflinchingly documents a grueling coal miners' strike in a small Kentucky town. That's a must. Once the miners start to strike, the owners of the mine respond by hiring scabs to fill the jobs of the regular employees. At their best Kopple and photographer Hart Perry bear unassuming, expressive witness to the experiences, aspirations and abiding grievances of the Brookside miners and their wives, who organized auxiliary strike actions. It contains a famous scene where guns are fired at the strikers in the darkness before dawn, and Kopple and her cameraman are knocked down and beaten. For example, when the strike breakers and others hired by the company show up early in the filmthe strikers call them \"gun thugs\"the company people tried to keep their guns hidden from the camera. Lifelong Harlan County resident Priscilla Stephens, 66, recalls the death of her father, Charlie Simpson, from black lung disease in 1966. Interviews with many of the miners and company executives tell the story without the narration that we see in many of today's documentary, in which the documentarian is a central character in the film. Its gonna be set up a little bit different than the last one. Kopple brought some friends along to the festival. It was settled in 1819 by Virginians led by Samuel Howard and was known as Mount Pleasant until renamed in 1912 for Major Silas Harlan, who was killed during the American Revolution at the Battle of Blue Licks (August 19, 1782). With practically no budget, blagg. The desperation and the courage of the miners of Harlan County, and the violent repression . Jones was well liked, young, and had a 16-year-old wife, and a baby. The battery in Chesters pacemaker has three years left. This is the Harlan County USA movie trailer. Im not after a man. "[6], The film received a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the aggregator site. Oral History Interview with Daniel H. Pollitt, April 17, 1991. As the strike dragged on for nearly a year, both sides eventually openly brandished their weapons. You're almost there! (2000) 2,081; (2010) 1,745. Environmental groups say other factors, such as the abundance of cheap natural gas, are behind coals slump. "[2], When the film was re-released in 2006, critic Roger Ebert praised the film, writing "The film retains all of its power, in the story of a miners' strike in Kentucky where the company employed armed goons to escort scabs into the mines, and the most effective picketers were the miners' wives -- articulate, indomitable, courageous. Hamilton County, Indiana, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Murdered while on a picket line in Harlan County KY, After his death an agreement was signed between the miners and the union! They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. . The family of eight children had little money, but Chester was happy and didnt think of himself as poor. The community there was already known as "Mount Pleasant", apparently owing to a nearby Indian mound.A post office was established on September 19, 1828, but called . After the railroad arrived in 1911 . Coming Soon. An organic shape, small and shiny and pinkish white, sits . This article was most recently revised and updated by. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story: Season 1, Link to Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Link to Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage, Link to RT25: Celebrating 25 Years of Rotten Tomatoes. Kopple and Perry spent 18 months in Harlan County, filming what happened as it happened. 170 IMDb 8.2 1 h 44 min 1976. Get more of what the mainstream media leaves out. 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Upon the founding of Harlan County (named for Kentucky pioneer Silas Harlan) in 1819, the Howards donated 12 acres (49,000 m 2) of land to serve as the county seat. Danny Stewart, 30, is a fifth-generation miner who began working in the industry shortly after graduating from high school in 2004. Main Office: 7435 Michigan Ave, Detroit, MI 48210; (313) 842-6262.East Coast Office: 104 Montgomery St, Brooklyn, NY 11225; (718) 284-4144.Labor Education and Research Project 2005-2016. occupying a railroad track to halt a coal train.