Jump to content

Harlan County, USA

From Alfawiki
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Harlan County, USA, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 7 August 2025
Harlan County USA
Company typeDocumentary film
IndustryFilm
Founded1976
FounderBarbara Kopple
ProductsDocumentary film

Harlan County USA is a 1976 American documentary film that chronicles the 1973 "Brookside Strike," involving 180 coal miners and their families protesting against the Eastover Coal Company's Brookside Mine, owned by Duke Power, in Harlan County, Kentucky. The film earned the Academy Award for Best Documentary at the 49th Academy Awards.

The documentary was directed and produced by Barbara Kopple, an early-career filmmaker and former VISTA volunteer, who centers the narrative on labor rights and the struggles faced by workers.

Synopsis

Initially planning to capture Miners for Democracy's campaign to remove Tony Boyle as president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), Kopple redirected her attention to the Brookside Mine strike once it commenced in June 1973. The project spanned four years, encompassing filming, preparation, and editing.

Upon arriving in Harlan County, Kopple and her team encountered distrust from residents cautious of outsiders. Gradually, they documented the miners’ battle for improved safety measures, equitable labor conditions, and fair wages—tracking picketing activities from Kentucky all the way to New York City. The film includes interviews with individuals afflicted by black lung disease and footage depicting violent clashes between striking miners and company-employed strikebreakers.

A contentious issue during contract talks was the company’s demand for a no-strike clause, which miners resisted due to fears it would restrict their ability to influence workplace conditions. This dispute became irrelevant when the UMWA later incorporated such a clause into a broader national contract.

Kopple chose to forgo voice-over narration, allowing those involved to express their experiences directly through dialogue and action. The presence of the film crew appeared to contribute to a reduction in violence during confrontations involving armed strikebreakers.

The documentary starkly contrasts Duke Power’s financial success—reporting a 170% profit increase in one year—with the miners’ harsh living conditions and the modest 4% wage raise they were offered amid a 7% rise in living costs.

Union leader Joseph Yablonski, who contested Boyle’s presidency in a disputed election and was subsequently murdered along with his family, is prominently featured. Boyle is depicted initially as robust but later shown frail and confined to a wheelchair following his conviction for orchestrating Yablonski’s assassination.

The strike’s human cost is underscored by the death of miner Lawrence Jones, who was fatally shot during an altercation nearly a year into the strike. Scenes from his funeral emphasize this toll and helped prompt renewed negotiations between management and strikers.

Lois Scott emerges as a pivotal figure within the community, actively mobilizing support for the strike and publicly challenging those who avoided picketing; notably, one scene shows her wielding a pistol.

Interviews

  • Norman Yarborough – President of Eastover Mining
  • Houston Elmore – Organizer for UMW
  • Phil Sparks – Staff member of UMW
  • John Corcoran – President of Consolidation Coal
  • John O'Leary – Former director of the US Bureau of Mines
  • Donald Rasmussen – West Virginia Black Lung Clinic
  • Dr. Hawley Wells Jr.
  • Tom Williams – Campaigner for Boyle
  • Harry Patrick – Secretary-Treasurer of UMW
  • William E. Simon – U.S. Secretary of Treasury

Music

The soundtrack of Harlan County USA plays a crucial role in conveying miners’ cultural identity, reflecting their experiences through folk music traditions. Notable songs featured include:

  • "Dark as a Dungeon" by Merle Travis, performed by David Morris
  • "Forty-Two Years" by Nimrod Workman, with instrumental accompaniment by Kenny Kosek
  • "Come All You Coal Miners" by Sarah Ogan Gunning
  • "Mannington" and "Black Lung" by Hazel Dickens, sung respectively by David Morris and Hazel Dickens
  • "Cold Blooded Murder" and "They'll Never Keep Us Down" by Hazel Dickens with musical backing
  • Traditional tunes like "Miners Life," performed by David Morris's Band, and "This Little Light of Mine," sung by Bill Worthington
  • "Which Side Are You On" by Florence Reece, featuring additional lyrics by Joshua Waletzky
  • "Coal Tattoo" by Billy Edd Wheeler, performed vocally by David Morris

Critical response

Gary Arnold of The Washington Post commended Kopple for presenting a compelling tribute to the bravery and resilience of Appalachian coal miners and their families amid the Brookside strike. He emphasized the understated yet expressive portrayal by Kopple and photographer Hart Perry, capturing the miners’ realities and union activities.

When the film was reissued in 2006, critic Roger Ebert praised its lasting significance, particularly its portrayal of armed company tactics against striking workers and the crucial involvement of miners' spouses in picketing. He also recalled striking moments where the filmmakers themselves encountered violence while documenting the strike.

Film critic Dennis Schwartz described it as a powerful documentary on labor strikes that vividly conveyed the miners’ hardships and personal narratives, enhanced by poignant folk music reinforcing union unity. Nevertheless, he observed that the film offered a singular viewpoint without extensive contextual analysis.

The documentary maintains a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, indicative of its universal critical acclaim.

Awards

Victories

Additional honors

Preservation

The Academy Film Archive alongside New York Women in Film & Television undertook preservation efforts for Harlan County, USA in 2004.

Criterion Collection supplementary material

The 2004 special feature from the Criterion Collection, titled The Making of Harlan County, USA, features associate director Anne Lewis drawing parallels between Kopple and Women's Liberation activists. Miner Jerry Johnson credits the presence of the film crew with helping bring an end to the strike: "The cameras probably prevented a lot of violence... Had the crew not been sympathetic to our cause, we might have lost."

Notes

In a 2015 interview with Variety, Kopple disclosed that strikebreaker Basil Collins had threatened her life. Nonetheless, she identified the most significant threats as coming from mine owners employing local prisoners to intimidate miners through violent acts and property destruction.

See also

Further reading

  • Gail Pellet, "The Making of Harlan County, USA: An Interview with Barbara Kopple," Radical America, vol. 11, no. 2 (March–April 1977), pp. 32–42.
  • Tom Hansell, Patricia Beaver and Angela Wiley, "Keep Your Eye upon the Scale".

External links

Related profiles

TTaxi to the Dark SideSSearching for Sugar ManTThe Bridge (2006 documentary film)AAnswering the Call: Ground Zero's Volunteers
Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=Harlan_County,_USA&oldid=14220"