HARLAN COUNTY USA - DVD review

If you still labor under the mistaken notion that documentaries are supposed to be "objective," then you might take Barbara Kopple to task for making such a one-sided film as "Harlan County USA" (1976). Kopple documents a strike by coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky who want the right to join the United Mine Workers union. The mining company, owned by Duke Power, would prefer to maintain the status quo: making a massive profit while paying the (non-unionized) workers a salary and benefits package well below the national standard. The workers' case is an easy one for Kopple to make: lousy pay, deplorable working conditions, and virtually no medical plan for one of the most debilitating jobs on earth. Only the most soulless viewer wouldn't root for these blue-collar Joes. But doesn't the company have a valid perspective too? As Kopple convincingly argues: No, it doesn't.

The striking workers don't just have an uphill struggle for their rights; they have to battle for their very lives. The company hires (unofficially, of course) gun thugs to threaten the miners, at home as well as on the picket lines. These real-life "Deliverance" rejects are headed by a mouth-breather named Basil Collins, surely one of the most detestable villains in movie history. A sweaty, jowly, shambling mound of a man, Basil's only joy in life is to intimidate other people. In one of the most gripping scenes in the movie, Kopple films Collins training his gun first on the picket line and then the camera itself. Soon after, Kopple and cameraman Hart Perry are attacked by the swarming gun thugs; Kopple only escaped serious injury by clutching to her sturdy Nagra recorder as the thugs kicked at her.

Shocking footage like this is only one reason that "Harlan County USA," a 1977 Oscar winner, was viewed both in its time and in the ensuing thirty years as a landmark achievement in documentary. Like most documentarians of the time, Kopple came from the direct cinema tradition, and her "fly-on-the-wall" footage looks very much like the documentaries of the Maysles brothers and Frederick Wiseman, but she went well beyond the traditional scope of cinema verité.

Kopple lived and breathed the Harlan County strike for over a year, and she only slowly won over the trust of the workers who, understandably, were suspicious of any outsiders, let alone *gasp!* a New Yorker. Kopple got to know not just the issues but the people and their traditions, and she made the bold decision to use local folk songs (as performed by singers she met during the filming) to bolster the story, a strict no-no by the "rules" of direct cinema. The film also benefits from the ample historical material included not just to provide information, but to paint a portrait of a community of a proud people with a rich and complex history.

With "Harlan County USA" Barbara Kopple takes advantage of all of direct cinema's strengths (captivating fly-on-the-wall footage, the intoxicating sense of real-time involvement) and overcomes many of its weaknesses by employing music and archival footage to great effect and, most importantly, by becoming an active participant in the film. Did Kopple's presence have an influence on the way events transpired? Without a doubt. Basil Collins backs down a few times when he realizes he is on camera. As Kopple says, nobody wants to commit murder in living color. Sometimes she and cameraman Perry would show up at the picket lines even when they had no film, simply in hopes that the camera's presence would have a calming effect. What "Harlan County USA" proves is that the documentarians "interference" with events was not the mortal sin some practitioners of direct cinema believed it to be. Kopple could not possibly have gained access to the men and women of Harlan County without becoming so closely involved with them.

Obviously the mine workers are featured prominently in "Harlan County USA", but more striking is the primary role granted to the workers' wives. These are fierce ladies who won't back down even under threat of death from the company's gun-toting goons. The abomination that is Basil Collins is answered by the pillar of strength that is Lois Scott. Lois believes in fighting fire with fire, and at one meeting she pulls a gun out of her bra. Don't make Lois Scott angry; you wouldn't like her when she's angry. A court injunction prevents more than six of the workers from picketing, but there's nothing to stop the women from showing up with switches (more like baseball bats) in hand, to make sure the company knows they aren't going to back down from anything.

On the surface, "Harlan County USA" appears to be a rousing populist tale, which is appropriate considering that the Best Picture winner that year was "Rocky." However, the final message of the film is something grimmer than "We Shall Overcome." There may be strength in numbers, but the only way the miners really make progress at the end if after they arm themselves in answer to the company's armed thugs which could, I suppose, be read as a justification for the paranoia of American militia culture. One miner is killed by a scab worker, and it is only this crisis that motivates that company to quickly negotiate for a new contract. Whether the workers actually get a fair shake in the end is also an open question.

A shotgun marriage of the participatory and observational documentary modes, "Harlan County USA" is a monumentally influential movie that remains as compelling today as when it was released thirty years ago. Kopple scores easy points by lobbing tomatoes at villains like Basil Collins and by sanctifying heroes such as Lois Scott, but she's only making optimal use of the material she found.

Video

The film is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, the same ratio as the 35 mm blowup used as the source for this transfer. The footage is grainy and gritty, a tribute to its status as a low-budget guerilla film. The restored transfer looks great but not too great, which is important. You don't want to buff and polish something like this so much that it loses its original flavor. Hart Perry is credited for the cinematography along with four others (Kevin Keating, Phil Parmet, Flip McCarthy, and Tom Hurwitz) and all of the photography in this movie is top notch.

Audio

The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. Optional English subtitles support the audio.

Extras

An audio commentary by Kopple and editor Nancy Baker includes many insights into details about the filming, although perhaps a bit too much reminiscing about how wonderful and amazing everyone involved in the movie was.

"The Making of ‘Harlan County USA'" (22 min.) is a newly filmed documentary short with interviews with crew members and some strike participants. It is fairly superficial but still interesting material.

Also included is an interview with Hazel Dickens (12 min.), a bluegrass singer-songwriter who contributed several of the songs featured prominently in "Harlan County USA."

In 2005, the Sundance Film Festival celebrated the 30th anniversary of "Harlan County USA" (a year early, I think, but who's complaining) and the DVD includes a panel discussion (14 min.) moderated by Roger Ebert and including Kopple, Hart Perry, Nancy Baker, Hazel Dickens, and some striking Utah miners.

John Sayles reflects on the film in a brief interview (6 min.), and the selection of extras is rounded out by six separate Outtakes, totaling 26 min. running time.

The insert booklet includes an essay by Film Comment stalwart Paul Arthur and an essay by music journalist Jon Weisberger.

Film Value

"Harlan County USA" creates a sense of time and place rivaled by only a handful of other films, fiction or non-fiction. Replete with memorable characters, both heroes and villains, this documentary is constructed like a classical drama, and is stirring on a visceral level. The film might not offer many deep insights into the complex issues involved in worker-corporate relations, but it more than compensates with its insights into the men and women of Harlan County. One of the defining documentaries of the 70s, "Harlan County USA" is not to be missed.