Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)

Director:

Barbara Kopple

Release Date:

28 September 1977 (France)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A filmed account of a bitterly violent miner strike.

Plot Keywords:

Kentucky | Miners Strike | Mining | Harlan County | Union Movement

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins

Cast

Norman Yarborough	...	Himself - Eastover Mining President
Houston Elmore	...	Himself - UMW organizer
Phil Sparks	...	Himself - UMW staff
John Corcoran	...	Himself - Consolidated Coal President
John O'Leary	...	Himself - former Bureau of Mines director
Donald Rasmussen	...	Himself - Blackwing Clinic, WV (as Dr. Donald Rasmussen)
Hawley Wells Jr.	...	Himself (as Dr. Hawley Wells Jr.)
Tom Williams	...	Himself - Boyle campaigner
Chip Yablonski	...	Himself
Ken Yablonski	...	Himself
Logan Patterson	...	Himself - negotiator
Harry Patrick	...	Himself - UMW secretary-treasurer
Mike Trbovich	...	Himself - UMW VP
Bernie Aronson	...	Himself - UMW staff
Guy Farmer	...	Himself - BCPA General Counsel
Nimrod Workman	...	Himself
Bessie Lou Cornett	...	Herself
Jerry Wynn	...	Himself - miner
Bob Davis	...	Himself - miner
Lois Scott	...	Herself
Joe Dougher	...	Himself - miner
Jerry Johnson	...	Himself - miner
Sudie Crusenberry	...	Herself
Dorothy Johnson	...	Herself
Betty Eldridge	...	Herself
Ron Curtis	...	Himself - miner
Bill Doan	...	Himself - miner
Phyllis Boyens	...	Herself
Florence Reece	...	Herself
E.B. Allen	...	Himself
Jim Thomas	...	Himself
Mickey Messer	...	Himself
Nanny Rainey	...	Herself
Tom Pysell	...	Himself
Tommy Fergerson	...	Himself
Bill Worthington	...	Himself
Crystal Fergerson	...	Herself
Barry Speilberg	...	Himself
Polly Jones	...	Herself
Diane Jones	...	Herself
Otis King	...	Himself
Mary Lou Fergerson	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
W.A. 'Tony' Boyle	...	Himself
Basil Collins	...	Himself - mine foreman
Carl Horn	...	Himself
Lawrence Jones	...	Himself - shooting victim
John L. Lewis	...	Himself (archive footage)
Arnold Miller	...	Himself
William Simon	...	Himself
Richard Trumka	...	Himself
Billy G. Williams	...	Himself - Harlan County sheriff
Joseph Yablonski	...	Himself (archive footage)
Barbara Kopple	...	Herself (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Barbara Kopple

Produced by
Barbara Kopple	....	producer

Original Music by
Hazel Dickens
Merle Travis

Cinematography by
Kevin Keating
Hart Perry

Film Editing by
Nancy Baker
Mirra Bank
Lora Hays
Mary Lampson

Production Management
Marc Weiss	....	production manager: Miller-Boyle Campaign (as Marc N. Weiss)

Sound Department
Rhetta Barron	....	assistant sound editor
Tim Colman	....	additional sound
Lee Dichter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bob Gates	....	additional sound
Barbara Kopple	....	sound recordist
Judy Rabinovitz	....	assistant sound editor
Helene Susman	....	assistant sound editor
Joshua Waletzky	....	sound editor (as Josh Waletzky)
John Walz	....	additional sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Dick Donovan	....	assistant camera
Michael Hamilton	....	assistant camera
Tom Hurwitz	....	additional cinematographer
Anne Lewis II	....	assistant camera
George Liebert	....	assistant grip
Alex Lukman	....	assistant camera
Flip McCarthy	....	additional cinematographer
Phil Parmet	....	additional cinematographer
Shane Zarintash	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Mirra Bank	....	contributing editor
Lora Hays	....	consulting editor
Lawrence Mischel	....	negative cutter
Sue Mischel	....	negative cutter

Other crew
Jean Bertl	....	titles
Mariann Dusseldorp	....	unspecified assistant
Jose Gallardo	....	titles
Barbara Johnson	....	unspecified assistant
Anne Lewis II	....	associate director
Teri Siegel	....	unspecified assistant

Thanks
Bernie Aronson	....	thanks
Ting Barrow	....	thanks
Robert Boehm	....	thanks
Bernie Chertok	....	thanks
David Chertok	....	thanks
Heleny Cook	....	thanks
Alida Davison	....	thanks
Suzy Elmiger	....	thanks
Leon Gast	....	thanks
Robert Gumpert	....	thanks
Carol Guyer	....	thanks
Cynthia Guyer	....	thanks
Barbara Haspiel	....	thanks
Nancy Higgins	....	thanks
Anne Hoblitzelle	....	thanks
Robert Kaylor	....	thanks
Alfred S. Kopple	....	thanks
Majorie Kopple	....	thanks
Peter Kopple	....	thanks
Laura Lesser	....	thanks
Alan Manger	....	thanks
Richard Pearce	....	thanks
Michael Penland	....	thanks
D.A. Pennebaker	....	thanks
Hart Perry	....	thanks
George Pillsbury	....	thanks
Barrie Singer	....	thanks
Marvin Soloway	....	thanks
Bill Susman	....	thanks
Simone Swan	....	thanks
Rip Torn	....	thanks
Meri Weingarten	....	thanks (as Merry Weingarten)
Mo Weitzman	....	thanks (as Moe Weitzman)
Myrna Zimmerman	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Cabin Creek

Distributors

• Cinema 5 Distributing
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1978) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1978) (1980) (Finland) (TV) (TV2)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:U | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Brookside, Kentucky, USA

Company:

Cabin Creek

Trivia:

When filming began, the film was intended to be about the 1972 campaign by Arnold Miller and Miners For Democracy to unseat UMWA president Tony Boyle, in the aftermath of Joseph Yablonski's murder; but the Harlan County strike began and caused the filmmakers to change their principal subject, with the campaign and murder becoming secondary subjects.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Harlan County USA' (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Which Side Are You On

Visual Of A Tragedy

The clarity and portrayal in Harlan County of the hideous strikes makes the audience feel involved. Surrounded by beautiful nature and hollows, poverty and living conditions flip the picture. In this particular film by Barbara Kopple, her crew follows around the coal miners and their families around the clock. There is not anytime of day where a song is being sung or gun shots are being fired not caught on camera. Kopple's depiction of women and use of sound makes this documentary distinct for its time. In the mid 60's, civil rights and liberties was a huge issue. Eventually the Civil Rights Act of 1963 was passed and America was slowly evolving into a new nation. During the strikes in Harlan Country, women played a big role to help and on screen. Kopple dedicated a good amount of footage to the emergence of women taking a stand and being strong. Around the time of this strike, women were not portrayed as they were on screen thorough the documentary. In one particular picket stand, a car was rolled in the middle of a main road surrounded by women protesting. The sheriff told them repeatedly to clear the road, but they did not move an inch. The women organization during the strike did not become vulnerable once presenting a new image. By the camera shooting close-ups of women's faces during their meetings and protests, the audience can really feel the power and anger they had alone. As the documentary unfolds, the use of music played a major role. Through out the whole presentation, the songs heard described key events that took place during the strike. When studies were shown how black dust from coal kills your lungs, many small scenes showed the coal miners having trouble breathing. During this segment, a depressing song about black dust accompanied each powerful image. Many involved during these hard times composed songs of their feelings and emotions which Kopple caught on screen and included in many shots. The documentary starts the film with an elderly man singing a slow depressing song setting the harsh tone. By the end of the documentary, songs of victory and happiness accompany the images. Including the songs throughout the whole film gave the images more to express to the audience through the journey. Kopple's documentary gives viewers a front row seat of the horrible atrocities during the Harlan County strike. The camera can only speak so many words. Approaching this event as a documentary including powerful music makes the camera and film process complete.