American Dream (1990)

Directors:

Barbara Kopple
Cathy Caplan (co-director)
(more)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Chronicles the six-month strike at Hormel in Austin, Minnesota, in 1985-86. The local union, P-9 of the Food and Commercial Workers...

Plot Keywords:

Striking | Brother Against Brother | Recession | Boycott | Brother Brother Relationship

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 wins

Cast

Jesse Jackson	...	Himself
Juan Munoz
Ray Rogers	...	Himself
Mike Kinney	...	Himself (uncredited)

Directed by
Barbara Kopple
Cathy Caplan		(co-director)
Thomas Haneke		(co-director) (as Tom Haneke)
Lawrence Silk		(co-director)

Produced by
Esther Cassidy	....	coordinating producer (as Esther B. Cassidy)
Arthur Cohn	....	producer
Ernest Hood	....	associate producer
Jonathan House	....	associate producer
Barbara Kopple	....	producer
Peter Miller	....	coordinating producer
Molly Ornati	....	associate producer
Gail Rosenschein	....	associate producer
Bill Susman	....	associate producer (as William Susman)

Original Music by
Michael Small

Cinematography by
Peter Gilbert
Kevin Keating
Hart Perry
Mark Petersson		(as Mark T. Peterson)
Mathieu Roberts

Film Editing by
Cathy Caplan
Thomas Haneke		(as Tom Haneke)
Lawrence Silk

Production Design by
Mark Stuart Lane

Sound Department
Jerry Blumenthal	....	additional sound
Audrey Chang	....	assistant sound editor
Frances Curiazza	....	assistant sound editor
Lee Dichter	....	sound mixer
Donald Klocek	....	sound editor
Barbara Kopple	....	sound recordist
Al Nahmias	....	sound editor
Mark Paturet	....	additional sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Achs	....	additional cinematographer (as Bob Achs)
Wade Black	....	additional cinematographer
Nesya Blue	....	additional cinematographer
Ted Bokhof	....	additional cinematographer (as Ted Bokhoff)
Lou Cubillos	....	additional cinematographer
Jean de Segonzac	....	additional cinematographer
Chuck France	....	additional cinematographer
Timothy Gannon	....	additional cinematographer (as Tim Gannon)
Dan Geiger	....	additional cinematographer
James Hayman	....	additional cinematographer (as Jim Hayman)
John Hazard	....	additional cinematographer
Tom Hurwitz	....	additional cinematographer
Rob Issen	....	title photographer
Kyle Kibbe	....	additional cinematographer
Nicholas Kopple-Perry	....	best boy
Peter Kuttner	....	additional cinematographer (as Peter Cuttner)
Ed Matney	....	additional cinematographer (as Ed Mattney)
Steve Moses	....	additional cinematographer
Phil Parmet	....	additional cinematographer
Peter Pierce	....	additional cinematographer
Gordon Quinn	....	additional cinematographer
Oren Rudowsky	....	additional cinematographer
Peter Schnall	....	additional cinematographer
Robert Shepard	....	additional cinematographer (as Bobby Shepard)
Newton Thomas Sigel	....	additional cinematographer (as Tom Sigel)
Jonathan Sinaiko	....	additional cinematographer
Igor Sunara	....	additional cinematographer (as Igor Sonara)
Bill Turnley	....	additional cinematographer
David Waterston	....	additional cinematographer (as Dave Waterston)

Editorial Department
Jan Berry	....	editing room assistant
Beth Bloedow	....	editing room assistant
Audrey Chang	....	assistant editor
Carrie Farmer Tokunaga	....	assistant editor
Deborah Gavlak	....	editing room assistant (as Debra Gavlak)
James Hart	....	editing room assistant (as James Harte)
Adam Lichtenstein	....	apprentice editor
June Lichtenstein	....	editing room assistant
Robert McFalls	....	associate editor (as Robert E. McFalls)
Robert McFalls	....	post-production coordinator (as Robert E. McFalls)
Carol Ross	....	editing room assistant
Amy Shidler	....	editing room assistant
Helene Susman	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Sylvia Reed	....	music coordinator

Other crew
Edward Asner	....	additional funding (as Ed Asner)
David Brody	....	humanities advisory board
Fred Casey	....	additional funding
Sidney Cobb	....	humanities advisory board
Carl Cohen	....	humanities advisory board
Harriet Crosby	....	additional funding
Lavinia Currier	....	additional funding
Susan Emerling	....	researcher: stock footage
Louis Ferman	....	humanities advisory board
Ted Field	....	additional funding
Joann Flaherty	....	unspecified assistant
Ellen Goldsmith	....	production office staff
Ben Goldstein	....	additional funding
Julie Gustafson	....	additional funding
Rick Halpern	....	humanities advisory board
Jean Hardisty	....	additional funding
Ed Hedemann	....	production office staff
Cathe Ishino	....	title designer
Alice Kessler-Harris	....	humanities advisory board
Alfred S. Kopple	....	major funding (as Alfred Kopple)
Majorie Kopple	....	major funding
Leslie Levitas	....	production office staff
Rosalind Lichter	....	lawyer
Donald Lipski	....	additional funding
David G. Lubell	....	lawyer (as David Lubell)
Nancy Meyer	....	additional funding
Harvey O'Connor	....	additional funding
Oscar Ornati	....	humanities advisory board
Hart Perry	....	additional funding
Phyllis Peterson	....	additional funding
Alida Rockefeller	....	major funding
Jerry Rosenblum	....	accountant: Spahr, Lacher & Sperber
Charles Savitt	....	additional funding
John Sayles	....	additional funding
Charles Schwartz	....	additional funding
Ralph Shikes	....	additional funding
Ruth Shikes	....	additional funding
Barbara Sirota	....	development consultant
Alfred Slote	....	humanities advisory board
Bruce Springsteen	....	major funding
Greg Tarpinian	....	advisor: economic and labor
Burkhard Vorländer	....	production office coordinator
Christy Walker	....	production office staff
Daniel Walkowitz	....	humanities advisory board
Marc Weiss	....	additional funding (as Marc N. Weiss)
Virginia Yans-McLaughlin	....	humanities advisory board

Thanks
Jim Jarmusch	....	grateful thanks

Production Companies

• Cabin Creek
• Catholic Communication Campaign (in cooperation with)
• Channel Four Films (in association with) (as Channel 4)

Distributors

• Miramax Films (1992) (USA) (theatrical)
• Prestige (1992) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Home Video (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• C/FP Video (1992) (Canada) (video)
• Home Box Office (HBO) (1992) (USA) (video)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2009) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Cynosure Visuals (opticals) (as Cynosure)

Other Companies

• Sound One  sound mixing
• J.G. Films  negative cutting
• Spahr, Lacher & Sperber  accounting

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for momentary strong language

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Austin, Minnesota, USA

Company:

Cabin Creek

Movie Connections:

Features "CBS Evening News with Dan Rather" (1981)

Great follow-up to "Harlon County, USA"

This Oscar-winning 1991 documentary is captivating, personal, and heartfelt. It is also, however, a bleak and dark film, and the vantage it provides into American capitalism is a haunting one. Much like Kopple's previous documentary: "Harlan County, U.S.A.," "American Dream" is more than an examination of a labor dispute. (Specifically, the 1984 strike of Hormel, Inc. meatpackers in Minnesota). This film asks that we look at the bigger picture, and it was made during a time when the American economy was faltering. Through her frank and journalistic interactions with various stakeholders, Kopple presents a riveting deconstruction of the working class in America, as well as big business and the interworkings of organized labor. Underneath it all, though, this is a human interest story, and watching the strike unfold chronologically - from various viewpoints - is magnetizing. Brother is pitted against brother, union against union, and Kopple's delicate political handling is masterful. Anyone interested in organized labor in America, as well as the sometimes fleeting notion of the American Dream, this is one you SHOULD NOT MISS. This is gripping, psyche-dwelling stuff. (PS: During the film's closing credits, take note of the huge amount of organizations and people who contributed their money, and volunteeered their talent to this project. Perhaps nothing else is greater testament to its importance). ---|--- Was this review helpful?