Trailers from Hell Presents: The Movies That Made Me: John Sayles is BACK
by jramirez-66906 | created - 7 months ago | updated - 7 months ago | PublicFilmmaker and TFH Guru John Sayles returns to discuss unions in the movies with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Matewan (1987)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, History
A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham
Votes: 8,910 | Gross: $1.68M
2. The Life of Riley (1949)
90 min | Comedy, Romance
A factory worker's family is thrown into an uproar when his teenage daughter starts to date his boss' son.
Director: Irving Brecher | Stars: William Bendix, Rosemary DeCamp, James Gleason, Bill Goodwin
Votes: 284
3. How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Passed | 118 min | Drama, Family
At the turn of the century in a Welsh mining village, the Morgans, he stern, she gentle, raise coal-mining sons and hope their youngest will find a better life.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp
Votes: 26,480
4. Wild in the Country (1961)
Not Rated | 114 min | Drama, Musical
A troubled young man discovers that he has a knack for writing when a counselor encourages him to pursue a literary career.
Director: Philip Dunne | Stars: Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins
Votes: 2,082
5. Salt of the Earth (1954)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, History
Mexican workers at a zinc mine call a general strike. It is only through the solidarity of the workers, and importantly the indomitable resolve of their wives, mothers, and daughters, that they eventually triumph.
Director: Herbert J. Biberman | Stars: Juan Chacón, Rosaura Revueltas, Will Geer, David Bauer
Votes: 4,043
6. Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980)
R | 104 min | Drama
Seven former college friends, along with a few new friends, gather for a weekend reunion at a summer house in New Hampshire to reminisce about the good old days, when they got arrested on the way to a protest in Washington, DC.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Bruce MacDonald, Maggie Renzi, Adam LeFevre, Maggie Cousineau
Votes: 2,229 | Gross: $2.00M
7. On the Waterfront (1954)
Approved | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger
Votes: 164,851 | Gross: $9.60M
8. Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1957)
Passed | 103 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A brave longshoreman lingers on after being gunned down by 3 racketeers, as a determined assistant D.A. searches hard for fearful witnesses against the men.
Director: Arnold Laven | Stars: Richard Egan, Jan Sterling, Dan Duryea, Julie Adams
Votes: 476
9. Lianna (1983)
R | 110 min | Drama, Romance
A happily married woman comes to realize herself of being a repressed lesbian after she has an affair with a female college professor, and then tries to come to terms with her newfound lifestyle.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Linda Griffiths, Jane Hallaren, Jon DeVries, Jo Henderson
Votes: 1,824 | Gross: $1.50M
10. The Miracle of the Bells (1948)
Approved | 120 min | Drama
A press agent brings a dead actress home for burial. To promote her one film, he asks churches to ring bells for 3 days, hoping to get the studio head to release it.
Director: Irving Pichel | Stars: Fred MacMurray, Alida Valli, Frank Sinatra, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 1,127
11. The Organizer (1963)
Not Rated | 126 min | Drama, History
A former high school teacher turned unionist tries to organize workers laboring with inhuman conditions at a late 19th Century textile factory.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori, Gabriella Giorgelli, Folco Lulli
Votes: 3,276
12. Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
Not Rated | 106 min | Comedy, Crime
A motley quintet of inept small-time thieves attempt the burglary of a local pawnshop in this Italian farce.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Vittorio Gassman, Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori, Totò
Votes: 11,514
13. The Great War (1959)
Approved | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, War
The Italian Army fought against the Austrians during World War I.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Alberto Sordi, Vittorio Gassman, Bernard Blier, Folco Lulli
Votes: 4,604
14. The Passionate Thief (1960)
106 min | Comedy, Drama
Tortorella tries to spend New Year's Eve with her wealthy friends, but ends up with an actor in decay and a pickpocket.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Anna Magnani, Totò, Ben Gazzara, Fred Clark
Votes: 916 | Gross: $0.03M
15. Z (1969)
M/PG | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The public murder of a prominent politician and doctor amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials. A tenacious magistrate is determined not to let them get away with it.
Director: Costa-Gavras | Stars: Yves Montand, Irene Papas, Jean-Louis Trintignant, François Périer
Votes: 31,342 | Gross: $0.08M
16. Rashomon (1950)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 180,389 | Gross: $0.10M
17. 8½ (1963)
Not Rated | 138 min | Drama
A harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Claudia Cardinale, Sandra Milo
Votes: 125,165 | Gross: $0.05M
18. Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)
PG | 103 min | Documentary
A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.
Director: Barbara Kopple | Stars: John L. Lewis, Carl Horn, Norman Yarborough, Logan Patterson
Votes: 6,627
19. American Dream (1990)
PG-13 | 98 min | Documentary
Recounts the 1985-86 strike against the Hormel Foods Corporation in Minnesota after its employees' wages and benefits were cut.
Directors: Barbara Kopple, Cathy Caplan, Thomas Haneke, Lawrence Silk | Stars: Lewie Anderson, R.J. Bergstrom, Ron Bergstrom, Wayne Goodnature
Votes: 1,011 | Gross: $0.27M
20. Blue Collar (1978)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama
When three automotive factory workers who're struggling financially try to steal from their own labor union, they discover corruption, and reluctantly decide to use this information for blackmail.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto, Ed Begley Jr.
Votes: 10,636
21. Mean Streets (1973)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In New York City's Little Italy, a devoutly Catholic mobster must reconcile his desire for power, his feelings for his epileptic lover, and his devotion to his troublesome friend.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, David Proval, Amy Robinson
Votes: 119,611 | Gross: $3.13M
22. Easy Rider (1969)
R | 95 min | Adventure, Drama
Two bikers head from L.A. to New Orleans through the open country and desert lands, and along the way they meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap of which they had been unaware.
Director: Dennis Hopper | Stars: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Antonio Mendoza
Votes: 116,931 | Gross: $41.73M
23. American Graffiti (1973)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith
Votes: 98,130 | Gross: $115.00M
24. Taxi Driver (1976)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama
A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks
Votes: 920,455 | Gross: $28.26M
25. Norma Rae (1979)
PG | 114 min | Drama
A young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.
Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Sally Field, Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman, Pat Hingle
Votes: 12,832 | Gross: $22.23M
26. The Second Civil War (1997 TV Movie)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
A simple immigration issue spins wildly out of control for those involved, ranging from the President of the United States, to a news producer.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Beau Bridges, Joanna Cassidy, Phil Hartman, James Earl Jones
Votes: 2,266
27. The Landlord (1970)
PG | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
At the age of 29, Elgar Enders (Beau Bridges) "runs away" from home. This running away consists of buying a building in a black ghetto in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Initially, his ... See full summary »
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands, Pearl Bailey
Votes: 3,086 | Gross: $0.96M
28. The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
The lives of two struggling musicians, who happen to be brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.
Director: Steve Kloves | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Beau Bridges, Ellie Raab
Votes: 25,837 | Gross: $18.10M
29. Without Warning: The James Brady Story (1991 TV Movie)
R | 88 min | Drama
Based on a true story, this film focuses on James Brady, the press secretary to Ronald Reagan who was severely injured in an attempt on the president's life. When John Hinckley Jr. Jr. ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Toshiyuki Uno | Stars: Beau Bridges, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Bryan Clark
Votes: 299
30. Silkwood (1983)
R | 131 min | Biography, Drama, History
A worker at a plutonium processing plant is purposefully contaminated, psychologically tortured and possibly murdered to prevent her from exposing worker safety violations at the plant.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson
Votes: 22,198 | Gross: $35.62M
31. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
R | 164 min | Drama
The life of Jesus Christ, his journey through life as he faces the struggles all humans do, and his final temptation on the cross.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Paul Greco
Votes: 63,099 | Gross: $7.63M
32.
American Playhouse (1980–1994)
Episode:
The Killing Floor
(1984)
PG | 118 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
During World War I, a poor black Southerner travels north to Chicago to get work in the city's slaughterhouses, where he becomes embroiled in the organized labor movement. He becomes ... See full summary »
Director: Bill Duke | Stars: Damien Leake, Alfre Woodard, Dennis Farina, Ernest Rayford
Votes: 232
33. Act of Vengeance (1986 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 95 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
In 1969, an administrator runs against the corrupt president of the United Coal Miners Union, and becomes the target of a murder plot.
Director: John Mackenzie | Stars: Charles Bronson, Ellen Burstyn, Wilford Brimley, Hoyt Axton
Votes: 815
34. The Long Good Friday (1980)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An up-and-coming gangster is tested by the insurgence of an unknown, very powerful threat.
Director: John Mackenzie | Stars: Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Paul Freeman, Leo Dolan
Votes: 25,591
35. 10,000 Black Men Named George (2002 TV Movie)
R | 95 min | Drama
Union activist Asa Philip Randolph's efforts to organize the black porters of the Pullman Rail Company in 1920s America.
Director: Robert Townsend | Stars: Andre Braugher, Charles S. Dutton, Mario Van Peebles, Brock Peters
Votes: 360
36. The Bad News Bears (1976)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten
Votes: 25,008 | Gross: $42.35M
37. Slap Shot (1977)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A failing ice hockey team finds success with outrageously violent hockey goonery.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean, Strother Martin, Jennifer Warren
Votes: 41,228 | Gross: $28.00M
38. The Set-Up (1949)
Approved | 73 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Sport
Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias, Alan Baxter
Votes: 10,078
Tell Your Friends