Oscar-winner documentary about a violent and hard-fought 13-month strike that happened in Harlan KY with miners. The miners didn't like the contract and went on strike when the company refused to change the contract. Director Barbara Kopple and her crew befriended the miners. In return the miners talked with her and invited her into their houses and their meetings. The miners dealt with horrendous living conditions. The company built shacks they lived in had no bathrooms or running water and the miners worked in hazardous conditions. The majority of the film centers on the wives of the miners who fight with and for their husbands. They're strong proud women and NEVER back down. The strike gets nasty and finally ends with a young miner being killed. The sequence showing his funeral is almost unbearable to watch--the agony of his widowed wife and mother is just heart-rendering. It all ends with the company backing down and ratifying the contract--but a young man had to die before this.
I know nothing about mining or Kentucky and this was an eye opener. I'm guessing conditions aren't half as bad as they once were but it's incredible what these people dealt with back in 1975. A worthy Oscar winner. A must-see.
I know nothing about mining or Kentucky and this was an eye opener. I'm guessing conditions aren't half as bad as they once were but it's incredible what these people dealt with back in 1975. A worthy Oscar winner. A must-see.