UK
Director: Robert Rae
108m
It’s the General Strike 1926 – only seven years after the slaughter of the trenches, miners unions lead the country against savage austerity cuts handed to the nation by a Liberal-Conservative government. Inspired by true stories from local families in Fife, the Happy Lands follows the journey of law-abiding citizens who become law-breakers in a heroic battle against the state. It’s never a good time to stand up for your rights – but it’s always the right time.
135m; U.S.
Director: John Sayles
Cast: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, David Strathairn
Synopsis: John Sayles, one of the leading independent directors in the world, came to WV in 1983 to film one of the most famous confrontations between laborer and owners in the town of Matewan, Mingo County, WV, 1920. It took him four years to finally finish the film, directing “Brother from another Planet” during that time period. Coal miners, struggling to form a union, are up against company operators and Baldwin-Felts agents. Black and Italian miners, brought in by the company to break the strike, are caught between the two forces. Union activist and ex-Wobbly Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper), sent to help organize the union, determines to bring the local, black, and Italian groups together. Drawn from an actual incident; the characters of Sheriff Sid Hatfield (David Strathairn), Mayor Cabell Testerman (Josh Mostel), C. E. Lively (Bob Gunton) , and Few Clothes Johnson were based on real people. James Earl Jones plays Few Clothes Johnson, a black coal miner who joins the union to stop massive abuses. The execution of Sheriff Hatfield on the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse steps by Baldwin-Felts agents led to the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed labor conflict in American history. Music by WV native Hazel Dickens. Nominated for an Oscar by Haskell Wexler for best cinematography. Filmed in Thurmond and the New River Gorge, WV.
Trailer
Key Clip
In this scene, Chris Cooper’s organizer character gives an impassioned speech about the meaning of being in a union, with an explicit attack on racism and other forces that would divide workers.
110m; U.S.
Director: Martin Ritt
Cast: Sally Fields, Beau Bridges, Ron Liebman
Synopsis: Sally Fields won an Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of a Southern textile worker in the 1970s. Faced with problems and challenges both personal and at work, Norma Rae proves receptive to the message of a union organizer seeking to start a drive at her plant. The film is based on the real story of Crystal Lee Sutton and the ACTWU’s drive to organize JP Stevens’ plants in the South in the 1970s.
Trailer
Key Scene
126m; Italy
Director: Mario Monicelli
Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori and Gabriella Giorgelli
Synopsis: Exploited textile factory workers in Turin, Italy at the turn of the century and the beginnings of their fight for better working conditions.
Trailer
194m; U.S.
Director: Warren Beatty
Cast: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Edward Hermann, Jerzy Kosinski, Maureen Stapelton, Gene Hackman
Synopsis: Reds is the epic biography of early 20th century U.S. communist author and activist Jack Reed and his stormy off-again, on-again love affair with free-thinker Louise Bryant. The film covers some of Reed’s time in the United States (including relationships with the IWW and the Socialist Party) and their time together in Russia during the Bolshevik revolution which led Reed to write the book Ten Days that Shook the World. The film also covers attempts to build a communist party in the U.S., the post-World War I “Red Scare” and the early years of the U.S.S.R. Maureen Stapelton won an Oscar for her portrayal of Emma Goldman and Beatty won for Best Director. Interspersed throughout the film are interviews with many of the people who knew Reed and Bryant. Long but highly recommended.
Click here to read Jon Garlock’s introduction to Reds at the Rochester (NY) Labor Film Series.
Trailer
The Russian Revolution Montage
John Reed’s Speech on Freedom and Revolution
131m; U.S.
Director: Mike Nichols
Cast: Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell and Cher
Synopsis: Biographical film about Karen Silkwood, a chemical technician at a Kerr-McGee nuclear power plant in Oklahoma. Silkwood became increasingly concerned about all manner of safety and health violations at the plant and worked with her union, the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers to try to address them. This led to escalating pressure from the company and eventually Silkwood’s death in a suspicious car accident.
Trailer
127m; U.K.
Director: Ken Loach
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney and Liam Cunningham
Synopsis (IMDB): Ireland, 1920. Damien and Teddy are brothers. But while the latter is already the leader of a guerrilla squad fighting for the independence of his motherland, Damien, a medical graduate of University College, would rather further his training at the London hospital where he has found a place. However, shortly before his departure, he happens to witness atrocities committed by the ferocious Black and Tans and finally decides to join the resistance group led by Teddy. The two brothers fight side by side until a truce is signed. But peace is short-lived and when one faction of the freedom-fighters accepts a treaty with the British that is regarded as unfair by the other faction, a civil war ensues, pitting Irishmen against Irishmen, brothers against brothers, Teddy against Damien.
Trailer
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