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Category Archives: Politics

Greensboro: Closer to the Truth (2007)

86m; U.S.

Director: Adam Zucker

Synopsis: A documentary film chronicling the participants in the Greensboro Massacre—a 1979 attack in which the Ku Klux Klan killed five Communists in broad daylight, and no one was convicted. Klansmen and former Communists converge in the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission to be held in the U.S. in 2004-2006.

Contact: azfilmmaker@verizon.net 917-270-0083 (Cell)

 

A Grin Without a Cat (Le Fond de l’air est rouge) (1977)

240m; France

Synopsis (Wikipedia): The film features many interviews with French communist leaders, students, and sociologists. The Prague Spring of 1968 is featured, with footage of a Fidel Castro speech in which he expresses political support for the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia while questioning the legality of the action. Other sections deal with the rise of Salvador Allende and the Watergate Scandal in the United States. There are many subtle references to cats throughout the film, as well as brief shots of raccoons.

 
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Posted by on March 1, 2012 in Documentary, Politics

 

Hillbilly – The Real Story (2007)

120m; U.S.

Director: David Moore Huntley

Cast: Billy Ray Cyrus

Synopsis: Generally, it brings America’s mythic and misunderstood southern mountain people to life and reveal their pivotal but unsung role in forming the nation and forging the American character. It discusses the largest civil insurrection since the Civil War — the Battle for Blair Mountain in the violent West Virginia coalfields in 1921, when a self-proclaimed Redneck Army of 10,000 coal miners fought for their right to organize.

Contact: The History Channel store. http://shop.history.com/detail.php?a=115530 http://www.moorehuntley.com/CONTACT.html

 
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Posted by on March 1, 2012 in Documentary, Organizing, Politics

 

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Haiti’s Tourniquet (2008)

19m; U.S.

Director: Diane Krauthamer

Synopsis: The Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH) invited an Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) delegation to Haiti to learn about their fight against “le plan neoliberal” and recruit help in the form of material aid and solidarity. The delegation was in Haiti April 24 to May 5 2008, two weeks after the country erupted in mass protest at burgeoning food prices. This video shares the stories and experiences

 

Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)

103m; U.S.2015.02.05_harlan-county-usa
Director: Barbara Kopple
Cast: Norman Yarborough (Himself – Eastover Mining President); Houston Elmore (Himself – UMW organizer); Phil Spark (Himself – UMW staff); John Corcoran (Himself – Consolidated Coal President); John O’Leary (Himself – former Bureau of Mines director); Dr. Donald Rasmussen (Himself – Blackwing Clinic, WV); Dr. Hawley Wells Jr. (Himself); 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)
http://www.cabincreekfilms.com/films_harlancounty.html

Synopsis: Harlan County, USA is a 1976 documentary film covering the efforts of 180 coal miners on strike against the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in 1973. It was directed by Barbara Kopple, who has long been an advocate of workers’ rights. Harlan County, U.S.A. Coal miners.  The film won the 1976 Oscar for Best Documentary. Kopple and her crew spent three years filming within the mining community and 180 families’ bitter struggle to win a contract.  Facing dangerous and violent anti-union gun thugs and the brutal murder of one of their own, the striking miners fearlessly face the picket line day in and day out in the hopes of securing a fare wage and a better way of life for their families.  The film is a tribute to the working families of America, particularly the women of Harlan County who actively organized and spearheaded efforts to keep the struggle alive.

View complete film online.

 

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Harry Bridges: A Man and His Union (1992)

58m; U.S.

Director: Barry Minott

Synopsis: Harry Bridges was a critical and central figure in the San Francisco General Strike and this documentary provides a vivid view of his life and response not only to the issues in the strike but also to the massive effort to deport Harry Bridges starting in 1939 for accused of being a member of the Communist Party. This film using footage of the strike and his role is indispensable in showing the wit, humor and character of the founder of the ILWU.

Contact: http://www.mw-prod.com/Film/film_harry.html

 

Heavens Above! (1963)

118m; U.K.

Director: John Boulting

Cast: Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker and Isabel Jeans

Synopsis: A minister is accidentally appointed to a snobbish parish and converts factory owner to idea of wealth sharing.

 
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Posted by on March 1, 2012 in Comedy, Politics, Working Class

 

High Hopes (1988)

112m

Director: Mike Leigh

Synopsis (WorldCat): Cyril and Shirley are a young, working-class couple who, in their struggle to make ends meet, have become absorbed in socialism. Cyril’s sister Valerie and her husband aspire to a more privileged class. The only glue holding the siblings together is their withdrawn and wistful old mother.

 
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Posted by on March 1, 2012 in Drama, Politics, Working Class

 

Hoffa (1992)

140m; U.S.

Director: Danny Devito

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Danny Devito, Armand Assante

Synopsis: A film based on the story of legendary union figure Jimmy Hoffa.

 

Hoffa: The True Story (1992)

50m; U.S.

Director: Meg M. Kruizenga

Synopsis: Documentary biography of Jimmy Hoffa.