Harlan County, U.S.A.
Barbara Kopple was only in her twenties when she and her crew captured the 13-month standoff between the mining community in Harlan County and the corporation that valued profits over people. The resulting documentary Harlan County, U.S.A., became a canonical film for its unflinching documentation of the fight for labor rights in the United States.
Barbara Kopple was only in her twenties when she and her crew captured the 13-month standoff between the mining community in Harlan County and the corporation that valued profits over people. The resulting documentary Harlan County, U.S.A., became a canonical film for its unflinching documentation of the fight for labor rights in the United States. Winner of Documentary Feature, the film also features moving bluegrass music by Hazel Dickens, Merle Travis, Sarah Gunning, and Florence Reece.
Director: Barbara Kopple. 1976. 103 minutes. USA. Color. English. 35mm. Preserved in 2004 by the Academy Film Archive with support from the Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film and Television.
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