Runtime: 105 min
Genres: Documentary
Cast: Lois Scott Houston Elmore Phil Sparks Bessie Lou Cornett Parker Norman Yarborough Sudie Crusenberry Mary Lou Fergerson Basil Collins Florence Reece
Crew: Rip Torn Merle Travis Barbara Kopple Barbara Kopple Barbara Kopple Hazel Dickens Hart Perry Kevin Keating Lora Hays Mary Lampson Anne Lewis Johnson
This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Eastover's refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined with the United Mine Workers of America) led to the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent battles between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and the picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with New York Women in Film & Television in 2004.
