Harlan County, U.S.A.

Name: Harlan County, U.S.A.
Duration: 1 h 43 min

1hr 43m

1hr 43m
4.4/5 (7.8K)
88%
80

A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line. More Details »

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Movie Info & Cast

Director:

Barbara Kopple

Release Date:

Oct 18, 1976

Runtime:

1hr 43m

Synopsis

A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.

Cast

John L. Lewis
Carl Horn
Norman Yarborough
Logan Patterson
Houston Elmore
Phil Sparks
John Corcoran
John O'Leary
Donald Rasmussen
Hawley Wells Jr.

Letterboxd User Reviews

4.4

RATINGS 441 FANS

4.4

May 28, 2019

long live unions. no matter the outcome 40 years later, a group of the proletariat, labelled as uneducated and worth less than dirt, organised and fought a corporation for over a goddamn year for what was right. their bravery is raw and real and inspirational even today,…

871 Likes

Logan Kenny

Sep 13, 2019

I don't think it's any coincidence that the role of women in the strike is so well documented by a female director (and a team of female editors).

795 Likes

Chris Bizon

Jan 6, 2025

“I knew the company was the enemy” It really is unfathomable to me that we just straight up do not teach the labor history of America in schools. Like nothing. You can go through an entire K-12 education in America without so much as learning what a union is. Truly one of…

612 Likes

Bobby Wagner
Jan 6, 2021

Friends' Favorites: @loosecanons_ | RQP My takeaway from yesterday's events at the U.S. Capitol is the disparity between the police response to this right-wing protest and to the left-wing BLM protests earlier this year. Left-wing activists get rubber bullets and tear…

304 Likes

ScreeningNotes

Aug 3, 2022

Whose side are you on?

274 Likes

Jamelle Bouie

Dec 26, 2022

"If I get shot, they can't shoot the union out of me."

264 Likes

JulesLarson
Jun 8, 2019

Essential viewing for every American. If you've ever wondered why the coal miners of today are so desperate to protect a dying industry that doesn't even seem to provide them a decent quality of life, it's because generations of their families have had to fight and claw…

252 Likes

AD917

Aug 26, 2025

One of the more astonishing works of verité documentation I’ve ever seen due to the fact that Barbara Kopple directly embedded herself in this community of striking Kentucky coal mine workers, not just procedurally tracing their heroic 13-month resistance (both in…

241 Likes

Josh Lewis

Apr 20, 2021

My wife had never seen the greatest American labor documentary - and so, arguably, the greatest American documentary - ever made. We rectified that last night. Never forget what the industrialists have wrought on the human body, mind, and soul; or how little regard they…

198 Likes

Joshua Dysart