Search - Blue Collar

Paul Schrader's directorial debut examines the trials of Detroit autoworkers living at the mercy of a heartless corporation and a corrupt union. Surviving from paycheck to paycheck, Checker Cab assembly linemen Zeke (Richard Pryor), Jerry (Harvey Keitel), and Smokey (Yaphet Kotto) scrape by and take pleasure in a few rounds of beer or bowling (and occasional illicit amusements). But when their money troubles pile up, Jerry and Smokey join Zeke in a desperate plan to steal cash from their local union office. Along with a piddling $600, they unexpectedly swipe evidence of union corruption. Deciding to use it for blackmail, the men discover instead how powerfully malevolent the union can be in a system that counts on petty divisiveness to keep the larger power structure intact. Inspired by stories of real-life disillusionment, Schrader and his brother/co-writer Leonard Schrader took on politically difficult issues of race and corporate labor, infusing the indictment of unions with a suggestion of post-Watergate paranoia about forces beyond the union that keep workers in their place. From the opening sequence of the assembly line to the final evocative freeze-frame, Schrader maintains an atmosphere of gritty realism, with the lead trio lending low-key dramatic force to a situation beyond their control. Too downbeat for a late '70s audience increasingly drawn to happier fare, Blue Collar flopped, yet it did earn Schrader critical accolades. Although he has reportedly since disowned the film, Blue Collar remains one of Schrader's best works, with Zeke and Jerry powered by the same sense of simmering frustration that would explode so effectively in Affliction two decades later. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Richard Pryor - Zeke Brown
Harvey Keitel - Jerry Bartkowski
Yaphet Kotto - Smokey
Ed Begley, Jr. - Bobby Joe
Harry Bellaver - Eddie Johnson

Gifted screenwriter Paul Schrader's directorial debut, Blue Collar, comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono. There are neither subtitles nor closed captions on this release. Supplemental materials include a fascinating commentary track recorded by Schrader and film journalist Maitland McDonagh. Their conversation touches on everything from the difficulty of lighting people of radically different skin color in the same shot to gossip about how poorly the three male leads got along during the filming. Biographies round out this solid DVD from Anchor Bay. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

These movies have the touch and feel of Blue Collar...
10	The Verdict (R)
1	Three Brothers
15	The Accused (R)
2	A Dry White Season (R)
4	Tex [Widescreen/Fullscreen] (PG)
4	The Waterdance (R)
1	The Death of Richie/A Dangerous Summer (NR)
7	Tin Men (R)
S	El Norte [Special Edition] [Widescreen] [Criterion Collection]
4	The Chocolate War (R)
15	Class Action (R)
2	Zebrahead (R)
3	Harry and Tonto (R)
1	A Woman Under the Influence (R)
1	Autumn Sonata [Criterion Collection] (NR)
4	Interiors [Widescreen/Fullscreen] (PG)
These movies have the subject or theme of Blue Collar...
19	Boyz 'N the Hood (R)
2	A Dry White Season (R)
5	Under Fire (R)
2	Straight Out of Brooklyn (R)
1	Matewan (PG-13)
17	Norma Rae (PG)
7	Cadence (PG-13)
15	River's Edge
S	Who'll Stop the Rain? (R)
1	Music Box (PG-13)
2	F.I.S.T. (PG)
3	Wild in the Streets/Gas-s-s-s (R)
9	Taffin (R)
23	Easy Rider [30th Anniversary Special Edition] (R)
11	The Conversation (PG)
6	Coming Home (R)
11	The China Syndrome (PG)
These movies share cast/crew with Blue Collar...
9	Mean Streets (R)
32	Taxi Driver (R)
2	Hardcore (R)
3	Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (R)
11	American Gigolo (R)
19	Bugsy (R)
2	Light Sleeper (R)
9	Bad Lieutenant (NC-17)
4	Raid on Entebbe
8	Bustin' Loose (R)
6	The Two Jakes (R)
3	Wild in the Streets/Gas-s-s-s (R)
52	Point of No Return (R)
6	Moving/Greased Lightning
5	Richard Pryor: Here and Now [Fullscreen/Widescreen] (R)
142	Reservoir Dogs (R)
4	The Star Chamber (R)
4	Brubaker (R)
These movies cover the same subjects as Blue Collar...
S	Arthur Cohn Presents... (R)
18	Gung Ho (PG-13)
S	Harlan County USA [Criterion Collection] (PG)
1	Matewan (PG-13)
2	Take This Job and Shove It (PG)
These movies are similar to Blue Collar...
3	The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings (PG)
17	Norma Rae (PG)
S	The Sidney Portier Collection
S	Harlan County War (NR)
1	Bread and Roses (R)