Product Details

• Actors: Norman Yarborough, Houston Elmore, Phil Sparks, John Corcoran, John O'Leary
• Directors: Barbara Kopple
• Format: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Criterion
• DVD Release Date: May 23, 2006
• Run Time: 103 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000E5LEVU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,626 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Harlan County, U.S.A. (The Criterion Collection)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Image Entertainment Release Date: 05/23/2006

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best documentaries I've ever viewed..., December 11, 2001

By 

Rosemary Thornton "Niece of Addie Hoyt Fargo ... (Norfolk, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harlan County Usa [VHS] (VHS Tape)

When I told the librarian I wanted to see a video on coal mining, she handed me "Harlan County." I looked at the date - which indicated that the coal miners' strike featured in the movie took place in the early 1970s and I handed it back to her saying, "No, I'm interested in something with more history in it."

A few days later, I felt impelled to return to the library and get this VHS. I sat down to watch it one morning and could not turn it off. It's compelling, intriguing, educational and emotional. I cried several times, watching the struggle and learning more and more about a coal miner's life.

For the last few months, I've been doing research (in preparation for a book on Sears Homes) about Standard Oil's coal mines in Macoupin County, Illinois in the 1920s. "Harlan County" showed archival footage and presented information that showed what a miner's life looked like - through the ages. Duke Power's coal mines in Harlan County, Kentucky were so backwards and Standard Oil's coal mines in Macoupin County, Illinois were so progressive, that I learned more than I ever expected about early 1900s mining techniques.

The story about the man and the mules is something I'll never ever forget. Or the miner's conversation with the New York policeman. Thank God for the director Ms. Koppel, who was inspired to create this documentary! And for her having the wisdom and foresight to record these old miners' reminiscences of life in the coal mines in the early years of the 20th Century.

Suddenly, all the puzzle pieces from my months of book reading and research came together when I saw these old films and heard the miners talk.

I'll be watching it again and again - with my family, too. And I hope every person who uses electricity in this country will watch it, too.

An interesting aside - in the 1920s in Macoupin County, Illinois, one coal miner died (on average) for every 279,000 tons of coal that was mined. Between 1900-1969, 100,000 miners died in this country. Standard Oil's mines (operated from 1918-1925) in Macoupin County may have been the safest mines in the country, but several men died in those mines, too.

In 1918, Standard Oil of Indiana built 192 Sears Modern Homes for their (mostly immigrant) miners in Macoupin County. (The term "Modern Homes" simply meant that the houses had kitchens, bathrooms, running water, central heat and electricity.)

In 1973, Duke Power's miners in Harlan County were still living in shacks with no running water.

Rose Thornton

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Mother was in this Movie. I lived it., December 18, 2004

By 

anjajosa "anjajosa" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harlan County Usa [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I read a comment from a reviewer who thought the film focused too much on the women and "glossed over" the past sacrifices of miners. I'm from Harlan County. My Mother was Lois Scott who was one of the women featured. I was growing up during the time and my mother risked everything to help the striking miners even though my father had a better, union job at another mine. She had "no dog in this fight" other than to help others. If you watch the film, it's plain the strike would have folded and failed had it not been for the women of the strike. My mothers father was a union organizer during the 1930's "bloody harlan" days. She wanted to help working class people with no thought of any personal gain. She passed away May 15 this year, and though I miss her so much myself, I know the world lost a working class hero that they needed even more than I did. The focus of the film was this strike, the 1930's references were background.

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harlan County USA, November 5, 2004

By 

Janie (Harlan, Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harlan County Usa [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I am from Harlan County, Kentucky. This movie is a compelling visual of my family and its rich history of roots and labor. Harlan was known back then as "Bloody Harlan" because of the conflicts regarding the area. There is a song called "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive", it embodies this documentary of the 70s. People spent their lives digging coal until they reached the bottom of their grave.

My mother grew up in those coal camps and knew no other life. She was pregnant with me during the filming of the documentary and worked at a small resturant where she met my daddy who was a coal miner. She stated that those times were hard and just left it at that...she did not speak about it very often and when she did...it was cut short. My dad made it through the riots and protesting, but he died in those mines in 1980 from a rock fall because the saftey conditions were so poor. My stepfather has worked in the coal mines for almost 30 years. He, like many others in Harlan are aware of the dangers when traveling into this deep graveside that holds so many.

I have watched this movie many times with my grandmother who was right there on the picket lines protesting these conditions. When we watch it now, she always points at the television and says...you know that is such and such...it's funny how she never forgets who and what that time was about.

My generation of Harlan County USA has seen little of what our parents and grandparents endured back in the 1970s. My brother has now entered the world of coal mining and the tradition continues. It is much safer now. My father wants to be a Mine and Saftey inspector because he remembers what it was like and how far they have come. Coal mining is our legacy, our way of life. We hold it high and its the most respectable, honest way to make a living that you can have in our town.

We in Harlan County will never forget the documentary that showed the world who we are and what we are made of...and let it be known, that we will never back down from a fight.