Barbara Kopple

Harlan County USA

Harlan County USA

Barbara Kopple’s Academy Award–winning Harlan County USA unflinchingly documents a grueling coal miners’ strike in a small Kentucky town. With unprecedented access, Kopple and her crew captured the miners’ sometimes violent struggles with strikebreakers, local police, and company thugs. Featuring a haunting soundtrack—with legendary country and bluegrass artists Hazel Dickens, Merle Travis, Sarah Gunning, and Florence Reece—the film is a heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1976
  • 103 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.78:1
  • English
  • Spine #334

Special Features

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director-producer Barbara Kopple
  • Audio commentary by Kopple and editor Nancy Baker
  • The Making of “Harlan County, USA,” a new documentary featuring interviews with Kopple, crew members and strike participants featured in the film
  • New video interview with legendary bluegrass singer-songwriter Hazel Dickens
  • Never-before-seen outtakes from the film
  • New video interview with director John Sayles
  • A panel discussion from the 2005 Sundance Film Festival featuring Kopple and Roger Ebert
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • New essays by film scholar Paul Arthur and music journalist Jon Weisberger

    New cover by Eric Skillman

Purchase Options

Special Features

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director-producer Barbara Kopple
  • Audio commentary by Kopple and editor Nancy Baker
  • The Making of “Harlan County, USA,” a new documentary featuring interviews with Kopple, crew members and strike participants featured in the film
  • New video interview with legendary bluegrass singer-songwriter Hazel Dickens
  • Never-before-seen outtakes from the film
  • New video interview with director John Sayles
  • A panel discussion from the 2005 Sundance Film Festival featuring Kopple and Roger Ebert
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • New essays by film scholar Paul Arthur and music journalist Jon Weisberger

    New cover by Eric Skillman
Harlan County USA
Credits
Director
Barbara Kopple
Producer
Barbara Kopple
Editing
Nancy Baker
Associate director
Anne Lewis
Principal cinematographer
Hart Perry
Cinematography
Kevin Keating
Sound
Barbara Kopple

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