Review of Blue Collar (1978) by Sean N — 24 Mar 2009

One of the best movies about the working class and in general that I've ever seen (the other being Barbara Koppel's documentary: 'Harlan County USA'). Schrader for some reason has remained tightly underrated throughout his entire career even though he contributed scripts to Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver', 'Last Temptation of Christ', and 'Raging Bull' and has taken upon directing precisely detailed and thought provoking films himself.

But such like him are where (most of the time...all the time) you find some of the best works in cinema. Here, Schrader offers some of the best casting ever (and I mean EVER) with Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto (you know the black guy from 'Alien' and Richard Pryor (yes, he's funny in this movie, not serious the whole time!) and sets them against a story of three working class friends who are fed up with the unfair, cruel and degrading conditions of their demanding factory job which in turn just barely pays them the means to survive and support their families.

They stage a robbery of a safe at the main office, and they're successful until they find the safe is full of petty cash but something much more important: a notebook filled with pages and pages of numbers anf percentages.

Eventually they uncover the corrupt practices of the very own union they've defended and worked for. The movie doesn't lighten up after the fact. It shows how not anyone or anything can bring down a corrupt system.

Bonds of friendship are tested, and bought out by manipulation and the corrupt poweers that be go as far as murder to cover tracks. The working man, no matter how much stepped on, when fed up and no matter how of much of an advantage he has over the powers that be just can't win.

If the rumored Criterion release is true, I can't wait!