Blue Collar (film)
Blue Collar | |
---|---|
Directed by | Paul Schrader |
Written by |
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Produced by | Don Guest |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Bobby Byrne |
Edited by | Tom Rolf |
Music by | Jack Nitzsche |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1.7 million[1] |
Box office | $6.5 million[2] |
Blue Collar is a 1978 American
Schrader, who wrote the script for
The film was shot in Detroit and Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Plot
A trio of
Coupled with the financial hardships on each man's end, the trio hatch a plan to rob a safe at American Auto Workers union headquarters. They commit the caper but find only $600 in petty cash. More importantly, they also come away with a ledger which contains evidence of the union's illegal loan operation and ties to organized crime syndicates in Las Vegas, Chicago and New York. They decide to make an attempt to blackmail the union with the information. Meanwhile, a local loan shark has given Smokey advice on how to crack the safe in exchange for a percentage of the robbed proceeds. He gets busted by the police for his ties in an unrelated crime and attempts to get off or receive a softer conviction in exchange for spilling off the information about the trio's robbery & blackmailing. This information subsequently gets back to the union, and they begin to retaliate strongly by turning the tables on the three friends. Jerry experiences a near miss one evening when a pair of hired thugs show up at his house to attack his wife, but both get intercepted and beaten up by Smokey. The next day at work, a suspicious accident at the plant results in Smokey's death that is investigated as a work accident caused by negligent safety protocols, which Zeke and Jerry realize was a murder coordinated by the union bosses due to the incriminating knowledge they possess against the union.
An
In the end, as Jerry enters the plant with federal agents, Zeke confronts him. Once friends, Jerry and Zeke now turn on each other as a heated discussion escalates into them attempting to attack each other, confirming the prescient earlier narrative that union corruption divides workers against one another.
Cast
- Richard Pryor as Ezekiel "Zeke" Brown
- Harvey Keitel as Jerry Bartowski
- Yaphet Kotto as Sam "Smokey" James
- Ed Begley Jr. as Bobby Joe
- Harry Bellaver as Eddie Johnson
- George Memmoli as Jenkins
- Lucy Saroyan as Arlene Bartowski
- Lane Smith as Clarence Hill
- Cliff DeYoung as John Burrows
- Borah Silver as "Dogshit" Miller
- Chip Fields as Caroline Brown
- Tracey Walter as Union Member
- Harry Northup as Hank
- Leonard Gaines as Mr. Berg, IRS Man
- Milton Selzer as Sumabitch
- Sammy Warren as Barney
- Jimmy Martinez as Charlie T. Hernandez
Production
The film was shot on location at the
The three main actors did not get along and were continually fighting throughout the shoot. The tension became so great that at one point Richard Pryor (supposedly in a drug-fueled rage) pointed a gun at Schrader and told him that there was "no way" he would ever do more than three takes for a scene.[4]
Schrader states that during the filming of one take, Harvey Keitel became so irritated by Pryor's lengthy improvisations that he flung the contents of an ashtray into the camera lens, ruining the take. Pryor and his bodyguard responded by pinning Keitel to the floor and pummeling him with their fists.[6]
Jack Nitzsche's blues-flavored score includes "Hard Workin' Man", a collaboration with Captain Beefheart.[7]
Reception
Blue Collar was universally praised by critics. The film holds a 96% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes based on 46 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Paul Schrader's Blue Collar offers a searing, darkly funny indictment of labor exploitation and rampant consumerism that's fueled by the outstanding work of an excellent cast."[8] Both Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel lauded the film; Ebert awarded the film four stars[9] and Siskel placed the film fourth on his list of the ten best of 1978.[10]
Filmmaker Spike Lee included the film on his essential film list "Films All Aspiring Filmmakers Must See".[11] The New York Times placed the film on its Best 1000 Movies Ever list.[12]
In his autobiography Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen names Blue Collar and Taxi Driver as two of his favorite films of the 1970s.[13]
See also
References
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (Apr 6, 1977). "Writing His Way to the Top". Los Angeles Times. p. e20.
- ^ "Blue Collar Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ "Blue Collar". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
- ^ a b The Back Row, Robin's Underrated Gems: Blue Collar (1978)
- ^ Schrader, Paul. "Blue Collar | Film Review | Spirituality & Practice". www.spiritualityandpractice.com.
- ISBN 978-1-61620-447-1.
- ^ Metz, Nina (August 24, 2017). "No shadows or trenchcoats: Why a 1978 Richard Pryor movie unexpectedly qualifies as film noir". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ Blue Collar, Movie Reviews. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ Roger Ebert reviews Blue Collar. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ Siskel and Ebert Top 10. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ List of Films All Aspiring Filmmakers Must See. IndieWire. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
- ^ The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made. The New York Times via Internet Archive. Published April 29, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
- ^ Springsteen, Bruce (2016). Born to Run. London: Simon & Schuster. p. 313.
External links
- Blue Collar at IMDb
- Blue Collar at the TCM Movie Database
- Blue Collar at Letterboxd
- Blue Collar at Rotten Tomatoes