Excellent, smart action film.

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Could one be emboldened to call "Blue Collar" an important and watchable film, but not as great a film as everyone seems to think it is, and that it's obscurity and failure at the box office was not due to the lucid Marxist implications of what was, on paper, a potential masterwork, but that through an author's own misguided execution became something muddy, unfocused, and inert, especially through the neophyte direction of talented actors whose strife-ridden performances lacked the nuance and specific detail to sharpen a didactic political screed into something that was capable of actually emotionally moving the audience rather than just being intellectually admirable? To me, this is the ironic core of the film's own tragic flaw: it lacks the necessary and basic arc of classical dramatic tragedy, because there is no transition between the beginning's complacent discontent and the ending's ignorant discontent; there should be a transition between the beginning's complacent discontent and the various personal flaws in each individual that leads each of them to convince themselves that an act of crime will be a change-agent against corporate evil when it's nothing but it's own reflection, and it is this specific blind spot in each of them, this essential self-delusion motivated by so much justifiable cynicism and hidden psychological suffering, that is not fully explored in any sort of in-depth way, which doomed the film to an affectively barren and arm's-length experience, and short-circuited the heart of it's powerful social criticism. An interesting footnote is that Schrader recently has stated that he doesn't like the film, and has essentially disowned it. It would be interesting to know why, exactly, he feels this way and if it syncs up with any of these particular misgivings. Just off the cuff, here are some further impressions: Keitel's performance generally lacks vulnerability and paternal tenderness, especially in the scene with his daughter's heartbreaking condition; Pryor's performance, although rife with the brilliant and characteristic stylings of his then-dangerous comic persona, fails to convey the more subtle and encroaching shades of corruption that slowly turns a righteous malcontent into a tragically co-opted puppet, and Kotto, who arguably gives the best performance in the film, is too dialed down and laid-back in terms of representing the larger-than-life Rabelaisian spirit of his character's intelligence and Bacchanalian coping mechanisms, and therefore this somehow lessens the horror of his death (even though the nature of his death scene is horrifying in principle) thereby reducing the symbolism of his character as the most potent spiritual threat against the deathtrap of capitalist exploitation, which renders him the figure out of the three main characters to be most fated to an assembly-line martyrdom. All this being said, the film is a respectable and iconic example of what was possible within the non-corporatized mainstream studio system of the late 1970's, a Hollywood as gone with the wind as any lost civilization in history. For that reason alone, it should be cherished and appreciated, and it's nice to see that it has been re-released in a beautifully restored print on Blu-Ray, with much more compelling artwork than even it's original 1978 theatrical release poster.

Paul Schrader's Blue Collar paints a depressing picture of the American blue collar worker - one Karl Marx would've simply shook his head at and scoff at in disgust. It shows a group of relatable individuals, all of whom slumming their lives away at a dead end, blue collar job, knowing all too well that they're expendable employees, when one particular member of the labor union is so unsatisfied with the lack of productivity on part of his union bosses that he challenges the incumbent to run for union boss. He believes that, if elected, he'd work for the people rather than having the people voice demands that ostensibly appear to fall on deaf ears. It isn't until he inches closer and closer to this potential gig that he realizes just what he's up against, the hoops he'll have to jump through, and the soul of his he'll have to sell in order as a price that comes with that kind of title.The optimistic soul is Zeke Brown (Richard Pryor), who works alongside his two best friends Jerry Bartowski (Harvey Keitel) and Smokey James (Yaphet Kotto). A great deal of Zeke's motivation to run for union boss comes when a tax collector comes to his house to collect unpaid taxes. In a bout of rage and frustration I'm sure many of us have felt, Zeke rants at the blameless tax collector by saying he barely makes enough money to buy food for his home, let alone keep the electricity running. He follows up by asking why he can't get a break when the same tax collectors give countless breaks to those on Wall Street. Zeke's rant is one of the defining scenes of this film, for it tackles a problem that, even over thirty years following this film's release, is a constant, every-day problem and insurmountable battle for a great deal of families.Zeke, Jerry, and Smokey decide to find a way to rob the union headquarters. However, upon executing their plan, they discover the union boss doesn't lie when he says that the union is low on cash, for they find very little money. The trio then stumble upon a ledger that contains information about illegal loans that reveal mob connections. Now the men know what it's like to be plunged into a world of crime and uncertainty, with their lives at risk and their optimism for their careers turned into a bitter, backstabbing game of survival of the fittest in a capitalist nightmare.There's a sadness that lurks in many American crime dramas and that sadness usually stems from the fact that something that should benefit people, or, at the very least, give them something to believe in, doesn't actually operate the way people think it does. Martin Scorsese's Casino showed us the brutal interworkings of a Las Vegas casino that was rigged to make the consumer lose at all cost, and make the soul pay a hefty price had they tried to beat the odds, and a movie like Oldboy shows the real ugliness of people in a crowded, tight-knit area that would lead you to believe people would be brought together or at least unified on a collective term. Blue Collar, however, cuts deeper. These are blue collar jobs we're looking at with this film; not clean-cut white collar jobs and not a rare case of fraud or backhanded dealings in one company. These kinds of manipulating tactics used amongst big business are an unfortunately common practice and Schrader exposes it in a startling manner.Schrader uses his exposure by getting Richard Pryor the leading role in a film that only manages to be funny when Pryor's character shows off his brazen attitude, which is very infrequent. Here, Pryor goes from the easily recognizable funny-man many of us know him as to a frighteningly hungry character, be it hungry for truth, or eventually, hungry for manipulation and winning. He commands the screen, even when assisted by the likes of Kotto and Keitel. This is his film through and through, a film where his formerly basic color palette of an actors transcends any kind of pre-conceived notions or judgment and shine bright and really show audiences his capabilities as a well-rounded character actor.Blue Collar is an ugly film, thematically and in terms of the situations its characters are forced into. It shows personal economic freedom and progress as a neverending cycle that results in nothing but further inequality and disenfranchisement from a country that allegedly fights against it. If a film like this came out in present time it would be a strong social statement, but its 1978 release date shows that little has changed in present time when it comes to the dealings of big business.Starring: Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, and Yaphet Kotto. Directed by: Paul Schrader.

From Captain Beefheart's grinding musical intro, through its unflinching critique of the pitfalls of a capitalist society, to the frozen image of a compelling friendship distorted by futility and hate – Blue Collar (Schrader, USA, 1978) is a disturbing, traumatic vision of the plight of the working class in late 1970s America. As it centres mostly sympathetically on the plight of a trio of workers on a Detroit automobile line, it has been critiqued through a Marxist lens. These men are locked into a relentless production system in which they are truly only cogs in the greater capitalist machine, and despite their best efforts to escape, they are essentially chewed up and spit out by a system that is simply too much of a behemoth to be outrun.The opening monochromatic sequence of workers on the line transforms them into automatons among cascades of welding sparks. Freeze frames and the repetitive, distorted blues riff further amplify the sense of an infernal environment the men toil within; indeed, many workers are pictured in pits, beneath the chassis of half-built cars, wearing welder's goggles. The sense of ratcheted-up tension in this place is immediately tangible; so much friction, noise and mechanical mayhem must, like hell, be gradually crushing their souls, and it is immediately clear that it is from this place our eventual 'heroes' will be attempting to escape.These heroes turn out to be a trio of pretty unremarkable and not- particularly-bright blue collars. Interestingly, Zeke (Richard Pryor) and Smokey (Yaphet Koto) are black, and Jerry (Harvey Keitel) is white. It is likely that this racial mix of main characters in a film would have been unusual in the 70s; even more unique because there is very little racial tension in the film except at key crests of conflict and anger. No, the characters get along like gangbusters, hanging out at the bar and friendly with each other's families. In fact, the night they dream up their heist, they have been living it up at a very interracial sex and drug party. Combining interracial sex with drug use and portraying it in such a neutral light seems quite avant garde, since it is in this context where the configurations of race and power are normally extremely touchy to U.S. censors.The primary conflict here is not about race, although the corrupt union bosses and shady management at the plant all are whites in suits and ties; it is more about the corruption of this production empire. Working conditions never improve, even in the tiniest ways (like Zeke's broken locker and the perpetually dysfunctional vending machine) despite the men paying into a union and complaining to their reps on a regular basis. Compounding these extremely irritating details on a day-to-day basis are the struggles with raising a family on a low income and tiptoeing precariously on a knife edge of expenses (Jerry's daughter needs braces so badly, she injures herself trying to use paper clips) and debt (Zeke has lied to the IRS). The men escape to the aforementioned orgy and fuelled by cocaine and booze, hatch a plan to attack what they've come to see as their enemy, their own lazy union by stealing dues from a safe at their local.The heist goes ahead and one moment during the robbery has a particularly tragi-comic poignancy: as a guard pokes around while they are hidden in the safe, they emerge wearing ludicrous cartoon disguises. By robbing the union, the men are after all pretty much robbing themselves… and it turns out their heist has left them with only a ledger. In cleverer hands, this ledger could have been leveraged to win them some freedom, but it ends up being used to divide them as they are unable to avoid being identified by their bosses and pitted against each other, ultimately leading to Smokey's murder (by drowning in blue paint!).The dominoes keep falling until Zeke has acquiesced to become a union puppet and Jerry has gone to the FBI. The final sequence of the film depicts Jerry and Zeke hurling racial abuse at one another and almost coming to blows, with a backdrop of cars still in production. The capitalist machine hasn't even suffered a dent and the story of the trio of friends has ended in a total wreck. The industrial blues riff kicks in again over a diabolically red screen for the credits, and damnation! Nothing has changed.

I had to admit something to myself after watching Blue Collar; that I have preconceptions about any movie starring Richard Pryor. Pryor made so many silly comedies like "Stir Crazy" and "Moving" I tend to want to dismiss or label every movie in which he appeared...bad move. Blue Collar is a highly entertaining film that works on several levels. Most of all it scores as a raw, gritty, muckraking type of film exposing the corruption of labor unions and corporate America. Secondly, it works pretty well on a comedic level, but its funny because it's real. The acting here is top notch and Pryor really stands out, and as good as Harvey Keitel is as an actor, Pryor matches him step for step.Zeke, Jerry and Smokey (Pryor, Keitel and Yaphet Kotto) are three buddies working for the Auto union at Checker Automotive. (a real car maker that allowed the movie to be filmed at their plant, after the big three rejected it) By day, they weld, paint and rivet, by night, they drink and party and concoct schemes to get ahead financially. Eventually they stumble upon a ledger that contains proof that their union is corrupt. They decide to blackmail the union bosses and things start to get complicated. At this point, the film starts to take a more serious tone as the union fights back in a way nobody expected. Zeke is the only one of the three the union bosses are very concerned about and soon he is being offered a promotion.Pryors even-keeled performance is the key to the film. He's tough and unflappable but smart enough to know when to give in to the powers that determine his fate. His decisions aren't necessary the ones you expect out of a Hollywood movie, but they are the ones that would likely be made in real life....and thats part of the tragedy.Another great aspect of Blue Collar is the bluesy soundtrack by Jack Nitzsche, with guitar work by the legendary Ry Cooder and the title track performed by Captain Beefheart. The establishing scenes over the opening credits are highlighted by the blues soundtrack with actual punch press sounds incorporated into the music. Its really unique... and a special nod needs given to director Paul Shrader, who handles the films change in tone nicely, and gives the film a tightness and realism that keeps our attention focused throughout.The movie Blue Collar, viewed today, is like a living time capsule from the 1970s. Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Jukebox, "Good Times" on the TV and Strohs Beer being served at the local Bar. Blue Collar will have a special significance for those who (like me) are from the Midwest...the rust belt. This all seems so familiar, the mindset of these union workers, the us against them mentality...feeling defeated by the system...too far in debt to go a different route in life.Some of the characters here remind me of the fathers of some of the kids I grew up with. It left me contemplating the question -were we better off when the auto unions were stronger or not? 'real wages' haven't gone up in nearly 40 years. We lose more jobs overseas every year. Were the times depicted in Blue Collar actually the "good old days"?...or more like, the last of the good old days? When Smokey makes his cryptic speech about "the old being pitted against young, black being pitted against white, everything they do is to keep us in our place"...He isn't just talking about the labor unions, I think he is talking about the whole system itself. Scary thought.