Harlan County USA Blu-ray

'Harlan County USA' Director: Barbara Kopple (1976) Criterion Collection Blu-ray | Director-supervised 4K restoration

Barbara Kopple’s Academy Award–winning Harlan County USA unflinchingly documents a 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. With a haunting soundtrack—featuring legendary country and bluegrass artists Hazel Dickens, Merle Travis, David Morris, Sarah Ogan 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.

Special features include:

• Audio commentary by Kopple and editor Nancy Baker
• Making-of documentary featuring interviews with Kopple, crew members, and strike participants featured in the film
• Outtakes from the film
• Interview with bluegrass singer-songwriter Hazel Dickens
• Interview with filmmaker John Sayles
• Panel discussion from the 2005 Sundance Film Festival featuring Kopple and critic Roger Ebert
• Essays by film critic Michael Atkinson and musician and writer Jon Weisberger