project717-629-119383 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.

jellopuke Very believable characters and setting, with an interesting plot that revolves around a world seldom seen on film. Very well done movie that gets overlooked and it has an earthy feel that permeates everything. Check it out.

Brakathor This is a film about a group of auto shop workers who are dissatisfied with elements of their union. I thought this would be another typical film about the lower class struggling for their rights, and any of these such films that attempt to be worth anything at all usually put some sort of twist on that basic premise, however in this film, it shifts away from its apparent initial focus, and becomes much more complex.One comment said it was a bad film because the main 3 characters were not sympathetic enough, which is always a stupid basis on which to judge a film's caliber. The whole point of the film, which any objective viewer will see midway through, is that the lines between good and bad and right and wrong among the different classes is very blurred, and in the end everyone has aspirations, and each party wants to keep what they own and possibly strive for more, whatever the cost. The focus of this film thereby becomes a criminal plot involving a robbery of the union funds which develops into a complex entanglement of various illegal or under the table activities which soon the 3 main characters are no longer able to deal with.Richard Pryor gives a surprisingly powerful performance while the character Smokey is also very well portrayed by the actor playing him. I saw this film because I like Harvey Keitel and anticipated good things with Paul Shraeder as the director. Keitel is no disappointment but his role doesn't really lend itself to anything extremely impressive.Paul Schraeder is a fairly good director who seems to add a certain realism to his films that very few directors are able to capture in the way he sets up the scene and dialogue. Also here he is able to depict a really spectacularly done death scene in my opinion, but as you get into it, like in most of his films, certain technical flaws begin to surface, and in part spoil the good elements; for example something as plainly careless as having 4 pins lined up in the bowling scene for 1 shot, and then only 3 in the next shot. Also the break-in into the building was not very convincing while not completely laughable, but I suppose one could let both these failings pass. Harvey Keitel's continued contact with the FBI character towards the end is a little too ambiguous for my liking, but by far the biggest flaw is the introduction of the debt collector to whom Smokey owed money. He is by far the most important plot device but we are given no background on him, he just suddenly shows up in Smokey's back car seat one day, then soon after, gets pinched for likely shooting a cop and sells the 3 workers out to the police. Also the whole setup when Smokey just HAPPENS to overhear some thugs calling up his friend's wife, and he shows up waiting for them with a baseball bat, (clearly after having to break in himself) while the entire family just HAPPENS to be not at home, adds to the list of stretchy plot development. When dealing with a complex plot, Schraeder often fails to strengthen or properly establish many important plot devices, and in the end they simply appear as that... plot devices. Though I cannot exaggerate too profoundly how most directors are much worse than him in this regard.This is a film that has a powerful message, good acting, and some very good scenes, but the plot just becomes too complex and it appears somewhat stagy by the near end, however it is a very engaging movie with an overall interesting story, it simply could have been greater. the first 80 minutes of this film is really nothing but buildup up to the point of the robbery. only roughly 25 minutes is left when all the real complex development unfolds. If perhaps the resolution was 10 or 15 minutes longer, it would have strengthenned the film.

movieman_kev A group of blue collar car plant workers, Zeke, Jerry & Smokey (Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel & Yaphet Kotto respectively) decide to get even with the crooked Union that's keeping them down I can't believe I've never heard of this film before, especially inexplicable since I'm huge fans of Pryor, Keitel, Kotto, and a major fan of almost every other Paul Schrader film (the only one i dislike being the vastly overrated "Last Temptation of Christ"). But I'm sure glad I stumbled on this film while channel surfing one night, the acting by everyone involved is superb, all the movie fits remarkably well, the directing is great if low-key, and the whole movie just really clicks. I'll definitely be adding this to my growing DVD collection extremely soon. I just can't seem to find the right words to praise this film enough.My Grade: A