Harlan County USA

The film that single-handedly kindled a generation’s awareness of the limitless possibilities of nonfiction filmmaking was Barbara Kopple’s 1976 Oscar® winner Harlan County USA, an unflinching, brilliantly filmed portrait of a coal miners’ strike in a small Kentucky town. Through unprecedented access, Kopple and her crew captured the miners’ struggles—sometimes procedural, often violent—with strikebreakers, local police, and armed company thugs. 

Featuring a stirring soundtrack with legendary country and bluegrass artists Hazel Dickens, Merle Travis, and Florence Reece, the restored Harlan County USA remains a thrilling portrait of a community fighting for its survival against all odds.

“A great American document. The film retains all of its power.”—Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, 2006