Blue Collar

This 1978 Universal release is one of raunchy comedian Richard Pryor's best films and it's a highly serious drama. Pryor successfully goes for a major change of pace in this tale of a trio of auto assembly workers (Pryor, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto) who are all having some major home, work and family problems and how they decide to solve them by developing a scheme to rob the union for which they work. When they put their plan to work, things eventually go from bad to worse. It may sound like a crime comedy caper with Pryor portraying his usual con man role but it's far more serious than that and Pryor proves that he doesn't have to get laughs in order to deliver a good film performance.

After years of reading about this Paul Schrader drama, I finally watched Blue Collar on Netflix Streaming. It stars Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, and Yaphet Kotto as three auto assembly workers who feel let down by their bosses and the union rep they don't trust. While Pryor does have some comic moments, he's allowed to be more serious when the film takes a route that challenges these three friends' loyalty to each other. Keitel and Kotto are also very compelling especially when the story concerns the latter's fate. And the score by Jack Nitzsche and Ry Cooder really pours the blues on. So on that note, I recommend Blue Collar. By the way, having noticed that the movie is produced by Norman Lear's company of T.A.T. Communications, he certainly wasn't above plugging his shows "The Jeffersons" and "Good Times" by putting some long clips in when the characters are watching television!

Paul Schrader is often overshadowed by his more famous collaborator Martin Scorsese, which is a shame, because despite Schrader's own movies being wildly uneven, when they are good they are very good indeed. 'Blue Collar' is one of his very best works. A funny, sad and powerful look at three working class guys in a Detroit car factory, it is one of the last Hollywood movies to seriously look at your average working joe and the problems he faces on a daily basis. The three leads are all wonderful, and despite rumoured off screen problems, show a lot of genuine rapport and comaraderie. Harvey Keitel ('Mean Streets', 'Bad Lieutenant') is one of the finest actors of his generation, and Yaphet Koto ('Alien', 'Live And Let Die') is a well respected character actor, but the revelation here is funny man Richard Pryor ('Silver Streak') who displays a depth of talent few would have thought him capable of. The three buddies are joined by a first class supporting cast including Lane Smith ('Over The Edge'), Cliff De Young ('The Hunger') and George Memmoli ('The Phantom Of The Paradise'). Also keep an eye out for a brief cameo by future 'Repo Man' star Tracey Walter, who Schrader also used in a bit part in his next movie 'Hardcore'. 'Blue Collar' is a fine movie, one of the most underrated of the 1970s, and still relevant and powerful twenty five years later. Don't miss it.

"Blue Collar" opens with a masterful title sequence which introduces us, quickly and effectively, to the harsh world our characters reside in and to the nature of the conditions in the factory they work in. The opening sequence is set to Jack Nitzsche's "Hard Workin' Man", introducing blues music to us right off the bat, music that not only makes up basically all of the music in this film but can be seen as a motif or even a character in the film.

It's amazing how confident and mature Paul Schrader is as a director at this point. Of course, Schrader had already written the massively acclaimed "Taxi Driver" by 1978, but contrary to what one might expect it's his confident and sure handling of the pace and mood in "Blue Collar" that is truly the highlight of the film, not the screenplay penned by Paul and Leonard Schrader, granted the screenplay is in itself quite terrific. Schrader is already a mature director who understands the rhythm of a film.

Going back to the use of music in this film, it isn't so much the score itself by Jack Nitzsche (which is, don't get me wrong, solid blues) that's impressive, it's Schrader's handling of the music and sound in general in this film that makes it work so well. First off, the choice to go with a blues score is inspired in itself, as the nature of the music so perfectly captures what these characters are going through. In addition, the score is most noticeable during scenes where the film appears to be commenting on the futility of the characters' struggle and the misery of what they're going through. Where many films would use music to 'enhance' big, dramatic scenes, Schrader's "Blue Collar" makes the wise decision to use it during low-key scenes. There are several scenes that don't feature any music at all, these being some of the more important scenes. Note the scene where Smokey gets trapped in the paint room, absolutely no music, just the cold sound of the machinery (expertly mixed, might I add), which is far creepier and more effective than any score could be at that point. Similar use of sound occurs a few minutes before the end when Harvey Keitel's character Jerry is being chased.

The acting here is uniformly superb with Keitel possibly giving his best performance (or at least one of them), and Richard Pryor offering what must be recognized as one of the finest performances of the 70's by anyone. Really, who knew Pryor had this sort of skill when it comes to dramatic acting? Yapphet Koto, a beloved character actor, does a fine job in rounding out the cast for the main three characters. Again, Schrader must be credited for directing his actors so well. It's well-known, of course, that the three leads hated each other and actually broke out in fistfights between takes on occasion. Perhaps that created a sort of demented chemistry between them.

The screenplay by Schrader and Schrader (Paul and Leonard) is a fine, fine piece of writing, sort of the daytime factory-worker version of the crude-yet-poetic "Taxi Driver" screenplay. Oddly enough, it's also the source of the few major flaws in this film, as it can come across as fairly heavy-handed in certain scenes. If there's one thing I'd definitely do differently with this film, it's the final shot, which would have been terrific had this been a comedy.

All in all, a great film in its own right and especially impressive as a directorial debut from Schrader. Very memorable.

9/10

Excellent urban drama depicting the lives of three friends who work at a car plant, and plan revenge on their boss. Pryor is great in the lead role, which is probably his best performance in a movie. Schrader does a fine job in his directorial debut and makes this film a pure enjoyment. Bravo for Keitel and Kotto in their supporting roles. A highly underrated film that deserves much better than it got.

4 out of 5