Blue Collar (1978)

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.

Fmovies: "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 Schrad

I was extremely impressed with the acting of the 3 main characters(Pryor, Kotto, and Keitel). Since I grew up in Detroit and my Dad and uncles worked for the big 3 the Auto Industry angle caught me. In the scene where Keitel was on the Belle Isle Bridge, I spotted in the background the Uniroyal Tire Company, where my Grandad worked for over 40 years. Yet Pryor's performance was terrific. The scene with the IRS agent was CLASSIC and a perfect example of blending comedy into a not so funny situation for Zeke's somewhat straight character. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and seeing some old landmarks and areas the way they were was a treat.

Blue Collar fmovies. Blue Collar is a breakthrough for writer Paul Schrader as a director, but also for comedian/actor Richard Pryor. Before this, he was known for his stand-up, co-writing for Blazing Saddles and once in a while comic acting role, but here he shows his true colors of being an exceptional actor of talent. Here, he plays one of 3 auto workers (including great performances by Harvey Keitel and Yaphey Kotto) who are tired of getting ripped off by there company and (surprisingly) there union. So, they fight back, with some bad results. The plot is unfolding, which helps, but it is overall the performances by the 3 leads that give this film it's gigantic kick (and what a kick). Most likely filmaker Michael Moore's favorite film ever made, but for other people it is entertaining drama nevertheless. A+

I first caught sight of this at 1am, in the usual late night films that normally send you straight off to sleep. Not this film. I was still awake at 2.30 when it ended.

Richard Pryor deserves more credit for this role than he has received. By that I mean he's received no credit for a great performance and just shows that the man had more talent than was given credit. I urge any person thinking of a union career to watch this and then do the opposite of the characters.

A gritty union drama that you can't stop watching from beginning to end.

This is a great film. I knew little about it going in, other than it was supposed to be a very well done, searing drama (this according to several film books, including Leonard Maltin's yearly tomes). I was not disappointed. Paul Schrader - writer of "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," and writer/director of "Affliction" - delivers yet another gritty, working-class drama. But the film is not without liberal doses of humor, provided chiefly by Richard Pryor in what I consider to be the best performance of his career. C'mon, people! How can you go wrong with Pryor, Harvey Keitel, and Yaphet Kotto (answer: you can't). The films hooks you right from the great opening credit sequence and doesn't let go 'til the final freeze-frame. I won't give the twists and turns of the plot away, but the film centers on three desperate Detroit auto workers and their corrupt union. It's very disappointing this film is so overlooked today (it also flopped when released)... the level of acting and direction (this was Schrader's directorial debut) is astonishing. See this movie!