‘Everything they do is to keep us in our place...’
Why the hell has this film been memory holed? It’s the directorial debut of Paul Schrader (writer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and a revered director in his own right). It features three icons of ’70s/’80s cinema in Richard Pryor, Harvery Keitel and Yaphet Kotto. It’s one of Bruce Springsteen‘s favourite films, for chrissake. And yet, outside of cult cinema circles, it’s as if this film never happened…
Zeke (Pryor), Jerry (Keitel) and Smokey (Kotto) are three disaffected auto workers in Wayne County, Michigan who make the misguided decision to steal from their union. In true On the Waterfront style, this simple act of petty theft uncovers a sea of corruption that eventually sweeps up our heroes in its wake.
First of all, I could watch these three guys shoot the shit about anything for 114 minutes and still be entertained. All three are magnetic and they share an electric chemistry that was only heightened by the fact they apparently bickered on set constantly. When things go south here, the tension between Pryor and Keitel is palpable, and when their conflict inevitably worsens, the ensuing tension almost feels a a little too real. Keitel delivers his final rant at Pryor with so much venom and vitriol that it’s tough to watch, especially to modern ears.
As with much of Schrader’s work, Blue Collar is both angry and nihilistic. The picture he paints of life under the thumb of capitalism is a bleak one, made even more bleak by the knowledge that most of the factories in Detroit like the one depicted in this film are long gone. Jack Nitzsche’s blues-flavoured score wraps the whole thing together and the end product is a film that is dramatically underseen.
Blue Collar is classic ’70s cinema – raw, gritty and authentic. Some of Schrader’s best work.
