Blue Collar [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto, Ed Begley Jr., Harry Bellaver, George Memmoli, Lucy Saroyan, Lane Smith, Cliff De Young, Borah Silver, Chip Fields, Harry Northup, Bobby Byrne, Paul Schrader, David Nichols, Don Guest, Robin French, Leonard Schrader, Sydney A. Glass: Film & TV

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Actors: Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto, Ed Begley Jr., Harry Bellaver
Directors: Paul Schrader
Writers: Paul Schrader, Leonard Schrader, Sydney A. Glass
Producers: David Nichols, Don Guest, Robin French
Format: PAL
Language: English, Spanish, French, German
Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.85:1
Number of discs: 1
Classification: R (Restricted) (US MPAA rating. See details.)
Studio: Universal
DVD Release Date: 23 Jan 2006
Run Time: 109 minutes

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

ASIN: B000G8NYKE
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 366,833 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

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From Amazon.co.uk

Paul Schrader had established his reputation as a screenwriter (The Yakuza and Taxi Driver, among others) before embarking on his directorial debut. Blue Collar is the story of three working-class guys at the Checker auto plant who run their local union office. Richard Pryor delivers a funny, passionate, seething performance in one of his rare dramatic roles as a rabble-rousing union man. Trapped by family worries and crippling back taxes, he dreams up the robbery after scoping out the joint and enlists his coworker and buddies, family man Harvey Keitel and high-living bachelor Yaphet Kotto, who are in similar financial straits. This is a strictly amateur-hour heist, and their successful getaway is the last bit of good luck in store for the trio. The robbery turns up no cash, only incriminating files, and the inept thieves are soon blackmailing the powerful union, which fights back with force, seduction, and murder. Schrader's first film has little of the polish or style he developed by American Gigolo, but his portrait of lower middle class families in 1970s Detroit, interracial relations, and male camaraderie is sharp and insightful. His attention to detail shows in every frame and adds to the edgy material, which balances the thriller plot with social commentary about corruption, labour relations, and the lure of power. Schrader's later films show more subtlety and cinematic confidence, but time hasn't dimmed the power he unleashes in this angry working class drama.--Sean Axmaker

Product Description

Blue Collar es una impactante y motorizada pel�cula caracterizada por la espl�ndida actuaci�n de Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel y Yaphet Kotto.

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard hitting, insight into the lives of 3 Detroit workers 27 Feb 2002

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

The story is about three auto workers (Pryor, Keitel, Kotto) on the assembly line in the late '70s. Despite union jobs they never seem to be able to have enough to support their families and give them more than the barest necessities. When debts catch up to all three (IRS audit for Pryor, kids braces for Keitel, and partying too hard for Kotto) they are becoming desperate. Knowing full well their union is corrupt, they feel no remorse for attempting a robbery on the union offices to come up with enough cash to just make ends meet. All these three expect to get from the robbery is a couple thousand bucks each rather than the huge sums movies always use as a motivator today. But they get in way over their heads when they find more than they're looking for; though it is not money. Big business, big labour, betrayal and murder threaten to undo everything these men have worked for.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pervasive, Corrupting Influence Of Power 11 Sep 2012

By Keith M TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This 1978 directorial debut by leading screenwriter Paul Schrader is a compelling illustration of the corrupting influence of power, on this occasion set in the unionised 1970s' US motor industry. With a screenplay co-written with brother Leonard, Schrader creates a brilliantly authentic atmosphere of the lot of the modern (1970s) working man, with repeated sequences shot on the car production line, initially introduced to us (over the opening credits) accompanied by the industrial throbbing beat of Captain Beefheart's version of Jack Nitzsche's song, Hard Workin' Man.

At the centre of Schrader's outstanding debut is a career best (non-comic) acting performance from legendary US stand-up comedian Richard Pryor playing Zeke Brown, one of the car production workers who is struggling to make ends meet, and to satisfy the increasingly consumer-driven demands of his wife and family (to the extent that he is claiming benefits for 3 imaginary children, including one hilariously named Stevie Wonder Brown). Pryor is ably supported on the acting front by Harvey Keitel (delivering, along with that in Meanstreets, one of his best ever roles) as Polish-immigrant Jerry Bartowski (whose home is sprinkled with religious imagery - tying into the Schraders' own strict religious upbringing) and Yaphet Kotto, similarly outstanding as Zeke and Jerry's co-worker, Smokey James. Given the reputed difficulties Schrader had with his three stars during the shoot (including an alleged incident where Pryor 'did a Kinski' and threatened to shoot Schrader because of the number of retakes Schrader was demanding), the director manages to elicit a convincing sense of camaraderie (initially, at least) among the three actors.... Read more ›

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Just brilliant and still relevant 17 Dec 2011

By Colonel Decker

Format:DVD

What a wonderful often overlooked film.
The basic story is a group of men working hard at a car factory who are in constant despute with the uinons and their managers who are bent and try to cheat the system any which way they can. So for anyone that holds down a labourous job paying minimum you will easily relate to these guys.

The guys are played by Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto and with a cast like that you are going to get a splendid film. Though there is a hint of comedy it is fascinating to see Pryor play a straight part.

The last 20 mins or so lose the pace slightly, but still this is an essential purchase and the morales of the movie still hold strong if not frightingly in todays climate.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Compelling 9 Aug 2008

By Richard Allen TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I had this film recommended to me, otherwise I would have been unlikely to have come across it. The film conveys the deeply convincing stuggle of working class men and their families as they try to make a living. In the current climate of the credit crunch and housing problems in the USA, it is very topical even though it was made 30 years ago. The cast is excellent, with a young Harvey Keitel and Richard Pryor in a rare, straight acting role. It's a shame he didn't devote more of his talent to work of this type. The characters are deeply flawed and yet very sympathetic, which is a credit to both the quality of the writing and the directing. My only slight complaint would be that the occasional humour slightly diluted from the power of the film. However, that's a minor quibble with a film that is entertaining, moving and believable.

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5.0 out of 5 stars blue collar 25 April 2013

By yorkie 1

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

great film watched a couple of time i think that Richard Pryor is a very funny person glad to put it in my collection

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5.0 out of 5 stars HEY SCUM BAG!!! 6 Mar 2012

By Julian Marsh TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

RICHARD PRYOR WAS BRILLIANT IN THIS FILM I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS DVD FOR AGES. IT JUST GOES TO SHOW WHAT SOME PEOPLE WILL DO TO LICK ASS IN THE WORKPLACE. I HAVE SEEN THIS SORT OF THING IN SOME PLACES I HAVE WORKED IN. NO ONE MURDERED THOUGH LOL!! I NEVER LICK THE MANAGERS ASS AND NEVER DID BUT THIS FILM MAY TEACH PEOPLE A LESSON OR TWO. BRILLIANT FILM.

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Blue Collar - Still Relevant today 8 April 2011

By conrad143

Format:DVD

Excellent screenplay, music, script, character portrayal and storyline. Strong performances pull the viewer along and deeper into the far away World of Late Seventies Auto Manufacturing employees and their struggle with debt despite - in Keitel Character's case; working at the plant all day then at the Gas Station by Night.

I cannot help thinking that this portrayal will soon seem like the good old days when at least their was a chance of making ends meet.

The story focuses on Union power and how it proports to protect it's members; but in reality it only protects itself by forcing a wedge between it's members to cause conflict and dismemberment of it's opposition. It could equally apply to the way Governments operate. Making people work for less each year.

At the start of the Film the three main characters are best of friends but after one of the three dies in a rigged accident, the Union manipulation through simulated power offering to the remainng two soon creates tensions enough to create in-fighting and a breakdown of trust.

Although depressing it is a gripping expression of the working classes struggle to make an honest living while the Unions and Management gradually increase the work load.

Funny scene with "genuine" Cartier watch sold for 10 bucks.

Blue Collar [DVD]

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