Blue Collar (1978)
Director:
Paul Schrader
Tagline:
« The company builds cars and destroys men. »
Actors:
Zeke
Jerry
Smokey
Bobby Joe
Eddie Johnson
Rating:
(12’243 votes)
(12’243 votes)
Quotes:
[last lines]
« Smokey James: [voiceover echoing earlier line] They pit the lifers against the new boy and the young against the old. The black against the white. Everything they do is to keep us in our place.
»
« Clarence Hill, Union Steward: Y'know I can't go to the Green Room with every little thing. I gotta wait for somethin' big, or a buncha little things. Now we can't let our power be dissipated by the, by the plant. . .
»
« Zeke Brown: Plant my ass, man! That's all you talk about, "the plant"! Everybody know what "the plant" is. "The plant" just short for plantation!
»
« Zeke Brown: I take home two-ten a week man, goddamn. I gotta pay for the lights, gas, clothes, food… every fuckin' thing, man. I'm left with about thirty bucks after all the fuckin' bills are paid. Gimme a break, will ya mister?
»
« Mr. Bird, I.R.S. Man: Mister Brown, there's nothing I can do. I work for Uncle Sam . . .
»
« Zeke Brown: Fuck Uncle Sam, man! They give the fuckin' politicians a break! Agnew and 'em don't pay shit! Working man's gotta pay every goddamn thing!
»
« Mr. Bird, I.R.S. Man: You shouldn't say that about Uncle Sam . . .
»
« Zeke Brown: Don't point at me, you muthafucka! Get out my house! I'll pay the goddamn money!
»
« Mr. Bird, I.R.S. Man: [heads for the door] You bet you will, you'll pay it.
»
« Zeke Brown: Yeah I know I'll pay it! If I had the Navy and Marines behind me, I'd be a muthafucka too!
»
Trailer:
Trailer
Runtime:114 minutes
Plots:
When three automotive factory workers, who are struggling financially, try to rob their own labor union, they discover corruption, and reluctantly decide to use this information for blackmail.
Three workers, Zeke (Richard Pryor), Jerry (Harvey Keitel), and Smokey (Yaphet Kotto), are working at a car plant and drinking their beers together. One night, when they steal away from their wives to have some fun, they get the idea to rob the local union’s bureau safe. First they think it is a flop, because they get only six hundred dollars out of it, but then Zeke realizes that they also have gotten some “hot” material. They decide to blackmail their union. The best reason for that is the union itself. All three are provoked by the fact that the union claims to have lost ten thousand dollars by their robbery.
Three auto workers at a car factory in Detroit rail against the injustice they see and their lot in life. They are barely getting by and factory management are always hounding them and generally making their life a misery. Their union should be looking out for them but does nothing. They then decide to rob the union’s head office but find something much more valuable: evidence of shady dealings by the union. However, what should have been their ticket to a reasonable amount of money turns into a life-threatening situation.
Official websites:
25images – Review and pics,
All Movie Guide,
Box Office Mojo,
CinemaClock.com – info, user reviews, movie showtimes,
cineyteatro.es – Info, synopsis, commentary, awards, photos [Boquerini],
IMCDb.org: cars, bikes, trucks and other vehicles seen in this production,
Indiemoviez,
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