The movie
Show notes
Paul Schrader’s directorial debut isn’t a tale of a fearless crew punching up at their company overlords and the corrupt union that’s supposed to protect them. Instead, it’s a tale of compromise. The kind you make, and the kind that gets made for you. The kind you desperately hope means something in the end, anyway. In this episode, we discuss the excellent casting; how it’s great that Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, and Yaphet Kotto kind of get to be in their own movies here; the forces that pit men who should stand in solidarity against one another; and how it’d be pretty cool to have a life where you work hard, clock out, hit the bar, and go bowling with your pals on the weekend. **References: ** “Long Nights, Impossible Odds, Keeping My Back To the Wall” by Lucas Hardwick for Perisphere, the Trylon blog “Blue Collar: A Rare, Authentic Working-Class Drama” by Ed Dykhuizen for Perisphere, the Trylon blog Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices! Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog #CultFilmCollective #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast , Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st , and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy . Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro: “Hard Workin’ Man” composed by Jack Nitzsche with lyrics by Jack Nitzsche, Ry Cooder, and Paul Schrader and performed by Captain Beefheart from the BLUE COLLAR soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 137: BLUE COLLAR (1978) 4:59 - The episode actually starts 6:26 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 7:18 - Politics, smoothness, anger, performances, and Schrader 19:45 - The cast 27:08 - How the movie highlights weariness with comedy 42:10 - The virtue of a nuanceless movie 48:13 - The moment that suddenly pits Zeke, Jerry, and Smokey against each other 55:01 - What the movie does and doesn’t show us, and what that does for the feeling
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