Still from “Misery in the Borinage”, one of the first films ever made about the lives of coal miners

“ COAL IS WEST VIRGINIA” one WV political leader once said. After Peter Argentine from Pittsburgh asked me about other films on coal mining, I thought it was time to compile a list of most of the films that I knew existed. I found some new websites, like the BBC, that has posted some interesting old time films about coal mining. I also learned there is a book, “Caverns of Night” that explores how coal mining has been shown in literature and the arts.

Arranged with most current films first -THEM THAT WORK – How Matewan Inspired a State

2008-09                      ? mins.   Pewter Productions 

Jason Brown, a West Virginia filmmaker now living and teaching at UNC Greensboro, decided to make a documentary about the making and importance of John Sayles’ 1987 labor epic, “Matewan.” He interviewed Sayles and some of the stars of the film including Chris Cooper, a recent Oscar winner, and David Straithairn, nominated for his role in “Good Night and Good Luck” as Edward R. Morrow. He also visited the annual reenactment held every May in the actual town of Matewan, and talked to many people whose lives were influence either by helping make the film or afterwards.  Access – this film is still not completed as of 7.10.08. 

COAL TIES: YELLOW SPRINGS TO  MEIGS
COUNTY 

 2008         23 mins.    Carl Reeverts 

Independent filmmaker Carl Reeverts documents the struggle in Yellow Springs, Ohio and neighboring Meigs County to stop the construction of more coal-fired power plants. He interviews the mayor and city council members about the plan to add even more power generation plants to an area that already has several. The plants are known to  have major negative effects on people and the environment in the immediate area. One local property owner discusses the effects of constant explosions used to dig local coal. People in support of the mining and power plants are also shown presenting their viewpoint at public meetings. This film is a powerful look at the human cost of coal in our energy hungry world.   Access – Carl Reeverts at carl.reeverts@gmail.com. The film can be watched online at - http://blip.tv/file/876774  MONONGAH REMEMBERED2008     30 mins. Peter Argentine Productions Inc. 

Pittsburgh filmmaker Peter Argentine directed this film about the greatest loss of life as the result of a coalmine disaster in American history.  On  December 6, 1907, the Monongah Mine Disaster took place in the small
Harrison
County town outside
Fairmont. He includes information about a visit by two Italian delegations from two regions in Italy, Calabria and
Molise, where many of the miners who were killed grew up. Argentine is trying to raise funds to expand the film to an hour. If you are interested, visit his website at - www.argentineproductions.com.  Website for the film - http://www.monongahmovie.com/ Access for DVD: Website. 

Burning the Future: Coal in
America2008 89 min.   American Coal ProductionsIn the wake of the coal mining tragedies of 2006 and 2007 in West Virginia and
Utah, many Americans ask why we still mine coal. The reason is startling: Each time a switch is flipped, we burn coal.  According to estimates, 52% of
America’s electricity comes from coal, but at a shocking cost to the environment and local communities. This new film from American Coal Productions soberly illustrates the suffering of the residents of
West Virginia who struggle to preserve their mountains, their culture, and their lives in the face of the omnipotent King Coal. Promoting energy conservation and the development of alternative energy sources, the filmmakers encourage consumers and suppliers to take an honest look at
America’s energy consumption and embrace change.

Access: www.burningthefuture.org

RISE UP!
WEST VIRGINIA2008 75 mins.  Patchwork Films B.J. Gudmundsson goes on a personal journey from her birthplace in Pocahontas
County to the southern coalfields. There she joins the Mountain Keepers who have been fighting a 20 year battle to save their land and homes from the destructive practices of coal mining and especially mountaintop removal mining. People interviewed include Jean and Jim Foster of Bob White, Mary Miller and Pauline Canterberry of Sylvester, Debbie Jarrell and Ed Wilesy of Rock Creek, Maria Gunnoe of Bob White, Larry Gibson of Kayford Mtn, Julian Martin of Charleston, George Daugherty of Elkview, and Robert Gates of Charleston. Music by Agust Gudmundsson, T. Paige Dalporto, Atherine Spurline, Jim Savarino, George Daugherty, Buddy Griffin, James Reams & The Barnstormers, Mindy Michael, Missing Persons Soup Kitchen Gospel Quartet and Higher Ground. The world premiere took place at The South Charleston Museum La Belle Theater on January 12, 2008, co-sponsored by OVEC and Christians for the Mountains. Access: www.patchworkfilms.com

WIDEN FILM PROJECT

2008     55 mins.    Killer Productions 
Charleston filmmaker Kelley Thompson was hired in 2006 by the Central Appalachia Empowerment Zone to interview Clay Countians, filming their memories. He found that many recalled life in Widen, the famous company town built by J.G. Bradley who was a national and state coal-mining leader. He also learned about the 1952 U.M.W.A. strike at Widen. He interviewed William C. Blizzard, son of the union leader Bill Blizzard, Gordon Simmons, president of the WV Labor History Assn. and others about the strike. (Julia Baker wrote “Up Molasses Mountain” based on her father’s memories of the time.) The film covers other areas including the Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad, and sports history with legendary coach Bobby Stover.  The world premiere of the film took place at The South Charleston Museum May 10 @ 7 PM co-sponsored by SCM and the WV Labor History Association. Access – Kelley Thompson, killer64@suddenlink.net, 304-344-1990 (home)   30 DAYS – WORKING IN A COAL MINE2008   55 mins.  FX Cable 

West Virginia native son and famous filmmaker Morgan Spurlock stars in the opening episode of his FX Cable series, “30 Days” that premiered on June 3, 2008.  He returned to
Southern West Virginia where he stayed with an underground mine supervisor, working the regular day shift for 30 days as a “red hat.” He also takes a little time to socialize with the miners and their families, and briefly explores the problems of mountaintop removal mining and the destruction of both the environment and the coal miners’ health. Morgan goes to Bolt,
West Virginia and lives with Dale and Sandy Lusk. Dale, the supervisor of the mine where Morgan works, has mined coal for 35 years and introduces Morgan to a miner’s way of life. Morgan gains an understanding of the financial benefits that draw people to coal mining, but also learns, first hand, the dangerous conditions that miners must face every day. As a new miner, Morgan is assigned much of the grunt work, including plastering, building wooden roof supports, shoveling coal and hauling heavy equipment. On his days off, Morgan leaves the mine to examine some of the bigger issues surrounding the coal industry. He meets with Peggy Cohen, 36, the daughter of a miner killed in 2006 in a Sago,
West Virginia mine explosion. Morgan also talks to both coal industry executives and environmentalists about surface mining and mountaintop removal to gain perspective on the pros and cons of an industry that provides the
U.S. with the raw materials for 50% of our electricity. From FX website - http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/30days/episodeguide.phpAccess: Spurlock screened the film at the Tamarack Theater in
Beckley, WV, on June 2, the night before the episode was shown on TV. He invited the miners he worked with, his family that lives in
Beckley, and several WV filmmakers including Daniel Boyd and Terry Lively.   Season One and Season Two of 30 Days was released June 2008.  

KEN HECHLER – IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE2008   120 mins.   Marshall University Libraries 

Barbara Winters, dean of Marshall University Libraries, director Russ Barbour and producer/cinematographer Chip Hitchcock, well-known WVPBS filmmakers, worked for several years producing the first official documentary about one of theMountain
State’s most influential citizens. As a Congressman and WV Secretary of State, professor/author, and environmental activist, Hechler changed the face of WV and national politics starting in 1958 when he was first elected to Congress.   Highlights include interviews with many celebrities including Senators George McGovern, Robert Dole, Tom Harkin, James Symington and John Brademas.  They all remark on how devoted Hechler was to helping the common citizens of the state and country, not himself or powerful special interests. A special focus is the influence President Teddy Roosevelt had on his political thinking.  Hechler is the author of the first federal legislation aimed at controlling black lung – The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. He was inducted into the WV Labor Hall of Honor in 2006 along with Bill Blizzard, the leader of the Battle of Blair Mountain. During his tenure as a WV Congressman and WV Secretary of State, Hechler did everything he could to help the working women and men of the state. Official Ken Hechler website – www.kenhechler.us.  Access: A copy will be given to each public library in
West Virginia. To purchase a DVD - Marshall University Libraries. wintersb@marshall.edu for $19.95.  

COAL MINING AND THE BLACK LUNG MOVEMENT   2008   various times   MSHA This film was shown on August 21, 2008 for the first time at the 30th anniversary of WV’s Black Lung offices. They sponsored a national conference on the 30th anniversary of the two offices that serve WV’s miners. The DVD has three parts – 1. “Black Lung: A History” (MSHA), 2. News coverage of the 1960s Black Lung Movement, provided by Ken Hechler from footage he obtained from the Vanderbilt Television Archives, and 3. “Reflections- Mining History.”(MSHA) The first film gives the best history of the WV and national movement of miners, doctors and Congressman Ken Hechler to pass legislation, first in the WV Legislature, and then nationally in Congress, to protect miners from black lung. Hechler, Drs. Rasmussen, Hawey Wells, and I.E. Buff are shown testing miners for black lung, speaking to the WV Legislature, and other events. Davitt McAteer, undersecretary of Labor for Mine Health and Safety under President Clinton, UMWA’s current president, Cecil Roberts, Craig Rasmussen, an activist
VISTA volunteer, and many miners with black lung are interviewed. Also shown are Tony Boyle, president of the UMWA in 1969,  who  was convicted of murdering, black lung activist Jock Yablonski. Yablonski and his son are interviewed.  Access: “Black Lung: A History” is NOT available at this moment, but access is under review by MSHA. ”Reflections  Mining History” is available from Peter B  Beal, – MSHA
Mining
Academy, Beaver, WV,  beal.peter@dol.gov, 304-256-3282. The news coverage part of the DVD will NEVER be available since it was provided to Hechler from various television archives.

  GOD’S GIFT OF A WILD AND WONDERFUL LAND2007   18 mins. Patchwork Films 

Using stunning photography and beautiful religious music, the
Monongahela
National Forest in
West Virginia is presented as a wilderness area that must be preserved for future generations. It is over 900,000 acres in size, located in 10 different counties. Facts about the forest and Biblical links are emphasized along with the appreciation of God’s creation. Viewers are encouraged to contact national and state legislators in support of protecting WV wilderness areas forever. Access – Patchwork Films at http://www.patchworkfilms.com/godsgift.htm.  THE SAGO MINE DISASTER – ON THE OTHER SIDE2007   55 mins. Discovery ChannelThis recreation of the January 2, 2006 Sago Mine Disaster in Upshur County, WV took place in Harlan County, Ky. near Lynch. The company that filmed the special, Brook Lapping Productions of London, England, was contracted by the Discovery Channel to produce the documentary, which details the explosion and its immediate aftermath, from a delayed rescue response to a miscommunication between officials. Information for the documentary was gathered from reports, interviews with rescuers and scientists, and discussions with McCloy and the families of the deceased miners. Access: It is not available for sale from the Discovery Channel. Steve Fesenmaier has a DVD copy. 

MONONGAH HEROINE2007     25   mins.  Lower 40 Films Gina Martino Dahlia of Fairmont, the acting chairwoman of the broadcast news sequence and a senior lecturer at West Virginia
University’s Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, produced the half-hour film about her home community where she presently lives. She remembers and honors the widows and children who were left following the disaster.  Access: WVU gmartino@mix.wvu.edu

, 304-293-3505 ext. 5407 A COAL TRAIL2007 53 min. Cadiz/Hicks Production 

Five parts. 1. A slide show with music of the National Coal Heritage Area. 2. Gordon Simmons 25 minute interview with Mr. Hicks on Simmons’ cable show, “WV Author”. 3. A few scenes from his proposed feature film, “A Flaming Rock.” 4. Mining Reflections. 5. A slide show of Caretta and other coal camps around War,McDowell
County. Access: More info on the DVD “A Coal Trail” and the coming feature, “A Flaming Rock” can be found at the film’s website - www.aflamingrock.com. Contact Mr. Hicks for a personal visit, etc. at - enie31@aol.com 937-258-2306 

A FLAMING ROCK! COAL2007   61 mins.  Cadiz/Hicks Productions 

This is a second film made by Enoch Hicks and Ellery E. Cadiz.  Hicks grew up in War,McDowell
County where this film had its world premiere at its annual Fall Festival. The film has 15 chapters that cover everything from the origin of coal to a tribute for a miner’s family servicemen. Additional short films cover a history of mining safety, a history of mining machinery, a simulated mine explosion, and a portrait of War, WV.  Access:  www.aflamingrock.com Contact Mr. Hicks for a personal visit, etc. at  - enie31@aol.com     937-258-2306 

HILLBILLY – THE REAL STORY2007 120 mins.
Moore Huntley Productions 

The original title of this film was “Appalachia –
America’s First Frontier.” The staff at The History Channel renamed it. It premiered on Sunday, September 2, 2007 at 8 PM on The History Channel. Wess Harris, publisher of William C. Blizzard’s landmark book, “When Miners March,” and Ross Ballard III, who produced the audiobook version of the book, provided research for this film. William C. Blizzard is interviewed about the role his father played in the Battle of Blair Mountain and Ballard explains some of its meaning.  It discusses the largest civil insurrection since the Civil War — the Battle for
Blair
Mountain in the violent
West Virginia coalfields in 1921, when a self-proclaimed Redneck Army of 10,000 coal miners fought for their right to organize. Access: The History Channel store. http://shop.history.com/detail.php?a=115530 THE TOWN THAT WAS2007   71 mins.
Centralia, Pennsylvania became a front-page story when its underground coal started on fire in 1962. This documentary profiles the few remaining residents of the once thriving coal town, going in to the history of the people, the town, and the coal way of life. Official website - http://www.thetownthatwas.com/. 

MOTHER JONES – THE MOST DANGEROUS WOMAN IN
AMERICA2007                                23 mins.  Mother
Jones
Museum 

Rosemary Feurer and Laura Vazquez, two professors at Northern Illinois         University, directed this first complete film about one of
America’s greatest leaders. The 23-minute film includes the only film footage of her, speaking on her “100th birthday.” Elliot Gorn, author of the definitive biography on Mother Jones, “Mother Jones—The Most Dangerous Woman in
America,” talks about her amazing life. The West Virginia Labor History Assn. inducted her into its WV Labor Hall of Honor in 1980, only second to native son Walter Reuther. She was active in
West Virginia, being arrested several times. The film won

First Place

in the Documentary Division at the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission Film Festival.    Access - http://motherjonesmuseum.org/ 

 Coal CampMemories2006  78 mins. WV Enterprises  Well-known West Virginia actress Karen Vuranch has been performing her one-person play about the lives of women who grew up in
Appalachia’s coal camps during the first part of the twentieth century around the state, country, and world. In 2006, she filmed her performance at the Hulett C. Smith Theater at The Tamarack Center in
Beckley, WV. Using photos from the George Bragg Collection and music by live performers, she presents the viewer with the life of Hallie Marie, first as an exuberant ten-year-old, demure teenager, young wife, and finally an old woman. Vuranch also has done presentations as novelist Pearl S. Buck, labor activist Mother Jones, humanitarian Clara Barton, Indian captive Mary Draper Ingles, Civil War soldier and spy Emma Edmunds, Irish pirate Grace O’Malley and Wild West outlaw Belle Starr. The WV Labor History Association sponsored the world premiere of the film on Feb. 3, 2007 at The La Belle Theater in
South Charleston. Teacher’s website at - http://www.coalcampmemories.com/  Access – WV Enterprises at http://www.wventerprises.com/ 

WHEN MINERS MARCH2006     7 discs        Mountain Whispers.comWilliam C. Blizzard, the son of Bill Blizzard, the “general” of the Battle of Blair Mountain, with the assistance of Wess Harris, compiled his many accounts of the West Virginia Mine Wars in his book, “When Miners March.” He had written most of the book for various labor publications anonymously in the 1950s. In 2005, Ross Ballard took the book and turned it into a monumental “audio movie,” complete with sound effects and original music.  Songs on the special CD are by T. Paige Dalporto, Elaine Purkey, Hazel Dickens, Mike Morningstar, John Lilly and the Irish duo of Enda Cullen and Ian Smith.  Access: http://www.mountainwhispers.com/MWGiftShop.htm.

The
Appalachians – series2005 180 mins.    Evening Star ProductionsMari-Lynn Evans, executive producer, was born and raised in Bulltown,
Braxton County, West Virginia. After more than two decades producing hundreds of health and other films, she returns home to her beloved
Appalachia. The four parts are 1. First Frontier, Pre-History – 1870 – Native Americans, European pioneers, Civil War; 2. Barons, Feuds & White Lightening, 1871-1929 – feuds, timber and coal, labor wars, moonshine and roaring 1920s; 3. Boom & Bust, 1929-1965 – Great Depression, WWII, migration in 1950s, War on Poverty; 4. Memories in a Modern World, 1965-present – legacy, music, land in conflict (MTR), people and future of
Appalachia. The Sierra Club, a sponsor, has built a good website for the series – http://www.sierraclub.org/appalachia. Random House published a book in conjunction with the series, edited by Ms. Evans, The Appalachians.  Access: PBS Store after national showing in April 2005

The Legacy of King Coal2005 ? 50 min.  History ChannelThis film is a comprehensive chronicle of this vital industry, featuring extensive footage of coal mining through the years. There has been a long history of labor unrest that often pointed the way for other industries. Despite countless technological advances and safety features, it remains one of the most dangerous of man’s undertakings. In interviews, labor leaders and coal company presidents offer insights into this vital industry, while industrial historians trace the impact of coal on the American economy.  Access: The History Channel Store, Item Number: AAE-40237, $ 24.95.  

The Kingmaker – Don Blankenship2005              30 mins.   WVPBS Reporter Anna Sale narrates this investigation of Don Blankenship, the president of Massey Energy. Blankenship told the
Charleston press he considered the report to be balanced. Others think that it is not accurate because the damage he has done to the environment and workers’ health is minimized. He is famous for buying union mines, closing them, and reopening them as non-union.  He is best known for financing the campaign against Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw in fall 2004, spending millions of dollars. ( This is shown in detail in Wayne Ewing’s film,” The Last Campaign.”) Appalshop footage of his early days is used, and various supporters present positive opinions about this management style and contributions to southern WV communities. Various reporters and detractors are also interviewed. The fact that he even threatened to sue WVPBS is noted. Access: WVPBS, $25, (304) 556-4900. Also available at You Tube - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kingmaker+don+blankenshipFive parts

The Last Campaign

2005                   107 minutes Wayne Ewing Productions  A unique documentary that combines footage from Mr. Ewing’s first film, “If Elected” (1972) that profiled WV politician Warren McGraw’s Raleigh County race against coalmine owner Tracy Hylton with footage of McGraw’s primary and general election races in 2004. The overwhelming power of corporate money in contemporary elections is shown. McGraw beat Hylton when he was outspent 10 to 1. In 2004, he lost when he was outspent 100 to 1.  These funds were spent airing the meanest attack ads in American political history.   Access:  http://www.thelastcampaign.com/ 

Sludge   2005  55 mins.  Appalshop A documentary about the effects of the Martin
County sludge flood in 2000, releasing 10 times more effluent into the environment than the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The film focuses on the reactions of

Martin
County residents and Jack Spadaro, the long-time mine safety engineer who is now under threat from the Bush Administration for refusing to sign the official report on this disaster. Spadaro is a native West Virginian, working for more than 30 years on coal mine safety in West Virginia, most recently as director of the Mine and Health Safety Academy in Beckley, beginning his career as a mining engineer looking at the Buffalo Creek Disaster.  Access: Appalshop. 

Modern Marvels: Coal Mines 2005?    50 mins. History Channel Coal is an ancient source of energy. More than half our energy still comes from coal. WV State University historian Dr. Stuart McGhee (who starred in Gary Simmons’ series, “The Rock that Burns,”) talks about different ways that coal has been mined and how it is mined now. New techniques like mountaintop removal mining are shown. Appalachian activists talk about the many risks coal mining creates including massive flooding of people’s homes and neighborhoods.  Industry leaders state their own position on these complaints.  Access: $ 24.95 Product No. AAE-43704 History Channel 

Modern Marvels: Coal Mines2005?  50 mins.  History ChannelCoal is an ancient source of energy. More than half our energy still comes from coal.West Virginia
State
University historian Dr. Stuart McGhee (who starred in Gary Simmons’ series, The Rock that Burns) talks about different ways that coal has been mined and how it is mined now. New techniques like mountaintop removal mining are shown. Appalachian activists talk about the many risks coal mining creates, including massive flooding of people’s homes and neighborhoods. Industry leaders state their own position on these complaints.  Access: History Channel,  $ 24.95, Product No: AAE-43704.

Wrath of God: Fire in the Hole! Mining Disasters2005? 50 mins.  History ChannelIt is one of the most dangerous, unforgiving jobs on earth. And despite decades of strict legislation and modern safety devices, mining can still turn deadly in an instant. Three of the worst mining disasters in history are explored. First is the December 5, 1907 explosion that claimed the lives of 175 men and boys in
Monongah, West Virginia. Shock waves from the blast were felt eight miles away. Next is the Orient #2 disaster in
West Frankfort, Illinois, where 119 miners died while working the last shift before Christmas. Both events took place in coalmines, which are particularly dangerous due to the presence of explosive methane gas. Last is the tale of survivors of the worst accident in the history of South African gold mining, when 177 men perished in a fire caused by a welder accidentally touching his torch to an acetylene cylinder.  Access: History Channel, Product No., Item Number: AAE-42617.  

STORIES FROM THE MINES

2004  57 mins.   United Studios of
AmericaThis film dramatizes and documents Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal miner’s role in influencing the relationship between organized labor, organized wealth and the
United States government. The program shows how American labor policies and practices were permanently affected by the volatile relationship between immigrant coal miners of
Northeastern Pennsylvania and the industrialists who employed them. Re-enactments and historical footage are combined. Filmed on historical locations. Website - http://www.aptonline.org/catalog.nsf/GenreLookup/A561F47E25B2B94885256C440059138E.Historical characters include Clarence Darrow,  Access – Appalachian Book Store - http://www.frogcreekbookswv.com/  BLIND SHAFT (mang jing)2003  92 mins.  Kino International 

An award-winning documentary style fictional film about two men who kill Chinese coal miners and take their insurance money. They claim to be relatives of the dead miners. From the film’s website - Blind Shaft tells the story of two itinerant miners (Song Jinming and Tang Chaoyang) who risk their lives under dangerous working conditions and develop questionable morals in order to survive.In the dark caves of one of the many illegal Chinese coal mines, Song and Tang murder a co-worker whom they have convinced to pose as Tang’s brother. By forcing the mine’s collapse upon their deceased colleague, and thereby making his death seem accidental, Tang and Song use their colleague’s death to extort money from the mine’s management. Pressured to cover up an accident which they believe to be the result of improper working conditions, the mine’s owners give in to the two workers’ blackmailing. After leaving with their hush money, Tang and Song hit a nearby town and soon come upon another potential “relative,” this time an innocent 16-year-old boy named Yuan Fengming who has been forced to quit school due to his father’s disappearance. Tang agrees to help Yuan find a job at a coal mine, but only under one condition - he must agree to pretend to be Song’s nephew.As Tang and Song befriend their new victim, the boy’s simplicity and naivety gradually alter the partners’ relationship. And at the last minute, the two men’s scheme takes an unexpected turn.In Chinese with English subtitles  Access: Kino International Video. 

Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters 52003  50 mins.  History Channel  Robert Gates’ footage of the Buffalo Creek Disaster is used in this film about the aftermaths of deadly disasters. Also included is the Exxon Valdez oil spill. This film tries to answer the two big questions: what went wrong, and—more importantly—what did we learn from it? Visit the south coast of Louisiana, where a misplaced oil rig caused an entire lake to be sucked into a giant underground salt mine, taking 65 acres of land, a dozen barges, and (of course) the oil rig with it. Examine the tragic 1972 Buffalo Creek dam disaster when blatantly bad engineering led to a flood that killed 118 people in the rugged mountains of West Virginia. And revisit the Exxon Valdez disaster to unravel the chain of human and technological errors that made it inevitable.  Access: History Channel, $ 24.95, Item Number: AAE-43938. 

The
Pennsylvania Miners Story2003  120 mins.  Disney One of the most dramatic recent stories of rescue actually happened in a coalmine in summer 2002. Disney produced this docu-drama of the “nine for nine” miners. The film was shot in real mines in
Somerset County, PA, including the real-life Quecreek mine. Some parts were recreated on a sound studio. For 77 hours, they were trapped and everyone thought they would die. The world held their collective breaths as people dug down into the flooded mine, using a special piece of equipment based in
Beckley’s MSHA safety academy.  Access: Amazon or any source. Available on DVD June 24, 2003. (Shot in real mines and recreated on a soundstage to show the life-threatening dangers and physical limitations the men faced. The movie was shot in many of the actual locations in
Somerset County, Pennsylvania, including scenes at the real-life Quecreek mine.) Access: DVD for sale at Amazon.com, etc. 

Mucked: Man-made Disasters—Flash Floods in the Coalfields2003  52 mins. Omni ProductionsRobert Gates has been making films about the effects of stripmining since his first film, “In Memory of the Land and People.”(1977) Earlier he produced “All Shaken Up”(19 about the effects of blasting from mountaintop mining on to the homes of people in the Southern coalfields. This film shows the relationship between mountaintop removal coal mining, steep slope timbering, and the wave of major regional flash floods that began on July 8, 2001 in
Southern WV counties. Over 300,000 acres of land have been mined by this practice; valley fills have filled in 750 to 1,000 miles of streams.  Six major regional flash floods and the Liburn Disaster have resulted as well as major impacts on 47 communities, 12,000 homes and businesses, and an estimated 1 billion dollars in damages. People have been killed in these floods. Mucked was previewed at the Spring Fling conference for librarians in April 2002 and had its official world premiere in Nov. 2003 at the Shepherdstown American Conservation Film Festival. An earlier version, “Flood Stories,” had its premiere at the Flooded Out Film Festival in October, 2002. It won honorable mention in the investigative reporting category at EarthVision, an international environmental film festival in
California.  It was shown in 2004 by
Santa Cruz public television.  “Mucked” was also shown on WBGN in
Pittsburgh during the Independent Filmmakers series Nov. 16-20, 2003.  Bob and journalist Penny Loeb (who did a US News story on MTR and is writing a book on it) frequently work together to document the impacts of mountaintop removal and logging in the state of
West Virginia.  The flooding section of Penny’s website- www.wvcoalfield.com/flooding.htm -won second place in online reporting at the Society of Environmental Journalists 2003 awards (www.sej.org).  Penny has a column in Nov. 2003 Blue Ridge Country magazine.   Access: call him at (304) 342-2624 or e-mail him at: omni@ntelos.net. Also available on DVD.

Coal Bucket Outlaw

2002  27 mins. Appalshop  In the spirit of Dancing Outlaw, Tom Hansell explores the world of overweight coal-hauling trucks in eastern
Kentucky. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that coal produces over half of our nation’s electricity. This film is built around a day in the life of a
Kentucky coal truck driver. This digital documentary gives Americans a direct look at where our energy comes from, and reveals the human and environmental price we pay for our national addiction to fossil fuels. The narrative line follows two
Kentucky coal truck drivers as they chase their version of the American dream. Viewers learn how the economics of the coal business demand that both drivers break the law every day. A veteran independent trucker plays the “cops and robbers” game with the weight crew from the Department of Transportation. A young driver debates whether to keep hauling coal or to move his family to the city. In addition, a father describes a collision with a coal truck that killed his teenage son. Facts and figures about coal as an energy source will place these individual struggles in a national context. Coal Bucket Outlaw examines the connection between coal haulers and the larger system that produces
America’s electricity. If outlaws deliver half of our nation’s energy, are consumers and policymakers completely innocent? Access: http://www.appalshop.org/film/ $35 for small libraries and groups. Normal price is $150 college/university. $24.95 for home use only. 

Stories from the Mines: How Immigrant Miners Changed
America2001  57 mins.  Films for the Humanities and SciencesThe first decades of the 20th century saw the rise of America to superpower status—ascendancy fueled in large measure by the social and industrial impact of anthracite coal mining in northeastern
Pennsylvania. This meticulously researched program uses location footage, archival film, period photos, dramatizations, and academic commentary to examine the coming-of-age of American labor. The agitation and violent suppression that so characterized the times are vividly captured, as are the era’s larger-than-life personalities. Precedents including wage and child labor laws and the right to collective bargaining are set against the stark backdrop of immigrant miners savagely exploited by laissez-faire industrialists.  Access: Films for the Humanities & Science, (800) 257-5126. 

Rough Diamonds – A Video Presentation  2001  10 mins.Clyde Ware returned to West Virginia in the summer of 2001, setting up an office in downtown
Charleston. Dennis Strom arranged for many of the events that were latter filmed in this “video presentation” that Ware hoped would get people interested in investing in completing the production. Another local person who greatly helped Ware was Jesse Johnson who also acted in the film. The storyline involves a coal miner who works extra hard to get medical care for his wife. Because he is working so hard, he is trapped in a coalmine disaster, finally escaping with his life. Tyrone Power Jr, grandson of the famous Tyrone Power, and Joe Estevez, the brother of Martin Sheen.    Access: Steve Fesenmaier has a VHS copy he was given by Clyde Ware who still works out of Delaware Pictures,

650 N. Bronson Ave.

, B114,
Hollywood, CA
90004 (323) 960-4552 delaware_pix@yahoo.com

  60 Minutes – Mountaintop Removal Mining15 mins. 2000  CBS News 

Mike Wallace does the definitive story on mountaintop removal mining. Gubernatorial candidate Bob Wise used a clip of the story in 2000 in his campaign in which he defeated Gov. Underwood for his second consecutive term. Starting with the effects of federal judge Haden’s ruling that MTR violated the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, Wallace explores the destruction of MTR on peoples’ lives, interviewing many people including leading anti-MTR people such as WV Secretary of State Ken Hechler, Joe Lovett from the Appalachian Center for the Economy and Environment, James Weekly and others. He also interviews Bill Raney, the president of the WV Coal Association. Wallace asks Gov. Underwood about the half million dollars donated to his campaign and another half million donated to his 1992 inaugural party. Underwood was a long-time employee of WV coal companies after his first term as WV governor. Ken Hechler believes this story is still the best one ever filmed on MTR and its impact on peoples’ lives.  Access: CBS News purchase - http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml 

October Sky1999  Universal Pictures  108 M.  This popular film is based on the true story of Homer Hickam, Jr., the introspective son of a
West Virginia mine superintendent who nurtures his dream of sending rockets into outer space. Homer’s boyhood dreams become reality, changing his life and the lives of everyone living in Coalwood,McDowell
County, in the late 1950’s. This fictionalized autobiography is based on the book Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, Jr. Access: Amazon.com, etc.  

To Save the Land and People1999 59 mins.  AppalshopStrip or “surface” mining – where coal is blasted and scraped from the mountain surface – increased dramatically in the Appalachian region in 1961 when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) signed contracts to buy over 16 million tons of strip-mined coal. Though cheaper for the buyer than deep-mined coal, the damage done by strip mining was far reaching and had immediate impact on coalfield residents. To Save the Land and People is a history of the early grassroots efforts to stop strip mining in eastern
Kentucky, where “broad form” deeds, signed at the beginning of the 20th Century, were used by coal operators to destroy the surface land without permission or compensation of the surface owner. The program focuses on the Appalachian Group to Save the Land and People, whose members used every means possible – from legal petitions and local ordinances, to guns and dynamite – to fight strip mining. The documentary makes a powerful statement about the land and how we use it, and how its misuse conflicts with local cultures and values. Access: Appalshop 

All Shaken Up: Mountaintop Removal Blasting and Its Effects On Coalfield Residents1998 Omni Productions  32 M.  This film was produced locally in the summer of 1998 by Charleston filmmaker Bob Gates and reporter Penny Loeb, who interviewed 45 West Virginia residents affected by the blasting required for the form of strip mining called “mountaintop removal.” The video shows damage to wells and houses and describes the psychological effects of round-the-clock blasting on residents who live in the proximity of the mines. Access: WVLC, purchase from Robert Gates – 304-342-2624. Digging Deep: The Cost of Cheap Energy1998  ABC News Nightline  25 M.  Ted Koppel hosts a look at the impact of the automation of the coalfields, the most important development in mining coal in
West Virginia since the 1950’s. Chief reporter Barry Serafin and others visit various mine sites in West Virginia and talk to residents as well as mine operators who have been affected by the huge machines now used in the largest mines east of the
Mississippi River. Access: WVLC THE ROCK THAT BURNS - A SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE
SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA COALFIELdSFour parts  1997   W.Va. Documentary Consortium & Spectra Media, Inc.Gary Simmons, a South Charleston raised filmmaker, and Dr. C. Stuart McGehee, chairman of the history department at
West Virginia
State
University and director of the Eastern Regional Coal Archives located in
Bluefield, WV at the Craft Memorial Library created this four part series presenting a “positive” view of life in the coalfields.Episode One – 27 minutes. Describes the value to societies of coal as a fuel over the centuries, how the
Southern West Virginia coalfields were opened up, the hardships faced by the early coal operators, and the impact of these coalfields on a growing nation.Episode Two – 28 minutes. Shows life underground, how coal was mined, who mined it, and why, even though it was dark dirty dangerous work, mining was looked upon by many as a satisfying occupation that gave them a future in
America. It includes reminiscences by those who lived the mining life.Episode Three – 28 minutes. This film portrays life in company towns; the unique form of society created by the coal industry and reminisces from those who grew up in company town. Also covered are the company store, schools, the popularity of baseball, and the freedom that Afro-Americans experienced there. Episode Four – 27 minutes. Covers mining in the 20^th century, the quest for unionization, the mine wars, and the introductions of mechanization that ended the hand-loading era. It also studies the popular myths concerning scrip and indebtedness to the company store, as well as exploring what miners were really paid for their hard labor.Websites – Eastern Regional Coal Archives - http://craftmemorial.lib.wv.us/Coal%20Archives.htmAccess: WVLC has VHS copies of the four programs.

THurmond, West Virginia1996  Laura Harrison  22 M.    Thurmond,
Fayette
County, situated on the banks of the
New River, was once a thriving community. It was the main location for John Sayles’ film “Matewan.” Today, it stands as a ghost town in the making. This film, directed by Laura Harrison, looks at the history of this classic coal town, while subtly probing deeper issues about the importance of community and the identity of a place. See also The Oldest
New River. Access: WVLC has a rare VHS copy.  JUSTICE IN THE COALFIELDS1995 58 M. VHS Appalshop
Examines the United Mine Workers’ strike against the Pittston Coal Company that raises fundamental questions about the legal rights of unions and the nature of justice for unionized workers. Access: Appalshop

FIGHTING FOR A BREATH1995  29 M. VHS Appalshop
Profiles one of the lay representatives who have continued to help coal miners seeking black lung benefits in the face of overwhelming odds. Access: Appalshop

EXTRA INNINGS - A HISTORY OF COALFIELD BASEBALL90 M. 1994 VHS WSWP-TV
Profiles some of the former stars of
West Virginia’s coalfield baseball diamonds. We will hear the history of America’s favorite pastime as it was played by the men who dug
America’s coal in the 1930’s and 40’s. Practically every coal town in WV. had a baseball team and every summer, Sunday was spent at the ball field. Some of the finest athletes that played professional ball starred as players in the coal leagues. Many other fine WV. athletes received offers to play professional ball, but decided to stay in the coal fields for a variety of reasons. Listen to some of the reasons and some fascinating memories of the games and times. A look back through extensive use of photographs from the turn of the century through the beginning of WW II. Access: WVPBS

Germinal

1993 158 minutes  

Gerard Depardieu plays the role of Toussaint Maheu from the film version of Emile Zola’s landmark book by the same name. He attempts to organize the coal miners to resist exploitation by the owners. The novel was one of the first to properly, using the finest art and understanding, to show the lives of working men and women. The film version was not shown widely, perhaps due to its theme and its length. John Sayles film “Matewan” is not based on this novel/film, but has many similarities. There were earlier versions including a British mini-series in 1970, and films in 1963, and 1913. Access: Used VHS copies available at Amazon.com, etc.

EVENING WITH CLAUDE FRAZIER, M.D.27 M. 1993 VHS WSWP-TV
Dr. Claude Frazier, M.D., is author of “Miners and Medicine: West Virginia Memories,” a personal account of growing up the son of a coal camp doctor and nurse. Frazier describes firsthand the horrific health problems in the coal camps, the resourcefulness of the doctors and nurses, and the struggle to raise health standards in and around the mines. Frazier recalls life in coal camps in Montgomery, Ansted, and Welch, WV. He describes the “ties that bind” in small WV communities. He also describes the responsibilities the coal camp doctor took on and the admiration the miners had for the company doctor. Access: WVLC

ROVING PICKETS 28 M. 1992 VHS Appalshop
Looks at the consequences of automation in the coal mining industry in eastern
Kentucky: severely reduced wages, chronic unemployment, families divided by out-migration and in 1961 and 62, the cancellation of union health insurance benefits the threatened closing of the UMWA hospitals. All this stimulated President Johnson’s interest in creating the “War on Poverty.” Access: Appalshop

COAL WARS: THE
BATTLE IN RUM CREEK29 M. 1991 VHS . Kathleen Foster
In the tradition of Harlan County, USA, this documentary looks at the role women played in the 1989-90 coal strike in the Southern Appalachian coalfields. The location is Dehue -
Logan County, WV. The miners and their wives are fighting one of the most intense battles since the 1920s. Clips from other films made about that era, along with photographs, are used to illustrate the conclusion - namely that “its workers again’ bosses…forever!” Access: WVLC

OUT OF DARKNESS: THE MINE WORKERS’ STORY100 M. 1991 VHS
An electrifying documentary by Academy-Award-winning director Barbara Kopple (Harlan County, USA) and award-winning video director and editor Bill Davis. Historical film footage and photographs are integrated with first-hand accounts of Mine Workers’ history and of the recent battle with the Pittston Coal Group. Accompanied by a moving soundtrack created by Tom Juravich, this 100-minute film represents real life stories with a powerful, dramatic touch. Access: WVLC

DISASTER CHRONICLES—MINE DISASTER 30 M. 1991 VHS A&E Network
The
Farmington, WV. Mine Disaster on Nov. 20, 1968 was one of the worst mine calamities ever, with 78 miners losing their lives. This documentary investigates the causes and effects. Former U.S. Congressman Ken Hechler is one of the people interviewed since he lead the battle in Congress to change federal mine safety regulations. Also interviewed are J. Davitt McAteer of Shepherdstown, the head of the Occupational Health and Safety
Center. Ben Franklin, a former New York Times correspondent who covered the disaster, provides some critical assessment. This was a watershed even which spurred the nation to create a tough new mine safety law which for the first time in history limited the amount of coal dust and compensated miners with black lung disease.

MATEWAN 130 M. 1987  IFC Films
John Sayles, one of the leading independent directors in the world, came to WV in 1983 to film one of the most famous confrontations between laborer and owners in the town of Matewan,
Mingo County, WV, 1920.  It took him four years to finally finish the film, directing “Brother from another Planet” during that time period.   Coal miners, struggling to form a union, are up against company operators and Baldwin-Felts agents. Black and Italian miners, brought in by the company to break the strike, are caught between the two forces. Union activist and ex-Wobbly Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper), sent to help organize the union, determines to bring the local, black, and Italian groups together. Drawn from an actual incident; the characters of Sheriff Sid Hatfield (David Strathairn), Mayor Cabell Testerman (Josh Mostel), C. E. Lively (Bob Gunton) , and Few Clothes Johnson were based on real people. James Earl Jones plays Few Clothes Johnson, a black coal miner who joins the union to stop massive abuses. The execution of Sheriff Hatfield on the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse steps by Baldwin-Felts agents led to the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed labor conflict in American history. Music by WV native Hazel Dickens. Nominated for an Oscar by Haskell Wexler for best cinematography.  Filmed in Thurmond and the
New River Gorge, WV. Access: Amazon, etc.

IN THE COMPANY’S HANDS 25 M. 1987 VHS WSWP-TV
Coal mine wars of the 1920’s.  Access: WVLC MINE WAR ON BLACKBERRY CREEK1986 28 M.  Appalshop
This is a document of the on-going strike of the UMWA coal miners against the A. T.. Massey co., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell and the Flour Corp. This is an intimate look at both workers and strikebreakers. This area of WV. is where mine wars have been fought since the 1920’s.  Access: Appalshop 

MONONGAH 19071986   29   mins.  Arthur Young While Davitt McAteer was the head of mine safety under President Clinton, he made this film. It tells the story of the struggle for mine safety in the U.S., focusing on the tragedy of
Monongah, WV, in which 362 miners died. Access – WVLC has a VHS copy.  Contact Steve Fesenmaier, at WVLC, for information on access to DVD copies. 

EVEN THE HEAVENS WEEP 

1985       55 mins.  WV PBS-TV
The story of the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, the largest armed labor conflict in American history. TV star Mike Connors narrates this classic story about the long and bloody history of coal in
Appalachia. Access: WVPBS TV. Debbie Oleksa
West Virginia Public Broadcasting,
Morgantown, 1- 888-596-9729.

BUFFALO CREEK REVISITED1984 31 M. B&W   Appalshop
Appalshop filmmaker Mimi Pickering returns to Buffalo Creek, West Virginia to look at the recovery of the community after one of the worst coal mine-related disasters in history. Ken Hechler, then a U.S. Congressman from WV, but not that district, is interviewed in the office of WVLC Film Services. From the film’s website -  Filmed ten years after the flood, Buffalo Creek Revisited looks at the second disaster on Buffalo Creek, in which the survivors’ efforts to rebuild the communities shattered by the flood are thwarted by government insensitivity and a century-old pattern of corporate control of the region’s land and resources. Through the statements of survivors, planners, politicians, psychologists, and community activists, the film explores the psychology of disaster, the importance of community, and the paradox of a poor people living in a rich land. Extensive website devoted to the Disaster - http://buffalocreekflood.org/. Access - Appalshop  Company Town

1983   25 mins.  Lost Nation Productions Jim Rutenbeck began his professional career with this film. He now edits many of The American Experience films produced by WGBH-TV, shown nationally on PBS. His award-winning film, Raise the Dead, ends in War,
McDowell County, West Virginia. The town of Widen, West Virginia (Clay
County) was once a thriving coal mining community. Using interviews, photographs and old film footage, this film recounts the history of Widen and its paternal ruler, coal baron Joseph Gardner Bradley, 1882-1971. It is still considered to be one of the best film portraits of an Appalachian company coal town.  Access: Now available on DVD from Jim Rutenbeck, Lost Nation Pictures, 106 Oliver Road, Newton, MA 02468, (617) 969-6533, jrutenbeck@gmail.com, $19.95 including public performance rights. 

COAL MINING WOMEN1982 40 M. Appalshop
Experiences of women as they enter this traditionally male dominated field and the problems they encounter in their fight to end sex discrimination in the coalfields are related through interviews at home and at work in Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Colorado. The historical place of women in the U.S. and European coalmines and the employment situation in
Appalachia and the western coalfields where the economy is dominated by the coal industry. Women coal miners talk about their accomplishments, advantages and disadvantages for their chosen occupation including the compromise they face between their health and safety and the benefits of high wages. Access: Appalshop

WE DIG COAL 1982  58 M. Cinema Guild
On October 2, 1979, Marilyn McCusker was killed working inside a deep coal mine in central
Pennsylvania. It had taken her two years and a sex discrimination suit in federal court to get her job as a coal miner. This award-winning film has been called “the best documentary ever made on women in non-traditional occupations.” Access: 16 mm, WVLC

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE59 M. 1981 16MM/VHS Blue Ridge Mt. Films
NOTE: Contains Rough Language.
New Yorker filmmaker Ken Fink worked for two years in McDowell
County as the filmmaker-in-residence for the schools system. He made this film after interviewing hundreds of coal miners. He eventually chose three of three different generations - a retired miner, a black middle-aged miner, and a longhaired fellow who has left the mountains, only to return. They give their attitudes toward their profession, reflecting the deep frustrations involved. Partially funded by the Humanities Foundation of West Virginia and shown on WSWP TV. Shown at film festivals throughout the
United States. A recent book, “Glass Castles” talks about these filmmakers coming to Welch, the county seat of

McDowell
County.  Access – VHS from WVLC and Icarus Films.

PORTRAIT OF A COAL MINER 1980 15 M. 16MM/VHS National Geographic
Before the recent tragedy in Ferrell No. 17, Madison, Boone County, filmmakers for National Geographic’s new series, Community Life In America, made a film on the Marcum family. Marcus was charged with the deaths of several miners as a result of a gas explosion. Lawyers for the prosecuting attorney watched the film at The WV Cultural Center.  Besides working as a shift manager Tom Marcum and family enjoy fishing and camping. Basic facts about coal mining are shown along with the lifestyle of coalmining families in WV. Access: 16 mm only, WVLC

WESTERN COAL – AN AMERICAN DILEMMA 1980?  21 M.  
An investigation into the various issues and conflicts arising out of the extensive strip mining activities in and around a small
Montana town. One one side are the coal companies, ranchers who want to sell their land, work men who need jobs and merchants who need the business. On the other side are ranchers and towns people joined by legislators who are concerned about destruction of their land and their way of life. Supported by the Tri-State Humanities Commission. The film helped establish a dialogue between opposing sides.  Access: 16 mm only, WVLC

THE OLDEST
NEW RIVER1980?  21 M.  
In 1980 Steve Fesenmaier and Ken Sullivan traveled to John Dragon’s Class IV whitewater company on the
New River. Dragon gave them a U-matic video copy of a recent TV show made in
North Carolina about Thurmond. Fesenmaier and film archivist Richard Fauss worked together to have the film transferred to 16 mm film for showing around the state. Here is the description – A trip back in time to the early days of the New River Community,
Thurmond, WV. Once a larger raildroad town than Cincinatti, Thurmond and the local area was a booming coal mining region. Many of the buildings no longer exist. Slowly, the area is slipping into the growing forest. See film “Thurmond.”  Access: 16 mm and VHS, WVLC

FAMILY PORTRAIT 1980? 17 M.  
Sponsored film to show over 100 years of cooperation between Norfolk & Western Railway Co. and the people and industries of the Pocahontas coalfield in southern
West Virginia. Access: 16 mm only, WVLC

ROLE OF COAL1980? 17 M.  
Introduces some of the technical aspects of our current energy dilemma while presenting coal as the leading solution.  Access: 16 mm only, WVLC 

THERE’S COAL IN THEM THAR HILLS1980? 20 M.  
Examines the strip mining in
Montana in relationship to today’s energy crisis and the plight of food producers.  Access: 16 mm only, WVLC

TOO GOOD TO TEAR UP FOR COAL1980? 8 M.Tells the story of Bud Redding, a
Montana anti-stripmining activist who doesn’t want his land destroyed. Access: 16 mm only, WVLC 

IF ELECTED1978 57 M. VHS/16MM Wayne
Ewing
A complete look at the campaign of State Senator Warren McGraw. Gives evidence of the “hard campaign trail in the
West Virginia coal fields.” A close look at the issues, feelings and situations that affect the
West Virginia political mind. Access: WVLC and Wayne Ewing  JOHN L. LEWIS1978 26  M.  This films presents the story of John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers of America, during a period of great improvement in labor’s working conditions. It demonstrates the strike tactics he used to achieve improvements and includes footage of his conflicts with mine owners, the AFL, courts and governments.  Access: WVLC, 16 mm.

DREAM COME TRUE, A1978 35 M. Alfred Shands
A TV documentary about the history of
Appalachia. Jenkins, Kentucky is used as an example of the long history of the relationship between the industrial development of America and the expansion of American industry and the
Appalachia. The role of the railroads is emphasized. Based on the state geological survey, “big city” capitalists built railroads, imported immigrant workers, and bought the land to mine coal and other natural resources. Access: WVLC, 16 mm.

IN MEMORY OF THE LAND AND PEOPLE1977 (2007)  55 mins. Omni Productions Robert Gates, a former chemical/computer engineer at Union Carbide, in Charleston, WV, using his own funds, traveled throughout West Virginia,
Appalachia, and the country, filming the effects of stripmining coal. The film has no narration, only the voices of people whose land and lives have been devastated by stripmining coal. The music played is Bartok. The film was shown in Congress and helped motivate national legislation regulation stripmining. It has won many awards and has been shown all over the U.S. Gates was president of the WV Filmmakers Guild for many years and received the WVIFF Lifetime Achievement Award in 1985. He has produced two films on the effects of mountaintop removal mining – “All Shaken Up” and “Mucked.” 

Access: You can purchase a DVD from - Omni Productions,

Box 5130 Charleston, WV
25361

, 304-342-2624, omni@ntelos.net.  The price - $25 for personal use only, $50 for non-profit organizations, $150 for funded institutions, and $ 100 for project sponsors. Frog Creek Books also sells it.
Harlan County,
USA1976 (2006, DVD)        103 mins. CriterionBarbara Kopple came to Appalachia to study at
Morris
Harvey
College –now the University of
Charleston. While starting a film about Arnold Miller and the Miners for Democracy Movement a strike became very intense at the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June 1973. Kopple shows the history of coal mining – the many deaths, the conflicts, and for the first time in this film – the role women played in a strike. Dave Morris, Hazel Dickens, and other Appalachian musicians provide the music for the film. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1977 and has become a landmark film, influencing the entire field of filmmaking. A docu-drama version starring Holly Hunter was made in 2000 called “

Harlan
County
War.” The film was restored and premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.  Extras on the DVD include an update,”The Making of Harlan County USA,” out-takes, and interviews with Hazel Dickens and John Sayles. Access: Amazon.com, general distribution.

NIMROD WORKMAN – TO FIT MY OWN CATAGORY1975 35  M.    Appalshop
From the website - Nimrod Workman was born in 1895 and provided for a family of thirteen working in the coal mines of
West Virginia. To Fit My Own Category is an extended visit at his home as he and his family prepare meals, build an addition to the house, dig for yellow root, swap jokes with the neighbors, and enjoy each other’s company. Nimrod’s reminiscences about coalmining, union organizing in the 1920s and ’30s, and eighty-three years in the mountains are intercut with impromptu performances of the traditional ballads and original songs for which he won a National Heritage Award. This program will be of interest to students of labor and coalmining history,
West Virginia history, folklore and music, and issues related to aging.   Access - Appalshop  The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man1975 40 M.    Appalshop
Covers the destruction and clean-up following the Buffalo Creek Disaster, interviews with survivors, the people’s hearing, wildcat strikes in Logan County mines, the demonstration at the Pittston Coal Company stockholders meeting, and an interview with the president of Pittston. It was added to the National Film Register in 2006. From the film’s website - On February 26, 1972, a coal-waste dam owned by the Pittston Company collapsed at the head of a crowded hollow in southern
West Virginia. A wall of sludge, debris, and water tore through the valley below, leaving in its wake 125 dead and 4,000 homeless. Interviews with survivors, representatives of union and citizen’s groups, and officials of the Pittston Company are juxtaposed with actual footage of the flood and scenes of the ensuing devastation. As reasons for the disaster are sought out and examined, evidence mounts that company officials knew of the hazard in advance of the flood, and that the dam was in violation of state and federal regulations. The Pittston Company, however, continued to deny any wrongdoing, maintaining that the disaster was an ’an act of God.’ Congressman Ken Hechler had warned state and federal officials of the possibility that this could happen based on a recent similar disaster in
Wales. Extensive website devoted to the Disaster - http://buffalocreekflood.org/  Access - Appalshop 

LIFE,
LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF COAL 1974 53 M.   Xerox
This film shows that although WV. has an enormous wealth in coal, its health services, education, housing and quality of life are all substandard. Explores the role that coal companies play in this economic imbalance.  Access: WVLC 

COAL MINER: FRANK JACKSON1971 12 M. B&W  16MM/VHS Appalshop
Illustrates what it is like to have spent your entire life working in the coal mines. Frank Jackson discusses coal mining today and in other times, with scenes in and around the mines.  

BEFORE THE MOUNTAIN WAS MOVED
1971  58 M. 16MM/VHS McGraw-Hill
Shows the determined efforts of one coal miner to save the mountains of
Raleigh County, WV. from the “strippers.” Demonstrates how he succeeded in obtaining strong state legislation in the name of environmental conservation.

VALLEY OF
DARKNESS 1970  20 M. 16MM/VHS Films, Inc.
NBC took a look at the Farmington Mine Disaster in Marion
County. Sandy Vanocer visited the miners and widows of the men who died. Arch Moore and Ken Hechler are interviewed about coal mining. Such problems as black lung are discussed in depth. Access: WVLC 

BLACK FURY 1935 95 M. VHS
A brilliant, penetrating glimpse of the early days of labor unrest, BLACK FURY weaves a mesmerizing tale of life and death within the caverns of
America’s coal mining land. Joe Radek, a likeable, hard-working coal miner who single-handedly takes on the Company. When his best friend is brutally murdered by the henchmen, he decides to strike. He begins a lonely vigil deep in the coal mines - refusing to come out unless the Company gives their miners the privileges they deserve. In scene after scene of taut suspense and high drama, the world of the coal miner is searingly portrayed. Access: Amazon, etc. 

WEST VIRGINIA
STATE ARCHIVES LABOR FILMS – 5 mins. each

Audio/Video Files from the West Virginia
State Archives.   

Access: http://www.wvculture.org/history/av.html

Hominy Falls Mine Disaster, 1968

Farmington Mine Explosion, 1968

Black Lung Rally, 1969

UMWA Presidential Candidate Arnold Miller at Miners’ Rally, 1972

Dedication of the Mine Health and Safety Academy, 1976

MISERY IN THE BORINAGE (MISÈRE AU BORINAGE)   1933  25 mins.  International Films   Author’s note – Obviously this film was not made in WV or
Appalachia. However, it is one of the first documentaries ever made that show the lives of coal miners and their families. Anyone interested in
Appalachia should see this film and read Emile Zola’s Germinal (1885), the first novel to present accurately the lives of coal miners. (It is also a great film produced in 1993. Henry Storck, a Belgium filmmaker, and Dutch filmmaker Joris Ivens, co-directed this landmark documentary about lives in the coalmining part of
Belgium called “The Borinage.” It was the same region where Vincent Van Gogh worked as a religious person before he became famous as a painter. It is a social documentary describing the fate of some 15,000 miners in the Borinage, who in 1932 staged a strike in protest against the announcement by Belgian mine-owners of a 5% cut in wages. The film is still extremely moving, showing humans treated worse than animals. The filmmakers were Communist so it ends with a bust of Karl Marx. Compare to the films of Pare Lorentz made a few years latter – The Plow that Broke the Plains and The River. Ivens was hired by Lorentz to make a film in the
U.S. called Power and The Land (1940) about rural electrification. Access: WVLC 16 mm and DVD.   KAMERADSCHAFT

1931  93 minutes  

G. W. Pabst directed this German film based on a real event that took place on the France-German border in 1906 when 1100 miners were killed. German miners came to the rescue of the French miners who were trapped underground. It was the first work of art banned by Hitler when he became chancellor. It is famous for its both realist and expressionist photography Access:  VHS copies available at Amazon.com, etc. Mining operations,
Pennsylvania coal fields / Thomas A. Edison, Inc.view online at - http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi bin/query/D?papr:6:./temp/~ammem_TsYV::@@@mdb=cola,coolbib,papr,pin,ncr,varstg

CREATED/PUBLISHED
United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1904.
The film opens on an area covered with snow where the following operations are visible: track laying, and dirt moving by explosion, grader, steam shovel, and steam engine. Copyright: Thomas A. Edison, Inc.; 23Dec04; H54720. Duration: 2:25 at 16 fps. Filmed December 17, 1904 in
Drifton, PA.

Notes –  Steve Fesenmaier has created a separate list of films about stripmining and mountaintop removal mining. Some of those films are included in this list. That lists describes 35 films including some web-based films. Ken Hechler believes that the 60 Minutes story on MTR done in 2000 is still the best film about the subject. (Of course, he is interviewed….) 

 As the Coal (and Oil) Age comes to a close, more and more people are interested in its history. I hope that future filmmakers will find this list and be able to see the films that came before them. Many films on coal mining are distributed for a short while. Even the greatest, and indeed, the first film, “Misery in the Borinage” are not available on DVD as far as I know. (I have obtained one DVD copy. I screened the film in 2003 at The Belgium Film Festival I programmed at The South Charleston Museum, La Belle Theater.) I am trying to obtain a copy of the film version of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s book, “Crimes Against Nature,” which has recently been premiered.  Mari-Lynn Evans, producer of “The Appalachians” has been working on her own film about MTR during the last two years, and should be releasing it sometime in 2009.  

Web Resources – There are 28,300 videos listed at YouTube with the word “coal” in their description. There are 175 films listed at YouTube about mountaintop removal mining. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mountaintop+removal+mining&search_type=&aq=f Under “coal mining,” there are 658 videos listed. (10.17.  

Google lists over 35,000 sites on MTR and over 4 million on “coal mining.”  Tom Naniello’s 2003 version of his book, “Working Stiffs, Union Maids, Reds and Riffraff” has a list of 32 films on “Miners and Mining.” Some of the above films are included in his list.  BBC has a wonderful website called “Nation on Film” that has posted many clips of footage showing mining in the northeast of
England – http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/topics/coal-mining/ 

Caverns of the Night by William B. Thesing (Editor) “Caverns of Night explores the aesthetic challenges of representing Western European and American coal-mining experiences in art, literature, and film.”–BOOK

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