Harlan County, U.S.A. (Criterion Collection)

In 1973, when the Brookside coal miners voted to join the United Mine Workers union, the Duke Power Company refused to sign the union's contact. The struggle that broke out between the company and the workers was brilliantly documented by Barbara Kopple in this Academy Award winning documentary. With a haunting country and bluegrass soundtrack, Harlan County USA is a powerful, sometimes heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.