Amazon.com video review:
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, labor 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.
The DVD features commentary by Paul Schrader, his first such audio track,
guided and prodded by critic Maitland McDonagh, who does her best to draw
the director out of his long silences and launch him into his fascinating
production stories. --Sean Axmaker
