Paul Schrader’s latest film, Auto-Focus, has tanked at the box office. While the film had some lurid moments, overall, the tale of Hogan’s Heroes star Bob Crane at times did fall a wee bit flat.

I recommend taking a look back at his directorial debut, Blue Collar (1978). It’s an astonishing little film about labour relations that’s way ahead of its time. Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto star as struggling auto workers, mistreated by management and their union brass alike. Both deliver superb performances, but the pleasing surprise (or reminder) is Richard Pryor, who’s nothing short of incredible as a man desperate to make enough money to feed his family. The scene where a tax man shows up to scrutinize Pryor’s claims (pointing out that Pryor has listed six dependents on the form but only appears to have three children) is hilarious. Pryor proves his versatility when, in the next scene, he’s facing off against insurmountable corruption.

Schrader’s world view is apparent too. This is a true ’70s picture, its sense of sheer hopelessness and nihilism standing in stark contrast to so many of the sunny films that came before and would follow what is arguably Hollywood’s finest period. The ending is a stunner. A companion piece about America and the auto biz would be Michael Moore’s Roger & Me. :

» Matthew Hays