Working Class Heroes
Movies that reflect a sense of integrity and character, from underdog tradesmen to borderline outlaws.
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- DirectorRobert BentonStarsPaul NewmanBruce WillisJessica TandyA stubborn man past his prime reflects on his life of strict independence and seeks more from himself.Sully just wants to get paid what he is owed. The problem is his former employer always seems to win...but not this time.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsPaul NewmanMelvyn DouglasPatricia NealHonest, hard-working Texas rancher Homer Bannon has a conflict with his unscrupulous, selfish, arrogant, egotistical son Hud, who sank into alcoholism after accidentally killing his brother in a car crash.A bitter conflict develops between the callous Hud and his stern and highly principled father, Homer over their diseased cattle.
- DirectorJohn TurturroStarsJohn TurturroMichael BadaluccoCarl CapotortoMac is the ambitious, overbearing, irresistible oldest of three brothers who struggle against all odds to scrape together enough money to start their own business in Queens, New York.Mac only wants to be build decent homes for people but he has to battle the competition and his own family first.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsYves MontandCharles VanelPeter van EyckIn a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsDennis ChristopherDennis QuaidDaniel SternA working-class Indiana teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl while searching for life goals with his friends.A group of four working class kids struggle with being unfocused and unmotivated in life, until one finds motivation in cycling.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsDave JohnsHayley SquiresSharon PercyAfter surviving a heart-attack, a 59-year-old carpenter must fight bureaucratic forces to receive Employment and Support Allowance.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsRoy ScheiderBruno CremerFrancisco RabalFour unfortunate men from different parts of the globe agree to risk their lives transporting gallons of nitroglycerin across dangerous Latin American jungle.
- DirectorTom GilroyStarsCampbell ScottNed BeattyLiev SchreiberAn ex convict befriends an elderly coworker as they both try to find meaning in life and forgiveness for their past.Paul and Murph work maintenance for the local park system. Soon, they become good friends despite being completely different in every way.
- DirectorJoe MantegnaStarsCharles DurningPeter FalkDenis LearyFilm adaptation of David Mamet's comic play Lakeboat about a grad student who takes a summer job on a Great Lakes freighter and sees life through the eyes of his low-brow crew members.Dale is a college student who briefly joins a world-weary crew on a Great Lakes cargo ship. The seafaring lifestyle falls short of his literary visions, he instead finds the experience rich in unexpected ways.
- DirectorFrank PerryStarsJeff BridgesSam WaterstonElizabeth AshleyTwo drifters, of widely varying backgrounds, rustle cattle and try to avoid being caught in contemporary Montana.Jack McKee and Cecil Colson are modern day cattle rustlers who make an enemy of a rich rancher who enjoys pretending he's a cowboy.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsElizabeth TaylorRock HudsonJames DeanSprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.Jett Rink grows up in the shadow of a rich family until he becomes an imposing figure in his own right.
- DirectorJoseph PiersonStarsBill SageBill DawesLawrence StringerSet in a dirt-poor neighborhood in the fictional city of San Lovisa, Texas, EvenHand tells the story of two very different cops, working together for the first time. Rob Francis, recently divorced, finds the adjustment from his previous assignment in "Sleepytown" difficult. With his new partner, the volatile Ted Morning, he spends his days breaking up domestic disputes and attempting to make sense of a parade of lowlifes, firebugs and junkies. Morning is the original Texas cowboy, all muscle and bravado: arrest 'em first, ask questions later. The characters and events in EvenHand subtly intertwine until Francis and Morning must both face the consequences of their very different approaches to the job. Filmed on location in San Antonio, Texas, EvenHand is a police story, but it's not about car chases or shoot-outs. It's about two cops struggling to survive in a world where, without warning, numbing routine can give way to primal fear.The best film about cops and their motivation I've ever seen with a soundtrack by M. Doughty.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsPaul NewmanTom CruiseMary Elizabeth MastrantonioFast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.Fast Eddie Felson tries to teach a talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling but some grifters have ethics.
- DirectorKatherine DieckmannStarsPaul RuddKen MarinoMaura TierneyA story about a tight-knit group of friends, who try to maintain their small-town way of life in the face of enormous changes in 1970s Long Island.Diggers is a tale of a small clamming community on Long Island. Like most working class towns, the people all know each other from school days and just growing up in close proximity with parents of similar occupation.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsDean AndrewsThomas CraigJoe DuttineFive Yorkshiremen try to survive after the British Rail is bought out by a private company.Five Yorkshiremen try to survive after the British Rail is bought out by a private company. Spending cuts come at a cost to safety.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsMichael DouglasRobert DuvallBarbara HersheyAn ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.Watch a man fall apart in response to indifference.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsSally FieldBeau BridgesRon LeibmanA young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsChris CooperJames Earl JonesMary McDonnellA labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
- DirectorJohn SlatteryStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanChristina HendricksRichard JenkinsA blue collar worker tries to cover things up when his stepson is killed in a suspicious accident, but a local reporter senses that something's amiss.
- DirectorBrady HallStarsMichael BeachAidan GillenAnna GilesDid you know that scrap metal is America's 4th largest export? Well, Hollis Wallace does, and he makes his quiet living trolling the back alleys of Seattle looking for cast-off copper, aluminum and other valuable metals. Hollis uses all the tricks of the metal scrapping trade to earn his living and navigate through a fascinating and rowdy world that few pay any attention to. Hollis's only friend is his ailing mother, and his only drive in life is to collect enough scrap to take care of her. But his routine and isolation are disrupted when he has a strange encounter with teenage runaway Swan in the basement of an unhinged neighbor. They end up forming a scrapping partnership that almost borders on a friendship, before the forces in their lives threaten to destroy their new bond completely. SCRAPPER is a witty drama that stars Michael Beach (Third Watch, Soul Food, Sons of Anarchy) as Hollis, a quiet man with a keen grasp on his trade and no grasp at all on his personal life. Newcomer Anna Giles plays Swan, the train-hopping, dumpster-diving 18 year old who awakens a paternal instinct in Hollis and threatens to change his stubborn antisocial ways. Aidan Gillen (Game Of Thrones, The Wire) plays Ray, an unusual guy with unusual hobbies who doesn't take kindly to Hollis intruding on his life...
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsJon FavreauRobert Downey Jr.Scarlett JohanssonA head chef quits his restaurant job and buys a food truck in an effort to reclaim his creative promise, while piecing back together his estranged family.
- DirectorNaomi KawaseStarsKirin KikiMasatoshi NagaseKyara UchidaBurdened with a heavy and ever-increasing debt, a dorayaki baker hires a kind ageing woman, after tasting her delicious surprise. Little by little, she unravels her beautiful inner world. Could she be holding the secret to his success?
- DirectorKen LoachStarsRobert CarlyleEmer McCourtJim R. ColemanThe story of construction-worker Stevie and his unemployed pop-singer girlfriend shows the living conditions of the British poor class.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsRichard PryorHarvey KeitelYaphet KottoWhen three automotive factory workers who're struggling financially try to steal from their own labor union, they discover corruption, and reluctantly decide to use this information for blackmail.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsDean AndrewsThomas CraigJoe DuttineFive Yorkshiremen try to survive after the British Rail is bought out by a private company.