Paul Schrader's Oh, Canada and Blue Collar (updated)

On April 23, I watched Paul Schrader's most recent film, Oh, Canada. It was the first Schrader movie I'd seen since First Reformed, which I enjoyed (though "enjoy" is a relative term with many Schrader movies, since they tend to be so dark. Maybe the better term is "appreciate"). Richard Gere plays Leo Fife, an aging documentary filmmaker who is dying of cancer, and when I say dying, I mean he's at death's door. Former film students of his are in the process of filming their own documentary about Leo's life. Leo is interviewed on camera and we, the audience, are left to wonder how many of Leo's memories are real or imagined, and whether Leo was a filmmaker with leftist political principles or someone who was only perceived that way by others. We also see that Leo was a man of contradictions, like many of us are. Though the movie is based on a Russell Banks novel--and likely contains some autobiographical elements--it's impossible not to also think it's also a little bit about Paul Schrader himself.

Oh, Canada sent me down a little Schrader rabbit hole, and the revelation that I have probably only seen about half of the movies he's directed--even though I consider him someone whose work I'm always interested in following. One Schrader movie I'd never seen--or don't remember ever seeing--was his 1978 directorial debut Blue Collar.

Blue Collar stars Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, and Yaphet Kotto as three auto assembly line co-workers in Detroit. When they're not toiling on the line, worrying about paying the bills, and trying to get their union steward to fight on their behalf, they are knocking back beers at the bar adjacent to the factory or, in one memorable scene, partying in Smokey's (Yaphet Kotto) swinging '70s bachelor pad.

It's at Smokey's place that Zeke (Pryor), Jerry (Keitel), and Smokey decide to rob what they think is a large stack of cash from the safe of their local union headquarters. In the most comic caper-like moment of the film, the three break into the safe only to find there is much less money than they expected ($600 in petty cash). However, they also recover a ledger with evidence of high interest loans doled out from the union to the mob. Zeke, Jerry, and Smokey's new plan to blackmail the union with the ledger creates a dire situation than none of them are equipped to handle and the three are torn apart, their friendship destroyed. What is even worse is that the union and the mob exact retribution against the three which leads to tragedy. (Yes, this movie is 47 years-old, but there will be no spoilers here).

Prior to seeing Blue Collar, my favorite Detroit-set movie was Out of Sight (1998). Now, however, Out of Sight has to be knocked to second place with Blue Collar taking top honors. Even though there are some factual errors (the guys are depicted as working at a Checker Cab factory, though the exteriors are the Ford Rouge plant), I'm willing to give Paul Schrader a pass. I assume Schrader would have preferred to film the entire movie at the Rouge but couldn't do that and had to film interiors at the Checker factory in Kalamazoo.

There is one little detail in the movie that I particularly enjoyed. It's one that most viewers might not notice. There's a scene in Zeke's living room. He is depicted sitting in a chair, flipping through a magazine, and watching television with his family (and hilariously "critiquing" the television show The Jeffersons). The magazine he's reading is not just any old magazine, it's the 1977 Detroit Tigers yearbook. I know because I own a copy and I'd recognize the cover anywhere. It's a blue cover with photos of Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, Ron LeFlore, and Rusty Staub in star-shaped frames. So, it turns out Zeke is a Tigers fan getting prepped on the team's 1977 season--or so I believe. It's a tiny detail that might be viewed as inconsequential, but I give Paul Schrader tremendous credit in unequivocally establishing these characters as Detroit guys.

If you've never seen Blue Collar and any of what I've written here sounds the least bit intriguing, by all means check out the movie. It is streaming and is also available as a Criterion Collection bluray.