Best Mining Movies. Mines are fascinating place that hides many secrets. They hide treasures, they hide dangers, and they hold the key to unlocking the true nature of people as well.
While greedy corporations want wealth, poor miners want daily wages. So, everyone comes to mine with their own hopes and wishes.
But once we enter a mine, it is in the hands of the mine whether we get out safely or encounter dangers.
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This unpredictable and dangerous environment makes the best films. We have seen many films based on the theme of mining, that offer suspense, thriller, drama, horror, tragedy, and hope.
We take a look at all those movies that are built on the theme of mining. We also included some highly regarded documentaries that will open our eyes to the reality behind the industry.
50 Dark Descent (2002)
Best Mining Movies Deep in the Mariana Sea Trench, a corporate underwater mining complex has been built forming an industrial Atlantis.
49 White Fang (1991)
Jack London’s classic adventure story about the friendship developed between a Yukon gold hunter and the mixed dog-wolf he rescues from the hands of a man who mistreats him.
48 Leviathan (1989)
A team of miners working in an underwater center discovers a Russian ship, the Leviathan. But the ship was torpedoed. Gradually, limbs undergo a terrifying genetic alteration. What happened on the ship?
47 Billy Elliot (2000)
In a small mining village in the northeast of England, Billy, 11, discovers with amazement that a dance class now shares the same premises as his boxing club. At first frightened, he gradually becomes fascinated by the magic of ballet gestures, an activity that is too unmanly in the face of his father and brother Tony, under strike minors. Billy abandons the leather gloves to discreetly attend the dance lessons taught by Mrs. Wilkinson.
46 Harlan County War
(2000)
Best Mining Movies Harlan County War is a television film directed by Tony Bill and written by Peter Silverman. It aired on Showtime.
45 Underground (2003)
For generations, a secret war has raged between vampires and Lycans, an ancient species of werewolf. The vampires gain the upper hand when Lycan leader Lucian seemingly dies at the hands of vampire Kraven, who becomes the second-in-command to the vampires’ leading elders. Selene, a member of an elite group of vampire assassins known as “Death Dealers”, longs for revenge against the Lycans, who murdered her parents when she was a child.
During a clash with the Lycans, Selene discovers that they are looking for Michael Corvin, a seemingly ordinary medical student. After she rescues Michael and takes him under her wing, the pair find themselves pursued by a group of Lycans led by Lucian, who is still alive after all. During their escape, Michael is bitten by Lucian. Since Kraven was the only witness to Lucian’s supposed death, Selene comes to suspect that he lied about killing him and may be working with the Lycans.
44 King Solomon’s Mines (1985)
Best Mining Movies Ever in search of adventure, explorer Allan Quatermain (Richard Chamberlain) agrees to join the beautiful Jesse Huston (Sharon Stone) on a mission to locate her archaeologist father, who has been abducted for his knowledge of the legendary mines of King Solomon. As the kidnappers, led by sinister German military officer Bockner (Herbert Lom), journey into the wilds of Africa, Allan and Jesse track the party and must contend with fierce natives and dangerous creatures, among other perils.
43 Beneath (2013)
Beneath takes a look at the dangers of coal mining on the lives of long-term miners. The film is a horror adventure directed by Ben Ketai and based on the story by Patrick J. Doody and Chris Valenziano.
When we are shown the 1920s mine shaft that had collapsed, we briefly see a skeleton of a bird in a cage.
This is in accordance with the early practice of using canaries to test the air quality in mine shafts before miners entered them.
The story is about a miner nearing retirement who takes his daughter into the coal mine to test her adaptability and strength.
However, the mine collapses, trapping all 600 mines inside. It is only time before they run out of oxygen.
This slowly drives the others insane with aoxygen deprivation before rescue arrives.
42 My Bloody Valentine (2009)
Best Mining Movies My Bloody Valentine is the 2009 remake of the Canadian slasher movie from 1981. The film was given the highest R-rating for a non-pornographic film due to the excessive violence and gore that is depicted.
In Australia, many viewers complained about the violence and requested the movie be banned. The story starts with a mining accident that causes seven miners to be trapped underground.
By the time the rescuers arrive, they see six miners dead from pickax wounds and a comatose Harry Warden.
Harry wakes up from his coma, goes to the mine, and kills all the teenagers partying on Valentine’s Day.
Cut to the present day, Tom Harringer, a survivor of the Valentine’s Day massacre comes back to town, and the murders restart.
41 The Pennsylvania Miners’ Story (2002)
The Pennsylvania Miners’ Story is a television movie that was written by Elwood Reid and directed by David Frankel.
The film is about the real-life events that took place in Pennsylvania in the QueCreek mines between the 24th and the 28th of July 2002.
The film tells us the story of the nine miners who were trapped in the QueCreek mine and the rescue efforts made to get them out safely.
The film tells us from the miners’ perspective about what they experienced and all the extraordinary effort it took to get the trapped men out of the mine.
The film was shot on location in Pennsylvania, and a few of the scenes were recreated in the QueCreek mines.
The film was nominated for its sound editing at the Golden Reel Awards.
40 Flower on the Stone (1962)
Best Mining Movies Flower on The Stone is a Soviet-era film that was made in 1962. It tells the story of a mining community that’s been set up on the Donetsk Steppe.
Here, the community faces a clash between a sect with its followers and the communist establishment. The mining town is being developed under the command of Brigadier Griva and the Komsomol.
However, a religious sect comes into town with members who are close-minded and rigid in their attitude. These two rigid organizations clash over the fate of the town.
During the filming, a fire accident occurred and claimed the life of the actress, Inna Burduchenko. The director of the film was arrested and held accountable for the unsafe working conditions.
39 Silver City (2004)
Silver City is a political satire that revolves around the Gubernatorial race in Colorado. The film was written and directed by John Sayles.
Silver City takes a look at all the parties that hold a stake in an election, and sadly, the voters are not at the top of the list.
Dicky Pilager is running for the Governor of Colorado and is an inept candidate. While creating a campaign ad for environmental issues, the team fished out a corpse that could open a can of worms for Pillager.
Immediately, the campaign manager and longtime friend take charge of the issue and start an investigation. This investigation throws up all kinds of corrupt links between mining corporations, lobbyists, real estate lobbyists, environmental mess-ups, and illegal immigrants.
The performance of Dicky Pilager was rumored to be based on George W. Bush.
38 Act of Vengeance (1986)
Best Mining Movies Act of Vengeance is a factual film on the real-life murder and the events surrounding the presidential election of the United Mine Workers Union in 1969.
In this film, Charles Bronson played Joseph “Jock” Yablonski, a real person who worked for safer working conditions for miners.
Act of Vengeance is sourced from the book of the same name written by Trevor Armbrister. A mining accident was caused due to unsafe working conditions for miners, killing 80 men in West Virginia.
Yablonski was disturbed by this incident and wanted to push for miners’ safety using the union. However, the union president supports the mine owners causing him to be disillusioned.
He decides to run for union president and makes himself the target of an Act of Vengeance.
37 Mine 9 (2019)
Mine 9 is the story of survival and self-rescue in an unsteady Appalachian mine. The film story combines the events that took place in three different mining accidents in West Virginia to create the plot for this film.
Mine 9 was written and directed by Eddie Mensore. The Appalachian mountains house mines rich in coal but suffer frequent accidents and unsteady mine shafts.
A unit of 9 miners brave the odds and continue to mine there. However, a sudden methane explosion causes the mine to cave in and traps the miners.
They only have one hour’s worth of Oxygen in their tank till they are rescued. The film is about their ordeal.
For the filming of the movie, they used actual coal mines for the establishing shots, but the rest of the scenes were filmed in a set with styrofoam mine walls.
36 Sub Terra (2003)
Best Mining Movies Sub Terra is a Spanish film that is set in Lota, Chile. The film is based on the events captured by the local grocer named Baldomero Lillo, who recorded them in his book.
The events of Sub Terra occur in 1897 at the coal mine called “Chiflon del Diablo”. In Chile, coal mining is the biggest industry, and the mine owners and supervisors are corrupt to the core, willing to sacrifice as many lives as needed to maximize their profits.
The miners in the village of Lota are unhappy with the working conditions, low wages, rising debt, etc. They plan to form a union of workers to negotiate better conditions.
But the mine supervisor has planted moles among the workers, and he has no qualms about killing good men as a means to an end.
35 A Light in Dark Places (2003)
A Light In Dark Places is a German film titled Das Wunder von Lengede. It was telecast on TV as a two-parter.
The film was directed by Kaspar Heidelbach and written by Benedikt Roeskau. A Light In Dark Places won awards at the Bambi Film awards and Bavarian Film awards and was nominated for many more accolades.
The story is about the rescue mission of a group of miners, who got stuck in the Lengede-Broistedt mine.
A mining accident occurred in 1963 when a nearby water pocket flooded the mine and stranded the miners inside for 14 days.
They almost lost hope of getting rescued when a breakthrough happened, and 11 miners were rescued.
34 The Stars Look Down (1940)
Best Mining Movies The Stars Look Down is a film based on the novel of the same name by A. J. Cronin and the film was directed by Carol Reed.
When the film was made, the director found the story to be very melancholic and sad. He was surprised that the audience appreciated the film and made it a success.
Davey Fenwick is the son of a miner and sees his father slave away and endanger his life for the profits of the mine owners.
When Fenwick Sr. strikes for better working conditions, he is arrested. At this time, Davey Fenwick gets a scholarship and plans to earn a degree and make the lives of fellow miners better.
However, along the way, his ideals are led astray by the wiles of a scheming woman and her war-profiteering boyfriend.
33 Germinal (1993)
Germinal is a French film about the coal miner’s strike in Northern France in the 1860s. The plot is based on the novel of the same name by Emile Zola.
Germinal was the costliest French film ever made at that point in time, and it was the fourth most attended film in France that year.
The miners in the coal mines in Northern France are living in dismal conditions with no care for their safety.
Etienne is an idealistic and somewhat naive youth who is unable to put up with their suffering. He encourages the miners to fight for their rights and strike.
His good intentions and wishes are all for naught before the blatant greed and the scheming nature of the mine owners.
32 Margaret’s Museum (1995)
Best Mining Movies Margaret’s Museum is a sad tale of the life of coal miners in Glace Bay in Nova Scotia. The film is a British-Canadian production and it is based on the novel, The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum, written by Sheldon Currie.
Margaret MacNeil is a young woman who refuses to marry anyone from the mining community as she has seen her father and brother die in the mine, while her grandfather suffers from respiratory illness.
To this town comes a cheerful, charming, Scottish young man, Neil Currie, who changes Margaret’s heart and marries her.
But the curse of the miners follows, and he too perishes in a mining accident. This prompts her to start a museum in their honor and memory.
31 Brassed Off (1996)
Brassed Off is a comedy-drama that is based on the struggles of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band when the Grimethorpe pit was closed off.
The film views the impact of the shutting down of mines on the community and the psychology of the people as many miners had committed suicide out of desperation.
The film starts with the announcement that the mine will be shut down after being operational for over a hundred years.
As long as the mine was running they had their colliery brass band. Now it is facing unemployment along with the miners.
The entry of a new flugelhorn player offers a ray of hope for the band, yet, it also spells trouble for the player’s relationship with her boyfriend.
30 Under Rich Earth (2008)
Best Mining Movies Under Rich Earth is a documentary film that chronicles the fight of the farming community against foreign prospectors who want to mine copper in the valley.
The film uncovers all the cheap intimidation and scare tactics and strong warming of the Canadian Mining company that uses paramilitary forces for their mission.
The Intag valley of Ecuador is rich in fertile soil. It is home to many farmers and farming families who make a comfortable earning, living in harmony with nature, and a stable future for their children.
All this is threatened when foreign prospectors arrive and propose to buy up the fertile land to mine copper.
To scare and intimidate the farmers, the mining companies use dirty tactics and even violence.
29 Ace in the Hole (1951)
Ace in the Hole is a film noir that takes a scathing look at news media and reporters who exploit situations to create a sensation.
Conversely, the public is gullible and laps up all the news without analyzing the truth and the reality. Chuck Tatum is a New York city journalist who has been fired from his job.
Disgraced, he takes up a job as a small-town journalist. He is raring for a chance to get back into the big league, and the chance occurs in the form of a victim, who is trapped in an old cave.
Tatum immediately jumps to the opportunity and exploits the situation to create a sensation at the cost of morals, ethics, and humanity.
28 Mountaintop Removal (2007)
Best Mining Movies Mountaintop Removal is a documentary film that was captured over a period of two years. It discusses the form of mining that erodes the mountain tops to reach the mineral deposits within.
This type of mining damages the landscape and affects the nature and community in West Virginia’s Appalachian mountain range.
The documentary includes narration by Jeff Goodell and interviews with prominent geologists and the President of the West Virginia Coal Association.
The film shows the efforts made by the locals, environmental groups, and various associations to salvage the landscape.
27 Blood Diamond (2006)
Best Mining Movies Blood Diamond is a political war film set during the Sierra Leone Civil War. The film depicts the illegal diamond mining that funded the war efforts of the militants and local warlords.
The film also depicted the atrocities done to innocent civilians to prevent them from supporting the government or voting.
A local warlord Captain Poison has kidnapped a large number of civilians and forced them to mine in a river.
Vandy is a local fisherman who finds a large pink diamond, but before it is stolen from him, government forces arrest the group.
In jail, Vandy meets a diamond smuggler who becomes aware of the existence of this pink diamond. It is a fight between the militant warlords, Vandy, and the smuggler to locate the stone and make a profit from it.
26 River of Gold (2016)
River of Gold is a documentary film based on the illegal gold mining industry in the Peruvian rainforests. The film is narrated by Sissy Spacek and Herbie Hancock as it takes us up the Madre de Dios river, and through the rainforest that is being threatened by mining.
Environmentalists, biologists, and investigative journalists come together to show us the real picture of centuries-old rainforests of Peru that are falling victim to human greed.
The forest is being destroyed to mine gold and earn profits illegally. The film showcases the resulting ecological and biological impact of mining in the area.
25 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Best Mining Movies The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a western that showcases the failings of human nature and the triumph of hope and hard work.
The film is written and directed by John Huston. He cast his father, Walter Huston in a key role as the prospector.
When Walter Huston won his Oscar, he jokingly stated that he only requested his son to write a good part for him in his movies.
He said, ‘… Well, by cracky, that’s what he did!’ When two unemployed and out-of-luck miners meet a prospector, they agree to search for gold in the mountains of Sierra Madre.
They work hard and find gold but they also find a ton-load of trouble. Bandits, mother nature, greed, etc., all turn their victory into a sour experience.
24 Pale Rider (1985)
Pale Rider is a film that was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, and he also stars in the lead role.
The title of the film, Pale Rider, is a reference to one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, with the pale rider representing Death.
In a small town, prospectors settled at the foothills of California are threatened by the greed of a wealthy landowner from the neighboring village.
With the Gold Rush in full swing, the prospectors are worried for their livelihood until a preacher rides into town.
He convinces and persuades the landowner to give up his ideas. The film was the highest-grossing Western of the 1980s.
However, the film was tough on Eastwood as he suffered a dislocated shoulder when his horse fell through thin ice.
23 Salt of the Earth (1954)
Best Mining Movies Salt of the Earth is a film about the general strike called by the workers of a zinc mine in New Mexico.
The events that conspired during the Empire Zinc mine strike have inspired the story of the film. The film was blacklisted in America for 11 years as the writer, director, and producers of the film were accused of having communist links.
The Mexican-American miners in the zinc mines in Zinctown, New Mexico are not paid equal wages as the Anglo miners and are subject to racial discrimination.
To object to this treatment, the miners call for a general strike until their demand for equal pay and equal rights are met.
The fight against the corrupt mine owners is strengthened and encouraged by the determination of women, wives, mothers, and daughters of the community.
Hence, the movie is viewed as a feminist film.
22 North Country (2005)
North Country is a film about the sexual, emotional, and physical abuse faced by female miners. The film is inspired by the novel Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler.
The story is a fictional account of the events. Josey Aimes is a divorced, single mother who comes to the North Country and takes up work as a miner in the local mines.
In a predominantly male workspace, all the female miners face harassment and abuse, but the company refuses to take any action against them.
Furthermore, the male miners strongly arm the women who complain and threaten all witnesses into silence. Josey Aimes, with the help of a New York attorney, sues the company for sexual harassment and wins a landmark judgment that helped set in place a workplace sexual harassment policy.
21 Blind Shaft (2003)
Best Mining Movies Blind Shaft is a Chinese crime drama that is based on Liu Qingbang’s short novel Shen Mu (Sacred Wood).
The film depicts the crimes of a pair of con artists at the illegal coal mines in Northern China.
Two unscrupulous con artists hatch a scheme to murder miners in an illegal mine in Northern China and make it appear like a mining accident.
They would then blackmail the mine owner to pay hefty ransoms. This operation runs smoothly until they encounter a young and naive miner from a village.
This youth resembles their first victim and stirs sympathy in the heart of one con artist while the other remains steady.
This blows their operation and uncovers the truth.
20 The Devil’s Miner (2005)
The Devil’s Miner is a documentary film about the living condition, fears, and reality of the miners in Potosi in Bolivia.
The filmmakers, Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani follow two young Bolivian miners, aged fourteen and twelve, who work in the mines of Potosi.
The miners of Bolivia believe that mines are the territory of the Devil called Tio, and they pray to him and offer sacrifices before they enter the mine every day.
Despite the prayers and offerings, many miners have died in mining accidents over the years. Apart from the devil, the miners also face long and arduous working hours where they have to suppress hunger pains with cacao leaves.
Child labor is also rampant. The film captures all these realities in the lives of these miners.
19 Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)
Best Mining Movies Coal Miner’s Daughter is a biographical tale of the country star Loretta Lynn’s amazing rise to stardom. The film is based on her biography of the same name written by George Vecsey.
The soundtrack for the film reached the top 40 on the Billboard 200 chart and included all the hits of Loretta Lynn.
Young Loretta is the daughter of a coal miner and lives in poverty for most of her childhood. At 13 years of age, she is married to a 22-year-old man and becomes a housewife until her husband recognizes her talent for music.
With his encouragement, she writes and sings her songs at the local fairs and honky-tonk until fame reaches her.
The film was approved for production in 1979, and Lynn herself chose Sissy Spacek to play the titular role. The film was a major hit.
18 Sorcerer (1977)
Best Mining Movies Sorcerer is a thriller set in the jungles of Latin America. It is inspired by the French novel Le Salaire de la peur by Georges Arnaud.
William Friedkin was the director and hoped the film would be his legacy. However, it ran over budget and performed poorly at the box office.
Later, the critics took a relook at the film and described it as a masterpiece that was overshadowed by Star Wars.
The story is about four perfect strangers with checkered pasts who are brought in to assist an oil refinery to combat a blaze.
They are assigned the task of transporting an old stash of dynamite, that is leaking nitroglycerine across the mountainous jungle up to the refinery.
17 How Green Was My Valley (1941)
How Green Was My Valley is an American drama based on the novel of the same name by Richard Llewellyn.
The story gives us a peek into the lives of coal miners in Wales in the late Victorian era where danger was plenty, hardships were at every corner, but there was also hope.
The film follows the life and hopes of the Morgan family. Gwilym Morgan and his elder sons work at the local coal mine, where the working conditions are dangerous and fraught with health hazards.
The Morgans work hard and hope that their youngest son can have a better job and life. However, life hardly ever goes according to plan.
16 Pride (2014)
Best Mining Movies Pride is a unique story about the gay and lesbian community in the UK that comes out in support of the striking mineworkers.
Together, they oppose the two main policies of the Thatcher government. The film is inspired by the true events during the British Miners’ Strike in 1984.
A large group of gay men and lesbians are on their way to London to participate in the Gay Pride march.
They chance upon a village in Bromley where the miners are striking against the pit closures. During the same time, Mark Ashton, a gay rights activist decides to create the group “Lesbians and Gays Support The Miners”, which will galvanize more people for either of the causes.
Back in the village, with some comic effect, the group of gay men convinces the miners of their support and solidarity.
15 The Last Mountain (2011)
Best Mining Movies The Last Mountain is a documentary on the environmental damage done due to mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachian mountains.
The film is based in part on the book Crimes Against Nature by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It also offers interviews and opinions of various activists and environmentalists.
The Last Mountain is the only remaining mountain in the Appalachian mountain range that has not been exploited for coal mining.
Energy corporations and a tiny local community are stuck in a battle over the rights of ownership of the mountain.
The documentary offers the health and environmental damage of coal mining and offers wind energy as a viable option.
14 All the Way Boys (1972)
All The Way Boys is an Italian film starring the famous comedy duo, Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. The film deviates from the duo’s usual style of Spaghetti Westerns and adopts a more current plot but retains their usual slapstick comedy.
Salud and Plata are bush pilots who work in South America ferrying few passengers and cargo. They crash into the Andean mountains and get stranded in the jungle near the mountains.
Here, they meet a mining community that is being controlled by a ruthless black marketer. He sells the emeralds from these mines in the black market and uses the mining community as his slaves.
The duo plan to save the village and expose the villain.
13 Outland (1981)
Outland, a British sci-fi thriller, is set in a mining facility on one of Jupiter’s moons. Many critics have described the film as High Noon set on space.
Peter Hyams directed and wrote the Outland story. A mining colony is established on Io where Titanium is mined.
Con-Am 27 outpost is a mine that produces more than any other. Slowly, however, the miners begin to experience psychotic episodes and eventually die.
Federal Marshal O’Neil has been assigned the task of identifying the cause and apprehending those responsible. Con-Amalgamate is the name of the corporation that makes faulty Life Support Systems.
Both films were directed by Peter Hyams.
12 The Proud Valley (1940)
The Proud Valley, a British film set in a Welsh coal mining village, tells a story about the dangers of dependence on mines for a livelihood.
Critics praised The Proud Valley for its compelling and fascinating story of courage and self-sacrifice and endurance. David is an African American man who arrives in a Welsh coal-mining community to find work.
Mr. Parry helps him with lodging and employment, despite the racism of other miners. Many miners are killed when a gas pocket explodes in tragedy.
David, who feels guilty for the death of Mr. Parry, helps his son petition to have the mines reopened. Paul Robeson was critical about Britain’s appeasement policy towards the Nazi Germans during the first days of WWII.
Lord Beaverbrook was offended by these comments and blacklisted the film.
11 Paint Your Wagon (1969)
Paint Your Wagon, a musical western inspired by the play of the name by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner, is called Paint Your Wagon.
The play was successful in 1951 and it was made into a movie. Although it had a great run at the box-office, the earnings weren’t enough to cover the costs of production and marketing.
The story takes place during the California gold rush, when Ben, a prospector rescues Pardner after a wagon accident.
They find gold dust at the crash site, and they decide to mine it together and establish a small mining settlement.
All of them are friendly miners, who are both lonely and kind-hearted. They remain friends until the end of the movie, when the mining tunnel bursts and decimates the entire town.
10 Gold (2016)
The crime drama Gold loosely reflects the 1993 Bre-X mining scandal. Dramatically, the story has been fictionalized and names and locations have been changed.
Both the critics and the audiences were disappointed with the film, which fell short of their expectations. Kenny Wells, a prospector who has lost his fortune, is the film’s main character.
He meets Michael Acosta who is a similarly luckless geologist. Both decide to go to Indonesia to find gold mines.
They struggle for investors and workers and eventually find work in the jungle.
They all wonder if it will pay off.
9 Beaconsfield (2012)
Beaconsfield, an Australian film, is about a real-life incident at the Beaconsfield Mine in 2006. The international media coverage of the incident caused a frenzy and required rescue teams to do extra work to avoid more cave-ins.
Anzac Day 2006 saw Todd Russell and BrantWebb trapped with another miner in the Beaconsfield Gold Mine in the Tasmania region.
The unstable earth made it difficult to rescue the men. The men were trapped in a small enclosure for 15 days. They had to be alert and wait for rescue.
The rescue team also had to be more resourceful in order to avoid any unwelcome accidents.
8 The 33 (2015)
The 33 is a Spanish film about the Chilean mine accident at the San Jose Mine in Copiapo in 2010.
This movie is a docudrama that focuses on the struggles of miners and the traumas of their families.
Copiapo’s mines were reported to be unstable by the mine owner. However, he ignored warnings because of his greed.
The mine fell on a tragic day but 33 miners managed to escape the area. Further evidence of the owners’ inaction is the fact that the refuge area is not equipped to deal with the situation.
Due to the lack of jobs and income, all the miners in the area were hired as extras for the film sets.
One of the original 33 miners was the head extra on the film set.
7 The Molly Maguires (1970)
The Molly Maguires tells the story of miners’ lives before they were organized to defend their rights.
The government ignored their problems and turned a blindeye to the fact that mine owners had blatantly misused their power to endanger miners’ lives.
In times like these, miners created a rebel group to resist oppression. Molly Maguires, a group of Irish-American immigrants fighting for social justice in the face of unsafe and cruel working conditions in Pennsylvania’s mines, is called Molly Maguires.
They use guerilla tactics to sabotage the mine and threaten the property. The police dispatch an Irish detective to investigate the group and eliminate them.
The Molly Maguires is an actual-life group of vigilantes who fought for social justice within the Irish-American community of Pennsylvania.
6 Tokyo tawa – Okan to bokuto, tokidoki and oton (2007)
Tokyo tawa, Okan to Bokuto, tokidoki oton, is a Japanese movie based on Lily Franky’s autobiography, a novelist and illustrator.
This film shows his transformation from a young, aimless, and directionless boy to a settled and respected young man. Masaya is the child of an artist father who was addicted and a loving, hardworking mother.
Masaya’s mom is fed up with her husbands reckless behavior and takes Masaya to a small mining community. She works hard in the village’s mining mines to make enough money to pay for Masaya’s education.
He follows his father’s lead and becomes a jobless, irresponsible young man. He invites his mother to come home when his mother is diagnosed with cancer. However, he learns the value of relationships and life from her.
5 Les enfants du Borinage – Lettre a Henri Storck (2000)
Lettre a Henri Storck – Les enfants du Borinage is a documentary that focuses on the Borinage mining district in Belgium.
Borinaage’s coal mines were first famousized by Van Gogh’s charcoal etchings and then the influential documentary about these mines that was released in 1933.
Director Patric Jean is a Borinage resident who uses his intimate knowledge about the area, its people and its conditions to create a vivid and sad picture of life in the coal mines.
Society overlooks the place, the conditions are poor, but the apathy is obvious.
4 Matewan (1987)
Matewan was a drama written by John Sayles and directed. It tells the fictional story of the Battle of Matewan.
Although there are a few fictional characters, the majority of the key players were the real people who led the strike by coal miners in 1920.
Matewan, West Virginia is a mining community where the mine owners and their army of gun-thugs from Baldwin-Felts have brutally oppressed miners.
They are forced to work under the threat of gun violence and forbidden from forming a union. Joe Kenehan, a union organizer, arrives and gathers the miners to fight for their rights.
3 October Sky (1999)
October Sky is a biographical story about Homer H. Hickam Jr.’s childhood and inspiration. Based on his memoir Rocket Boys, the film is inspired by him.
October Sky is an anagram for Rocket Boys. Homer H. Hickam Jr. was there when Sputnik 1 was launched by the Soviets in 1957. It caught his attention.
Rocketry is a hobby that he soon takes to, much to the dismay of his father. His father is a coal miner and expects Hickam Jr. join him in the mines.
Hickam became a NASA engineer after overcoming many obstacles and hardships. Although the film was not a huge success, it inspired Hickam’s re-release of his memoir under the new title October Sky.
2 Harlan County, U.S.A (1976)
Harlan County U. S. A. is an American documentary that covers the Brookside Strike, which took place in Harlan County in southeast Kentucky in 1973.
The Duke Power Company owned Eastover Coal Company’s Brookside Mine & Prep Plant. This was the cause of the strike by coal miners.
Barbara Kopple, a documentary filmmaker, was covering the election for the president of UMWA (a union of miners in America).
However, in Kentucky, 180 coal miners from Brookside went on strike against Duke Power Plant.
She immediately turned her attention to the strike that lasted over a year. When armed thugs from the mines and their wives entered violent clashes, the strike became violent.
1 There will be blood (2007)
There Will Be Blood is a period drama that takes place in Southern California in early 1900s. Based on the novel Oil! Upton Sinclair.
Raul Thomas Anderson also directed the film and adapted the novel into a screenplay. This highly acclaimed film received eight Oscar nominations and two awards.
Daniel Plainview is a money-minded entrepreneur. During the gold-rush days, he owned silver mines in California. He discovered oil later and switched his attention to oil wells.
He has one goal in life: to make wealth. In his pursuit of that goal, he will stop at nothing.
His equally competitive neighbor, who dreams of starting his own church, is the one who becomes a problem.
