Movies Like Harlan County U.S.A. (1977)

Harlan County U.S.A. is a 1977 documentary film from Barbara Kopple with a MovieMagicScore of 7.4/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Cart and Norma Rae.

Documentary

Cart

2014

In response to a sudden dismissal of staff, workers at a big retail store begin a protest against their employer's oppressive labor policies.

7.2

MagicScore

Norma Rae

1979

Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory.

7.2

MagicScore

Matewan

1987

Filmed in the coal country of West Virginia, "Matewan" celebrates labor organizing in the context of a 1920s work stoppage. Union organizer, Joe Kenehan, a scab named "Few Clothes" Johnson and a sympathetic mayor and police chief heroically fight the power represented by a coal company and Matewan's vested interests so that justice and workers' rights need not take a back seat to squalid working conditions, exploitation and the bottom line.

7.4

MagicScore

Pitfall

1962

A man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls.

7.3

MagicScore

Billy Elliot

2000

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

7.6

MagicScore

Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven

1975

After a worker kills a superior and commits suicide, each of his family members attempts to forge a path forward in life.

7.6

MagicScore

Strike

1925

Workers in a factory in pre-revolutionary Russia go on strike and are met by violent suppression.

7.3

MagicScore

The Valley of Decision

1945

Mary Rafferty comes from a poor family of steel mill workers in 19th Century Pittsburgh. Her family objects when she goes to work as a maid for the wealthy Scott family which controls the mill. Mary catches the attention of handsome scion Paul Scott, but their romance is complicated by Paul's engagement to someone else and a bitter strike among the mill workers.

7.3

MagicScore

Salt of the Earth

1954

At New Mexico's Empire Zinc mine, Mexican-American workers protest the unsafe work conditions and unequal wages compared to their Anglo counterparts. Ramon Quintero helps organize the strike, but he is shown to be a hypocrite by treating his pregnant wife, Esperanza, with a similar unfairness. When an injunction stops the men from protesting, however, the gender roles are reversed, and women find themselves on the picket lines while the men stay at home.

6.9

MagicScore

#10

The Working Class Goes to Heaven

1971

After losing a finger in a work accident, an Italian worker becomes increasingly involved in political and revolutionary groups.

7.8

MagicScore

#11

I'm All Right Jack

1959

Naive Stanley Windrush looks for a career in a family business. Much to his dismay, he finds work at a munitions factory where he has to start from the bottom, while both the management and the labor union use him as a tool in their fight for power.

6.6

MagicScore

#12

Living It Up

1994

A recently laid off steel mill worker in a little seaside town starts losing his wife to a local TV anchor.

6.3

MagicScore

#13

New in Town

2009

Lucy Hill is an ambitious up-and-coming executive living in Miami. She loves her shoes, her cars, and climbing the corporate ladder. When she is offered a temporary assignment — in the middle of nowhere — to restructure a manufacturing plant, she jumps at the opportunity, knowing that a big promotion is close at hand. What begins as a straightforward assignment becomes a life-changing experience as Lucy discovers greater meaning in her life and, most unexpectedly, the man of her dreams.

5.8

MagicScore

#14

Lady Caliph

1970

La Califfa's husband was killed during the strikes so she takes the side of the strikers. Her conflict with the plant owner Doverdo gradually turns into a love relationship.

5.3

MagicScore

#15

Rust Creek

2019

When an overachieving college senior makes a wrong turn, her road trip becomes a life-changing fight for survival in rural Kentucky.

6.3

MagicScore

#16

The 33

2015

Based on the true story of the collapse of a mine in San Jose, Chile—that left 33 miners isolated underground for 69 days.

6.4

MagicScore

#17

The Ballad of Little Jo

1993

After being thrown out of her home, a young woman decides to disguise herself as a man to survive the ruthless Wild West.

5.8

MagicScore

#18

Goodbye First Love

2011

A 15-year-old discovers the joys and heartaches of first love with an older teen, but in the ensuing years, cannot seem to move past their breakup.

6.2

MagicScore

#19

Born in Flames

1983

In near-future New York, ten years after the “social-democratic war of liberation,” diverse groups of women organize a feminist uprising as equality remains unfulfilled.

6.1

MagicScore

#20

Tell It to the Bees

2019

Dr. Jean Markham returns to the town she left as a teenager to take over her late father's medical practice. When a school-yard scuffle lands Charlie in her surgery, she invites him to visit the hives in her garden and tell his secrets to the bees, as she once did. The new friendship between the boy and the bee keeper brings his mother Lydia into Jean's world.

7.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Harlan County U.S.A.?

The top films similar to Harlan County U.S.A. by MovieMagicScore are Cart (7.2), Norma Rae (7.2), Matewan (7.4). Each shares documentary themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Harlan County U.S.A. worth watching?

Harlan County U.S.A. holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.4/10 from 108 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Harlan County U.S.A.?

Harlan County U.S.A. (1977) is a documentary film directed by Barbara Kopple, starring Norman Yarborough, Houston Elmore, Phil Sparks.

Where can I find more recommendations like Harlan County U.S.A.?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more documentary recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Cart Movies like Norma Rae Movies like Matewan Movies like Pitfall Movies like Billy Elliot Movies like Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven

About movies like Harlan County U.S.A.

This ranked list pairs Harlan County U.S.A. (1977), a documentary film from Barbara Kopple, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Norman Yarborough take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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