Top 10 Movies about Mining
Contributor:
Mining IQ Editorial
Posted: 10/28/2012 12:00:00 AM EDT | 4
A political war thriller at its best, the movie helped introduce such the origins of blood diamonds to the wider public. It was nominated for five Academy Awards in 2007.
The film is set in a humble mining camp, but at heart, North Country is a movie about justice and equality.
Adapted from the US country music legend’s 1976 autobiography, Coal Miner’s Daughter is the movie about the life of Loretta Lynn who grew up in a coal mining family. She married when she young and the movie traces her transformation into a chart-topping singer.
Harlan County, USA is an Oscar-winning 1976 documentary film about the ‘Brookside Strikes’ which happened in Kentucky, USA.
In 1973, 180 coal miners and their families held a strike against their employer, the Eastover Coal Company's over unfair workers’ right. The documentary follows the labour strike and what it meant for the miners.
Based on the same name novel by Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis, Zobra the Greek is a movie set in a lignite mine in Greece and covers diverse themes about friendship and life.
Starring Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, and Jean Seberg, Paint Your Wagon was adapted to a Western musical movie from its original stage musical in 1969.
When a South American oil well owned by an American company catches fire, the company hires four European men, down on their luck, to drive their trucks over mountain dirt roads, carrying the nitroglycerine needed to extinguish the fire
Technically, the film is about oil, but the themes are suitable for mining.
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times said of the film: "The excitement derives entirely from the awareness of nitroglycerine and the gingerly, breathless handling of it. You sit there waiting for the theatre to explode.”
The ill-fated coal mining communities in North East England are the subject of this documentary by multi-media artist Bill Morrison.
The man versus nature debate never received as much royal treatment as in Avatar. Set in the mid-22nd century, director James Cameron crafts a story about how humans want to mine a precious mineral called unobtanium on a distant planet Pandora.
The movie is a not-so-subtle allegory about how we treat planet earth, but the public lapped it up and Avatar ended up grossing over USD 2 billion. The first film to do so, may we add.
Costing over $237 million to produce, the movie was nine Academy Awards in 2010, and there’s no doubt in our minds that Avatar will a classic sci-fi film.
Posted: 10/28/2012 12:00:00 AM EDT | 4
|
|
Hollywood and mining are two words you rarely see together, but the truth is, mining has all the elements of a solid narrative; it’s got drama, greed, conflict and of course, the ultimate debate about mankind versus nature.
Here, we’ve collected what we think are the top movies about mining.
Have we missed any? Let us know in the comments section.
Blood Diamond
Featuring a star-studded cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond is set during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1996–2001 and shows a country town apart by government soldiers and rebel forces.
The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds mined in African war zones and sold to profit warlords and diamond companies.
A political war thriller at its best, the movie helped introduce such the origins of blood diamonds to the wider public. It was nominated for five Academy Awards in 2007.
North Country
This 2005 movie features Charlize Theron as a Lois Jenson, a female mine worker who files a sexual harassment case against the Eveleth Taconite Company in Minnesota, USA. The story is based on the true case of Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Company.
In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert said, "North Country is one of those movies that stir you up and make you mad, because it dramatizes practices you've heard about but never really visualized.”
In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert said, "North Country is one of those movies that stir you up and make you mad, because it dramatizes practices you've heard about but never really visualized.”
The film is set in a humble mining camp, but at heart, North Country is a movie about justice and equality.
Coal Miner's Daughter
Adapted from the US country music legend’s 1976 autobiography, Coal Miner’s Daughter is the movie about the life of Loretta Lynn who grew up in a coal mining family. She married when she young and the movie traces her transformation into a chart-topping singer.
The film came out in 1980 and features Tommy Lee Jones and Sissy Spacek, the latter of whom won an Academy Award for her performance.
Harlan County U.S.A
Harlan County, USA is an Oscar-winning 1976 documentary film about the ‘Brookside Strikes’ which happened in Kentucky, USA.
In 1973, 180 coal miners and their families held a strike against their employer, the Eastover Coal Company's over unfair workers’ right. The documentary follows the labour strike and what it meant for the miners.
Zorba the Greek
Based on the same name novel by Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis, Zobra the Greek is a movie set in a lignite mine in Greece and covers diverse themes about friendship and life.
Not only has the movie been adapted into (of all things) a musical, but the theme song, Zobras, has transcended cultural barriers and made itself the quintessential Greek tune.
Paint Your Wagon
Starring Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, and Jean Seberg, Paint Your Wagon was adapted to a Western musical movie from its original stage musical in 1969.
The setting is 1936 in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California. We think the movie is worth your time just to see Clint Eastwood sing and dance.
The Wages of Fear
The Wages of Fear may not be known outside of France, but the 1953 thriller film practically made the director Henri-Georges Clouzot a household name.
When a South American oil well owned by an American company catches fire, the company hires four European men, down on their luck, to drive their trucks over mountain dirt roads, carrying the nitroglycerine needed to extinguish the fire
Technically, the film is about oil, but the themes are suitable for mining.
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times said of the film: "The excitement derives entirely from the awareness of nitroglycerine and the gingerly, breathless handling of it. You sit there waiting for the theatre to explode.”
Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot hopes to become a professional ballet dancer, but his widowed father and older brother are caught up in the tension surrounding the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike. Whilst the movie is ultimately about Billy and his dreams against all odds, this classic British movie does give us some unique insight into mining and attitudes towards men during the 1980s.
The Miner’s Hymn
The ill-fated coal mining communities in North East England are the subject of this documentary by multi-media artist Bill Morrison.
The movie is a silent film, but features a spine-tingling score by Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. The movie uses rarely-seen footage from the British Film Institute, the BBC, and other archives, The Miners' Hymns depicts the hardship of pit work, the role of Trade Unions in mining and the effect of automation on miners’ working environment.
Avatar
The man versus nature debate never received as much royal treatment as in Avatar. Set in the mid-22nd century, director James Cameron crafts a story about how humans want to mine a precious mineral called unobtanium on a distant planet Pandora.
The movie is a not-so-subtle allegory about how we treat planet earth, but the public lapped it up and Avatar ended up grossing over USD 2 billion. The first film to do so, may we add.
Costing over $237 million to produce, the movie was nine Academy Awards in 2010, and there’s no doubt in our minds that Avatar will a classic sci-fi film.
|
Contributor:
Mining IQ Editorial |
-
Coal Industry in Africa: An Interview with Editor of AfriCoal Energy Review -
World's Top 5 Mine Rescues -
The History of Silver In One Image -
Minerals Processing Plant of the Year - Finalists Revealed on Australian Mining -
How the Mining Industry Feels About the US Presidential Election -
Top 10 Movies about Mining -
Mine Export Infrastructure Discussed in South Australia -
Advancing Mining Production in Russia - Insights from Mining IQ -
Mining Crisis: Emotional Management and Debriefing -
Mining Companies Not Using Geographical Information Systems to Full Potential
* = required.
Not a member yet? Sign up
|
Proud valley with Paul Robeson.
|
Replies (0)|
|
Are you kidding me? Leave out The Wages of Fear, which as you say is not about mining, but about oil, and Blood Diamond, which was about movement of product, mot mining, and include Treasure of the Sierra Madre, with Humphrey Bogart and Walter Houston, and Giant Mine, a TV movie about a miners' Strike, in which a disgruntled striker set explosives and killed a crew of picket line crossers.
|
|
|
How About
Brassed off (Coal miners in England)
Tap Dogs (Australian miners and how they overcame the adversity of being laid off)
Full Monty (English coal miners)
Gold (About the flooding of West Driefontien Gold mine in 1968)
|
|
|
Wilbur Smith's GOLD MINE??
|
Advertisement
Events of Interest
-
Mining and Quarrying Oman 2013
Golden Tulip Seeb, Muscat, Oman
May 26- 29, 2013 -
Mining Procurement and Supply APAC 2013
Crown Perth, Burswood, Australia
June 5- 7, 2013 -
Mining Procurement Summit
Pittsburgh Marriott City Center, Pittsburgh, PA
June 24- 26, 2013 -
MinePro: Smart Mining Russia and CIS
Moscow, Russia
September 19- 20, 2013
Advertisement
|
Reach Mining professionals through cost-effective marketing opportunities to deliver your message, position yourself as a thought leader, and introduce new products, techniques and strategies to the market.
Learn More » Join today and interact with a vibrant network of mining professionals, keeping up to date with the mining industry by accessing our wealth of Mining articles, videos, live conferences and more. Sign Up Today! |
| Mining IQ, a division of IQPC 2013 All rights reserved.Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. Careers With IQPC | Contact Us | About Us | Cookie Policy |
|
Not a member? Sign Up
Reasons for Joining
Address your challenges through knowledge sharing with peers from our global network of specialists.
Benchmark your business initiatives with the who's who in the field.
Hear from industry pioneers how to maximize ROI in today's challenging economy.
And best of all It's FREE!