Paul Schrader's rarely seen directorial debut catapulted him to the forefront of New Hollywood with this politically astute story about the oppression of the working class. Three assembly line workers in Detroit - Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, and Yaphet Kotto - are so alienated from their jobs that they decide to rob the safe in their own union office. What begins as an entertaining genre piece soon turns into a relentless look into the dark heart of the working world of the 1970s, where management deliberately stokes racial tensions to destroy worker solidarity. Pryor has his comedic moments, of course, but he also delivers his best dramatic performance in this desperate, angry, and remarkably lucid film. “It's the perfect example of the kind of film that big studios no longer dare to produce... perhaps it's more relevant to current events in America and our greedy, superficial culture today than it was when it was released.” – Indiewire

Loan of the film print with kind support of DFF