Kino Lorber has announced the May 31 release of The Wobblies, a documentary that chronicles how the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), or “The Wobblies,” took to organizing unskilled labor throughout the early 1900s and boosted the fledgling movement among workers to form unions.
The Wobblies will be available on DVD at a suggested retail price of $19.95.
The 1979 documentary tells the story of workers in factories, sawmills, wheat fields, forests, mines, and on the docks as they organize and demand better wages, healthcare, overtime pay, and safer working conditions. Directors Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer weave history, archival film footage, interviews with former workers that are now in their 80s and 90s, cartoons, original art, and classic Wobbly songs.
This documentary was recently inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. The 16mm film restoration was made possible by a grant from the Women’s Film Preservation Fund, and is presented in a 4K restoration at the Museum of Modern Art.
Bonus features include interviews with the filmmakers, interview with historian and author Paul Buhle, original recordings of IWW songs, and the trailer.