Editing Salt of the Earth (1954 film) (section)

==Later history==
[[Image:Sotemeetingpic.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Union meeting in the film]]
The story of the suppression of ''Salt of the Earth'', as well as the people and labor struggle it depicts, inspired an [[Underground film|underground]] audience of unionists, [[feminists]], [[Mexican-Americans]], leftists, [[History of Film|film historians]], and labor scholars.<ref name=Lorence_book_review/> The movie found a new life in the U.S. in the late 1960s and early '70s and reached larger audiences through union halls, college campuses, art houses, women's associations, and [[Film School|film schools]], even though it was projected with a relatively poor [[16 mm film|16mm stock]].<ref name=USF_article/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_HvC3WaGZF3UC/page/417/mode/2up |title=The Inquisition in Hollywood: Politics in the Film Community 1930–1960|page=418|publisher=University of California Press|year=1983|first1=Larry|last1=Ceplair|first2=Steven|last2=Englund|isbn=978-0520048867}}</ref>

In subsequent decades, the film was shown on public television and released on videocassette. In 1997, [[Turner Classic Movies]] screened ''Salt of the Earth'' which further raised its profile beyond the initial cult following.{{sfn|Lorence|1999|p=194}} In the early 2000s, the film's 50th anniversary prompted a number of commemorative events, including a national conference hosted by the College of Santa Fe in which ''Salt of the Earth'' was called "one of the most important and controversial films in American cinema history."<ref name=PWW_article>{{cite news |last=Pecinovsky |first=Tony |date=22 May 2003 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |title=Salt of the Earth continues to inspire |url=http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/3503/1/164 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070927211057/http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/3503/1/164 |newspaper=People's Weekly World Newspaper}}</ref> In an interview, political commentator [[Noam Chomsky]] praised the film's portrayal of union activity: "[T]he real work is being done by people who are not known, that's always been true in every popular movement in history ... I don't know how you get that across in a film. Actually, come to think of it, there are some films that have done it. I mean, I don't see a lot of visual stuff ... but I thought ''Salt of the Earth'' really did it. It was a long time ago, but at the time I thought that it was one of the really great movies—and of course it was killed, I think it was almost never shown."<ref>{{cite web |title=An Exchange on ''Manufacturing Consent'': Noam Chomsky interviewed by various activists |publisher=The Noam Chomsky Website |url=https://chomsky.info/power02/}} excerpted from ''Understanding Power'' (The New Press, 2002).</ref>

The "Salt of the Earth Labor College" located in [[Tucson]], [[Arizona]] is named after the film. The pro-labor institution (not a college ''per se'') holds lectures and forums related to unionism and economic justice. The film is screened on a frequent basis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saltearthlaborcollege.org/ |archive-date=15 August 2020 |title=Salt of the Earth Labor College |date=15 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815010243/http://www.saltearthlaborcollege.org/}}</ref>

===Other releases===
[[File:Salt of the Earth (1954) by Herbert J. Biberman.webm|thumb|The full film]]
In 1987, a [[laserdisc]] version was released by the [[Voyager Company]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=DaDon's |access-date=7 October 2024 |title=Salt of the Earth Special Edition LaserDisc, Rare LaserDiscs, Criterion LaserDiscs |url=https://dadons.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14&products_id=56907}}</ref> On July 27, 1999, a digitally restored print of the film was released on [[DVD]] by Organa through Geneon (Pioneer), and packaged with the documentary ''[[The Hollywood Ten]]'', which reported on the ten filmmakers who were blacklisted for refusing to cooperate with the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] (HUAC). In 2004, a budget edition [[DVD]] was released by [[Alpha Video]].

Because the film's [[copyright]] was not renewed in 1982,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Marxist and the Movies: A Biography of Paul Jarrico |first=Larry |last=Ceplair |date=2007 |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |isbn=9780813173009 |location=Lexington, KY |oclc=182624495}}</ref> ''Salt of the Earth'' is now in the [[public domain]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Campbell |first=Christopher |title=10 Great Films Set in New Mexico – For the State's Centennial |date=7 January 2012 |publisher=[[IndieWire]] |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/01/10-great-films-set-in-new-mexico-for-the-states-centennial-226502/ |access-date=15 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://archive.oah.org/magazine-of-history/issues/244/Salt_resources.pdf |title=''Salt of the Earth'': Labor, Film, and the Cold War |magazine=OAH Magazine of History |last=Weinberg |first=Carl R. |date=October 2010 |archive-date=11 October 2015 |access-date=15 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011204757/http://archive.oah.org/magazine-of-history/issues/244/Salt_resources.pdf}}</ref>

===Adaptations===
The film was adapted into a two-act [[opera]] called ''Esperanza'' (Hope). The labor movement in [[Wisconsin]] along with [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] opera professor [[Karlos Moser]] commissioned the production. The music was written by David Bishop and the [[libretto]] by Carlos Morton. The opera premiered in [[Madison, Wisconsin]], on August 25, 2000, to positive reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wisconsinlaborhistory.org/musical.html |publisher=Wisconsin Labor History Society |title=Images of Labor from American Musical Theater: Songs and Narration about Workers and Unions |archive-date=21 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221013005/http://www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org/musical.html }} </ref>

===Portrayals in media===
[[John Sayles]]' ''[[Return of the Secaucus 7]]'' (1980) includes a wry homage to ''Salt of the Earth''. When the reunited [[baby boomer]] characters are briefly jailed, they reminisce about their radical college days when they were locked up in a [[Secaucus]], [[New Jersey]] jail and chanted "We want the formula! We want the formula!" to bewildered guards. The guards didn't realize it was an allusion to a ''Salt of the Earth'' scene in which the picketing Mexican-American women are arrested and thrown in jail. Esperanza has her infant child with her, and all the women chant "We want the formula!" to pressure the sheriff to either bring formula for the hungry baby or let them out of jail. He opts for the latter.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Suppression of ''Salt of the Earth'': How Hollywood, Big Labor, and Politicians Blacklisted a Movie in Cold War America |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/221088316|id={{ProQuest|221088316}} |date=August 2000 |pages=380–382 |via=ProQuest |last=Doherty |first=Thomas |journal=Labor History |volume=41 |issue=3}}</ref>

A documentary titled ''A Crime to Fit the Punishment'', about the making of the film, was released in 1982 and directed by Barbara Moss and Stephen Mack.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pacificaradioarchives.org/recording/iz1499?nns=IZ1499 |title=A Crime To Fit The Punishment: an interview with the filmmakers |publisher=Pacifica Radio Archives |via=Internet Archive |last=Rosenberg |first=Mimi |date=7 October 1982 |access-date=10 October 2024}}</ref> The title comes from a Paul Jarrico quote regarding the blacklistees who formed Independent Productions Corporation: "I have said that ''Salt of the Earth'' was our chance to really say something in film, because we had already been punished, we had already been blacklisted. I used the phrase, 'We wanted to commit a crime to fit the punishment.'"<ref name=Jarrico_interview/> The documentary premiered on May 1, 1982 in Silver City, New Mexico, with many of the surviving ''Salt of the Earth'' cast and crew members in attendance.<ref>{{cite news |title=Reunion Recalls Movie on Hispanic Strikers Made at the Time of Film Blacklist |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/03/us/reunion-recalls-movie-on-hispanic-strikers-made-at-time-of-film-blacklist.html |date=3 May 1982 |page=A16 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

A [[Drama (film and television)|film drama]], also based on the making of ''Salt of the Earth'', was chronicled in ''[[One of the Hollywood Ten]]'' (2000). It was produced and directed by [[Karl Francis]], starred [[Jeff Goldblum]] and [[Greta Scacchi]], and was released in European countries on September 29, 2000.<ref>{{cite news |last=Holden |first=Stephen |newspaper=The New York Times |date=11 January 2002 |title=Back to an Era of Slurs, Paranoia and Persecution |access-date=22 November 2007 |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9E00E5D91139F932A25752C0A9649C8B63&oref=slogin }}</ref>

A fictionalized account of the movie's production figured prominently in the [[Audible (service)|Audible]] [[podcast]] series, [[The Big Lie (2022)|''The Big Lie'' (2022)]]. Based on source material written by Paul Jarrico, the production features voice performances from [[Jon Hamm]], [[Kate Mara]], [[Ana de la Reguera]], [[Bradley Whitford]], [[John Slattery]], [[Giancarlo Esposito]], and [[David Strathairn]], and was written by [[John Mankiewicz]] and Jamie Napoli.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=2022-06-01 |title=Audible Drops Trailer for 'The Big Lie' Podcast Drama Starring Jon Hamm, Set in '50s Hollywood Blacklist Era |url=https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/big-lie-podcast-trailer-jon-hamm-audible-1235282432/ |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Big-Lie-Podcast/B09X25HB5R |title=The Big Lie |bibcode=1950Sci...112R.475K |language=en|last1=Kleitman |first1=Nathaniel |journal=Science |year=1950 |volume=112 |issue=2912 |page=475 |doi=10.1126/science.112.2912.475 |pmid=14781822 |s2cid=9356643 }}</ref>