Rote Erde (1983)

The deep cut for viewers who want mining history on a grand scale. This German saga, directed by Klaus Emmerich, follows a fictional miner's family in the Ruhr from around 1887 across roughly 70 years, so you watch the pits, the strikes and the violence around them change one community over generations. The first season of nine parts aired on ARD in 1983, with a shorter second season later. It is in German and is not on any streaming service; a German DVD set is the way to find it. Nothing else on this list stays with one mining family for so long.