The year is 1920, the setting Matewan, West Virginia, where the town's coal miners labor under miserable, unhealthy conditions. Enter Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper), a rebellious union leader who wants to organize the West Virginian miners, as well as the Italians and blacks brought in as workers. Based on a real massacre in .. Read more
| Starring | Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Ken Jenkins |
|---|---|
| Director | John Sayles |
| Genres | Drama |
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The year is 1920, the setting Matewan, West Virginia, where the town's coal miners labor under miserable, unhealthy conditions. Enter Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper), a rebellious union leader who wants to organize the West Virginian miners, as well as the Italians and blacks brought in as workers. Based on a real massacre in Matewan that started the 1920-1921 Coal War between miners and coal company thugs, MATEWAN subverts the convention of Westerns like HIGH NOON. Kenehan is not the drifter who will save the miners with his skill at a six-shooter; rather, he is a pacifist whose message of non-violent resistance the miners have difficulty accepting. The story is divided into four parts, alternating between times when Kenehan prevails and times when the instinct for revenge against the coal company wins out. The first large-scale historical epic made by director John Sayles (who once worked in the Meat Packer's Union), MATEWAN is a subtle strike against the anti-union climate of the 1980s and a moving portrait of the difficulties of collective action.
| Starring | Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Ken Jenkins |
|---|---|
| Director | John Sayles |
| Studio | ELEVATION |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 7 mins |
| Certificate |  |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | Production year: 1987 To Rent: DVD: not available |
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A great American movie
'Matewan' is a great example of how film can engage with social issues, politics and history, without becoming dry or polemic.
Like Sayles&#... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
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Bleak mood sets the tone of this coal mine strike story
This 1987 film, written and directed by John Sayles, is based on a real incident from the 1920, when workers from a West Virginia coal mine went on strike. ... read more »
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Matewan a must see
Great film which in todays globalised world is as relevant as ever. The scene where the union organiser explains what a union should be is a lesson for any ... read more »
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A slice of union history
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS | Show review anywayHide
What a great name for a blues movie! 'Honeydripper' just oozes innuendo in the best way. Mmm-hmmm. If Big Bill Broonzy didn't come up with it, well, he should have. The year is 1950 and Tyrone (Danny Glover) is the proprietor of the Honeydripper Lounge, a gin mill on the outskirts of Harmony, a rural Alabama cotton town. Business is bad. The juke joint next door is fit to burst but Tyrone prefers Bertha Mae's old time moanin' blues ' even if no one else does. Even so, the wolf is at the door... Read more
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