Matewan | Don't let the poor quality of the DVD dissuade you from watching this

Matewan | "Matewan" and American Religion

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Matewan

	Matewan average customer review:based on 63 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Don't let the poor quality of the DVD dissuade you from watching this

The West Virginia mine war is an essential piece of a history that is left out in most accounts of the period. For an explanation why this and most other labor conflicts are conveniently ommitted read James Loewen's "Lies my Teacher Told Me."

Even without reflecting deeper philosophical and historical trends, the story of Matewan and the mine wars stand alone as a fascinatingly true event. In fact, even if the story was made up it, the entertainment value alone would make it worthwhile. The film is exciting and poignant, rife with memorable moments (the hillbillies saving Joe from the Baldwin Felts). Sayle's does an amazing job capturing the flavor of West Virginia "holler" country (employing several local actors and contributors). Furthermoe, as others have mentioned, the cinematography is excellent.

Strictly from a historical perspective, the film is rife with foibles. For example, the 14 year old preacher and his mom were thread into history as an artificial linchpin. On a more picky note, the historical Matewan would not be surrounded by beautiful mountains (the film was shot in the New River Gorge.) Instead, the hollows at the time were treeless and repugnant from timbering--first by timber companies, then by the railroad companies to build tracks, and finally by coal companies to build towns and tipples. That being said, the central events were delineated with pinpoint accuracy. Also, the plot and screenplay made vivid the underlying themes and surrounding context of the time.

Some commenters have complained that the portrayal of the workers vs. owners and operators was too simplistic and biased. Whatever Sayle's personal politics may be, the capitalists were truly that ruthless. Obviously unions are also prone to flaws, but I thought Sayles shed plenty of light on this fact by showing the racist, xenophobic, and violent elements. Also, there wasn't much of a "communist" element ever in Southern West Virginia. What trifling Marxist sentiment that did exist was introduced by the Italian immigrants. Just because union leaders "preached" themes reminiscient of socialism (resisting exploitation, working class unity), doesn't mean they were controlled from Moscow.

Unfortunately, the West Virginia mine war was a microcosm of American History for the time (and maybe even today). Huge corporations pulled the puppet strings of local, state, and even the federal government. The state police and even the Federal Army were sent in to break up the strike before the mine war was over. What is more amazing, I did not know that the largest labor uprising in American history occurred in WV until I took a class in West Virginia History. Being a resident in the state, I was shocked to hear that the federal gov't used chemical and aerial warfare against its own citizens.

Most of the major "war" elements happened after Matewan (in fact, the battle of blair mountain was triggered by the assassination of Sid Hatfield). For a in depth non-fiction account of the period, read "Thunder in the Mountains" by Lon Savage. For a historical fiction account, read Denise Giardina's "Storming Heaven." Like Matewan, "Storming Heaven" is historically accurate to the point of describing the themes and happenings, however it too is given fake characters for coherency.

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"Matewan" and American Religion

If I were teaching a college or seminary course on "Religion and American Film," then "Matewan" would be required for viewing and discussion. A fictionalized account of a real-life incident--the infamous "Matewan massacre"--this film by John Sayles examines class, caste, and religion in a West Virginia coal-mining town. This well-scripted film was the first starring role for actor Chris Cooper, who portrays a union organizer and pacifist--an outsider Messiah who ultimately falls victim to the violence that simmers throughout the film and erupts full-blown at the end. Equally appealing is his young disciple, the fictional character Danny Radnor, a young evangelical boy preacher at the beginning of the film, whose perspective gradually alters until he becomes a spokesman for a new gospel--the gospel of the working man.

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An American indie classic

Matewan was a pleasant surprise. The subject matter cried out 'dull but worthy' and John Sayles is distinctly hit-and-miss when dealing with historical subjects, as the problematic Eight Men Out underlines, but this is quite a superb movie with a scope well beyond its budget. Almost a slow burn western as a miner's strike leads slowly but inevitably to a violent shootout between the railroad detectives and the local lawman and strikers, it's an involving and intelligent piece of work. That's not to say it's without problems: it perhaps overstates Kevin Tighe's villainous stupidity (could he really have laughed his way through a sermon without seeing the relevance?), a scene where the white, black and Italian miners set aside their differences through music feels too Hollywood, and Haskell Wexler over diffuses the light a couple of times in that irritating late-70s-early-80s way in his otherwise exemplary cinematography. Sayles briefly offers another one of his stomach-turning cameos as a preacher, but at least he's only in it for a minute or two (unlike his genuinely irritating Ring Lardner impersonation in Eight Men Out) and he's on much more solid grounds with his impressive ensemble cast - a young Chris Cooper on excellent form, Mary McDonnell before she got irritating, James Earl Jones before he stopped acting, David Strathairn, Bob Gunton and Will Oldham among them. You get the sense that Sayles likes his characters and cares for them. It's that which prevents the film from slipping into easy dogma and posturing and which makes it still seem surprising and shocking when the inevitable violence breaks out. And it's that that helps you overlook the flaws and embrace its many strengths.

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Matewan- Historical Drama

Filmed in the 80's this movie stars some of todays more prolific character actors. James Earl Jones and Chris Cooper are both outstanding in this movie. The DVD itself was very poorly done the sound went up and down. I had to keep the remote in my hand so i wouldn't go deaf when i went from a quiet scene to a louder one. I felt that it was worth the monies paid for it and i would recommend it to anyone interested in 1920's West Virginia and a great piece of acting from all the stars involved.

Matewan

The movie was very good,and educational,however the sound was
poor.I had to turn the surround sound all the way up and still
could not hear some parts of it.Ihad seen this film on TV before
and the sound was fine on TV but not on the DVD.

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