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Dominican Rep. Matewan
- Original title
- Matewan
- Year
- 1987
- Running time
- 132 min.
- Country
United States- Director
- Screenwriter
- Cast
-
Chris Cooper
James Earl Jones
Mary McDonnell
Will Oldham
David Strathairn
Kevin Tighe
Bob Gunton
Josh Mostel
Joe Grifasi
John Sayles
Ken Jenkins- See all credits
- Music
- Cinematography
- Producer
- Genre
- Drama | 1920s
- Synopsis
- It is 1920 and the mining towns of West Virginia are owned and operated by the coal companies. The men are paid by the tonnage of coal they can load, and the companies keep the rate down by importing scab labor, blacks from the South and immigrants fresh off the boat. One such town is Matewan. And when the miners of Matewan go on strike, they have no idea that their action is going to put the town on the map.
The miners of Matewan are at the end of their ropes. The Stone Mountain Coal Company has brought in Italian immigrants, and now proposes to cut the men's wages. Led by Sephus Purcell (Ken Jenkins), the local miners walk out. The company is not slow to respond. To a hostile reception from the local men, a group of black miners arrive in town, among them a giant of a man whose ragged appearance has earned him the name "Few Clothes" Johnson (James Earl Jones.) On the train with them is another newcomer, Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper), former "wobblie" and now a union organizer.-
NEWAbout similar movies and series:Similar Movies to MatewanMovies with few votes the results may not be very accurateSimilarity over 75%Similarity between 60% and 75%Similarity between 40% and 60%Similarity below 40%
- Awards
-
1987: Nominated for Oscar: Best Cinematography1987: Independent Spirit Awards: Best Cinematography. 5 Nominations
- Critics' reviews
-
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"John Sayles has directed an authentic looking and sounding film, featuring cinematography by the great Haskell Wexler"
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"Sayles must have meant his movie to stir and provoke, but the self-contained look of it yields something else-a sense of quaintness, of harmless nostalgia."
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"A heartfelt, straight-ahead tale of labor organizing in the coal mines of West Virginia in 1920 that runs its course like a train coming down the track"
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"If Sayles's bite were as lethal as his bark, he might have given this a harder edge and a stronger conclusion. But the performances are uniformly fine."
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