A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 8 nominations total
Videos1
- Ellixas Ellix
- (as Michael Preston)
- Director
- Writer
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
- Taglines
- It takes more than guns to kill a man
- Genres
- Certificate
- PG-13
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaDebut feature film of actor Chris Cooper.
- GoofsIn the scene where the coal company executives are trying to bribe the Mayor and Sid Hatfield, the calendar behind the mayor reads September 1920. The historical shootout at the climax occurred in May of 1920, four months beforehand.
- Quotes
Joe Kenehan: You think this man is the enemy? Huh? This is a worker! Any union keeps this man out ain't a union, it's a goddam club! They got you fightin' white against colored, native against foreign, hollow against hollow, when you know there ain't but two sides in this world - them that work and them that don't. You work, they don't. That's all you get to know about the enemy.
The conditions these workers faced were brutal. Miners had to pay for all their own equipment, their housing was owned by the mining company and they also paid for it, workers were also paid in credits which they could only use at the mining company store. Workers who went strike were subsequently evicted from their homes.
This movie is great. It's a page from history which should be told much more often. James Earl Jones is terrific as a black miner who is signed up as a scab but he's actually a union sympathizer who encourages the black scabs to strike with the West Virginia workers.
Chris Cooper is also great as a union organizer. I think he's a highly underrated actor. He was very good in American Beauty as the hick next door neighbor and he's great in Matewan as well. Proof, I believe that he can really take on any role.
Bob Gunton is also a great actor. This movie was made long before he was playing every two bit villain of the week. I think that was due to his role as the warden in The Shawshank Redemption where he just let it all out.
I liked one scene in particular early in the film where the union men on strike try to weed out Cooper by finding out how much he knows about union history. Where was Joe Hill buried? In which eye was Big Bill Haywood blind in? Cooper also quips, "I was a Wobbly, back when that meant something" But he does support the notion of One Big Union. The IWW will rise again!
- GethinVanH
- Jul 7, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Мейтвон
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,680,358
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $23,850
- Aug 30, 1987
- Gross worldwide
- $1,680,358
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