A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
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Title: Matewan (1987)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Chris Cooper | ... | Joe Kenehan | |
| Mary McDonnell | ... | Elma Radnor | |
| Will Oldham | ... | Danny Radnor | |
| David Strathairn | ... | Sid Hatfield | |
| Ken Jenkins | ... | Sephus Purcell | |
| Kevin Tighe | ... | Hickey | |
| Gordon Clapp | ... | Tom Griggs | |
| Bob Gunton | ... | C.E. Lively | |
| Jace Alexander | ... | Hillard Elkins | |
| Joe Grifasi | ... | Fausto | |
| Nancy Mette | ... | Bridey Mae | |
 |
Jo Henderson | ... | Mrs. Elkins |
| Josh Mostel | ... | Cabell Testerman | |
|
|
Gary McCleery | ... | Ludie |
|
|
Maggie Renzi | ... | Rosaria |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Mingo County, West Virginia, 1920. Coal miners, struggling to form a union, are up against company operators and the gun thugs of the notorious Baldwin-Felts detective agency. Black and Italian miners, brought in by the company to break the strike, are caught between the two forces. UMWA organizer and dual-card Wobbly Joe Kenehan determines to bring the local, Black, and Italian groups together. While Kenehan and his story are fictional, the setting and the dramatic climax are historical; Sid Hatfield, Cabell C. Testerman, C. E. Lively and the Felts brothers were real-life participants, and 'Few Clothes' is based on a character active several years previously. Written by Susan C. Mitchell <susanm@indirect.com>, expanded by Silverwhistle
Taglines:
At the coal company they use you until you wear out See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
30 June 1988 (Australia) See more »Also Known As:
Azok a véres napok See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$4,000,000 (estimated)Gross USA:
$1,680,358Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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[Coughing]
Sephus Purcell: Damn! Shootin' coal! Shootin' coal!
See more »
Music and lyrics by Mason Daring
(c) 1987 Daring Music/ASCAP
Sung by Hazel Dickens
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Sid Hatfield and Mayor Testerman are buried next to each other in a small cemetery just outside of Matewan, in Buskirk, KY. See more »Goofs
In 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. See more »Quotes
Sephus Purcell: [Opening lines of film][Coughing]
Sephus Purcell: Damn! Shootin' coal! Shootin' coal!
See more »
Soundtracks
GATHERING STORMMusic and lyrics by Mason Daring
(c) 1987 Daring Music/ASCAP
Sung by Hazel Dickens
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
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Explore popular movies available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
Matewan tells the tale of just one of the battles fought in the coal mining wars of the late nineteenth, early twentieth century.
Chris Cooper, as Joe Menehan, plays a union organizer intent upon bringing the miners of Matewan out from underneath the heel of the coal mine owners. When intimidation and terror tactics fail to cow the locals, the mine operators and their private security thugs bring in scabs, nominally led by "Few Clothes" Johnson - played by James Earl Jones. When the scabs join the strikers the mine operators resort to all-out warfare against the unionized miners.
David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell - everyone on the cast delivers a believable, wonderful performance. Everything in this movie makes you feel as if you were really there and depicts this often overlooked event in American history with a stark realism that will leave you thinking about it over and over for a very long time.
Such is the impact of the direction, acting, and writing of this movie that when I saw this movie on video about a week ago, it was still as fresh in my mind as when I saw it last on the big screen on opening day.
10 out of 10. Truly an overlooked classic.