matewan movie summary

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 staff at Variety magazine lauded the acting in the film, writing, "Matewan is 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. Danny overhears Hickey and Griggs talking about the scheme and is discovered and threatened by Hickey. Based on the "coal wars" in WV during the 1920s, this is the story of Joe coming to town to organize the strikers into a union. According to Wikipedia, "The Battle of Matewan (also known as the Matewan Massacre) was a shootout in the town of Matewan, West Virginia in Mingo County on May 19, 1920 between local miners and the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency".

Matewan was only one battle in the Great Coal Field War in which the mining companies sent thousands of armed guards and strikebreakers (scabs) to West Virginia. That night, while preaching at the Later, while Danny and his friend Hillard Elkins, are stealing coal from the mine, they are confronted by the detectives. To win, he must unite all factions--whites, Italians, & blacks.

A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.Mingo County, West Virginia, 1920. The company practically owns the town, reducing workers' wages while raising prices at the company … Directed by John Sayles. The next day, they enter the camp to demand that all food and clothing purchased at the Lively tries to drive a wedge between Kenehan and the miners by convincing a young widow, Bridey Mae Tolliver, to falsely accuse Kenehan of sexual assault, and he plants a letter which makes Kenehan appear to be the infiltrator, leading the miners to plot to kill Kenehan.

That night, while preaching at the Later, while Danny and his friend Hillard Elkins, are stealing coal from the mine, they are confronted by the detectives. Blu-ray Review: MATEWAN Sticks Up For The Little Guy. Even when his films may vary in overall quality, from merely good to great, they are each interesting and arresting.

Danny overhears Hickey and Griggs talking about the scheme and is discovered and threatened by Hickey.

Independent filmmaker John Sayles creates one of his more artistic works with this period feature about a volatile 1920s labor dispute in the town of Matewan, West Virginia. Union organizer, Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper), a scab named "Few Clothes" Johnson (James Earl Jones) and a sympathetic mayor and police chief heroically fight the power represented by a coal company and Matewan's vested interests so that justice and workers' rights need not take a back seat to squalid working conditions, exploitation and the bottom line. Read full review The situation between the Baldwin–Felts men and Chief Hatfield reaches a boiling point with the arrival of reinforcements with orders to carry out the evictions. The plot concerns a fictional 1920 labor action against the Stone Mountain Coal Company of Matewan.

Filmed in the coal country of West Virginia, "Matewan" celebrates labor organizing in the context of a 1920s work stoppage. And Sayles, struggling for authority from This article is about the 1987 movie based on events in John Sayles directed Matewan the movie in 1987. At night, the armed strikebreakers fire shots into the camp, injuring some strikers. The mayor tries to negotiate as Kenehan comes running to try to stop the fight. Coal miners, struggling to form a union, are up against company operators and the gun thugs of the notorious Baldwin-Felts detective agency. The Battle of Matewan (also known as the Matewan massacre) was a shootout in the town of Matewan in Mingo County and the Pocahontas Coalfield mining district, in southern West Virginia. Synopsis. The historical shootout at the climax occurred in May of 1920, four months beforehand. He provides five names, and is killed by Griggs anyway. Ferociously independent --most of his films are made with privately organized funds-- and working with what has become a repertory company --most of his actors return to work with him for less than they would get elsewhere-- he has never made an uninteresting film. Black and Italian miners, brought in by the company to break the strike, are caught between the two forces.

The next day, they enter the camp to demand that all food and clothing purchased at the Lively tries to drive a wedge between Kenehan and the miners by convincing a young widow, Bridey Mae Tolliver, to falsely accuse Kenehan of sexual assault, and he plants a letter which makes Kenehan appear to be the infiltrator, leading the miners to plot to kill Kenehan. Head back to Dunder Mifflin and relive the funniest moments that happened before the opening credits of "

For an enhanced browsing experience, get the IMDb app on your smartphone or tablet. Lively mentions that the men he has named died in the mines years ago, and muses that the death of a young boy will complicate things. John Sayles Double Feature!

Reception Critical response. The small town of Matewan has been the spotlight for two major films. The next day, two Baldwin–Felts men, Hickey and Griggs, show up in town and take up residence at the Radnor The Baldwin–Felts men then turn their attention on the strikers' camp outside town, where the miners and their families are living in tents. Written and directed by John Sayles, this wrenching historical drama recounts the true story of a West Virginia coal town where the local miners’ struggle to form a union rose to the pitch of all-out war in 1920.

Matewan is beautifully shot, and there is not a weak performance in the film.

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matewan movie summary