Editor Reviews:

Amazon.com essential video:
A little-known chapter of American labor history is brought vividly to life in this period drama from writer-director John Sayles. It's a fictional story about labor wars among West Virginia coal miners during the 1920's, but every detail is so right that the film has the unmistakable ring of truth. The tension begins when the Stone Mountain Coal Company of Matewan, West Virginia, announces a lower pay rate for miners, who respond by calling a strike under the leadership of a United Mine Workers representative (Chris Cooper). Proving strength in numbers, the miners are joined by black and Italian miners who initially resist the strike, and a fateful battle ensues when detectives hired by the coal company attempt to evict miners from company housing. Violence erupts in a sequence of astonishing, cathartic intensity, and Matewan achieves a rare degree of moral complexity combined with gut-wrenching tragedy. The film salutes a pacifist ideal while recognizing that personal and political convictions often must be defended with violence. To illustrate this point, Sayles enlisted master cinematographer Haskell Wexler, who creates the film's authentic visual texture--a triumph of artistry over limited resources. The result is a milestone of independent filmmaking, and Matewan remains one of Sayles's finest achievements. --Jeff Shannon

Rating : - it ain't American
I want to consume. How dare Amazon and the makers of this DVD and whomever else is to blame deny me the chance to spend my hard earned money on a DVD I'll not even watch many times because the story is very depressing and makes me feel dead on the inside and more disgusted with people when I see it. It's a good movie I should say. And btw, the more I hear unions getting bashed in the media and blamed for America's economic woes the more I love 'em. Unions make the right people mad. The media controversy shows their power and the way the msm covers labor shows you their true colors. These days people care more about shopping then getting together to improve society and force the money power to spread that wealth the've gotten better and better at hording over the past 40 years.