Overview
Filmed in the coal country of West Virginia, "Matewan" celebrates labor organizing in the context of a 1920s work stoppage. Union organizer, Joe Kenehan, a scab named "Few Clothes" Johnson 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.
Details
- Director
- John Sayles
- Writer
- John Sayles
- Original Language
- English
- Budget
- $4,000,000
Cast
Bob Gunton
Chris Cooper
David Strathairn
Gordon Clapp
Jace Alexander
James Earl Jones
Ken Jenkins
Kevin Tighe
Mary McDonnell
Will Oldham
Keywords
1920s
authoritarian company
based on true story
coal miner
coal mining
company town
criterion
double cross
gun battle
gun death
hired goons
italian diaspora
labor organizer
labor union
miners strike
mining company
preacher
racism
slit throat
traitor
union struggle
west virginia
worker's rights
workers union
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