Matewan
- Today, Sep 16
Midnite weekend screenings happen on Friday & Saturday nights,. so please be sure to arrive on Friday and/or Saturday night by 11:45pm for seating and the screening will start after midnight.
Director: John Sayles Run Time: 132 min. Release Year: 1987
Starring: Chris Cooper, David Strathairn, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham
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.
When the Stone Mountain Coal Company announces a cut in wages, the miner’s response is strike action. A train arrives in town bringing black and Italian workers to replace them but on that same train is Joe Kenehan, a union organiser whose aim is to unite all the diverse groups of workers to stand together. The bosses’ next move is to bring in some hired ‘muscle’ to “keep the peace”. As the tension and violence escalates, the stage is set for a final showdown. -PARK CIRCUS
featuring Union (a.k.a Richmond Oil Strike) from Third World Newsreel’s Newsreel Retrospective:
January ’69, oil workers in Northern California struck, and for the first time, students at San Francisco State and the University of California were asked to join the union in the struggle. This action added a new dimension to the Movement in California. Made by San Francisco Newsreel.
Doors Open 30 Minutes Before Showtime.