Cast
Chris Cooper James Earl Jones Mary McDonnell 
Will Oldham 
David Strathairn Ken Jenkins
Credits
Written by: 
John Sayles
Plot
In 1920, a union organizer arrives in the West Virginia coal town of Matewan to unite the white, Black and Italian miners against the coal company, in a historical drama of labour violence.
Sinekatalog’s take
A rich and humane labour drama.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.
Ratings
IMDb: 7.9 / 10 (10,816 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.
If you liked this
Picked by director, genre, era and shared cast. Titles only, no spoilers.
- Miller's Crossing 1990 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 7.7 · Viewers also liked
- Django Unchained 2012 · Quentin Tarantino · IMDb 8.5 · Viewers also liked
- The Long Walk Home 1990 · Richard Pearce · IMDb 7.3 · Same movement
- Comrades 1986 · Bill Douglas · IMDb 7.3 · Similar genres
- Gangs of New York 2002 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 7.5 · Viewers also liked
- The Official Story 1985 · Luis Puenzo · IMDb 7.7 · Similar genres