Fine independent film about a legendary West Virginia coal mining strike. Chris Cooper and David Straithairn are very good in this.

An excellent film full of good actors. The story is eternally relevant, and Cooper's speech at the first meeting is truly rousing.

A very special film. Really quite moving.

It looks great, is really quite gripping and for the most part has a nice realism to it, and certainly the story it has to tell is a fairly important and interesting one. Still I can't get behind it entirely, partly due to where this realism falters with its whole heroes and villains view of the world. Also I found the film to be very much surface. Over two hours of just repeating history without adding a whole lot to it doesn't make for the most interesting film.

My favorite John Sayles film (and I like every one I've seen). Will make you wonder for years just how many heroes there were whose names we'll never know (while nowadays of course everybody's heard of Paris Hilton)

Gripping story of a West Virginia mining union struggle in the 20's. There are some really villainous bastards in this movie. Excellent film all around.

Heroes and villains. See "Blue Collar" instead.

Good Movie

One of the best cinematic experiences I've ever had and my introduction to Sayles. Seeing a young Will Oldham is really awesome and I think this is Cooper's debut. This is what filmmaking should be - poignant, well written, and real.

Outstanding in all areas. Reminded me of Ford's (equally great) "How Green Was My Valley". Stellar story, direction and acting - and with a remarkable (cinematically heightened) realism.

Amazing look into Union struggles.