118: Substantive Cinema | Matewan (1987)

We didn't plan to have back to back episodes on West Virginia but here we are. Substantive Cinema is back and this may be our most obscure film pick yet, but it's a great one! Matewan (1987 Dir. John Sayles) is a historical drama about the labor strikes in a WV coal mining town that lead to a bloody shootout in the streets. Not only is it an excellent film (with an Oscar nomination for Haskell Wexler's cinematography), but it's also a good history lesson for those of us who didn't grow up in West Virginia and were not taught about it in school. Unions and workers rights will likely be the topic of a future Reflects episode and we thought this might be a nice way in as well as nice introduction to an underappreciated film. And since it's not the easiest movie to track down, we'll be giving away a Criterion Blu-ray to one lucky listener. Stay tuned on socials! Article: https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6664-matewan-all-we-got-in-common Previous SC episodes: https://letterboxd.com/philipmarinello/list/substantive-cinema/ Shoutouts: Philip: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan https://www.amazon.com/Small-Things-These-Claire-Keegan/dp/0802158749/ref=sr_1_1?crid=28FWNWV4Q91JQ&keywords=small+things+like+these+claire+keegan&qid=1673661960&sprefix=small+thi%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-1 Trevor: Men in Blazers podcast https://podnews.net/podcast/ibxl/listen Remember, if you like the show, share it with your friends! Follow Us: www.thesubstancepod.com www.instagram.com/thesubstancepod www.twitter.com/thesubstancepod www.facebook.com/thesubstancepod https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyJ1Bgzq17PDNiAR1pnDXcw Share Your Questions/Suggestions/Feedback With Us: Email: [email protected] Phone: 913-703-3883 Support Us: Support the show with an individual donation on CashApp to $TheSubstancePod or become a monthly supporter at the Anchor link below! https://anchor.fm/thesubstancepod/support