DVD & Blu-ray: MATEWAN (1987) Starring Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones and Mary McDonnell

Product Description: Written and directed by John Sayles, this wrenching historical drama recounts the true story of a West Virginia coal town where the local miners’ struggle to form a union rose to the pitch of all-out war in 1920. When the town of Matewan’s miners go on strike, organizer Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper, in his screen debut) arrives to help them, uniting workers white and black, Appalachia-born and immigrant, while urging patience in the face of the coal company’s violent provocations. With a crackerjack ensemble cast—including James Earl Jones, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell, and Will Oldham—and Oscar-nominated cinematography by Haskell Wexler, Matewan taps into a rich vein of Americana with painstaking attention to local texture, issuing an impassioned cry for justice that still resounds today.

"The Entertainment Factor is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission."

Find out more about this DVD/Blu-ray release after the jump.

Click the links below to jump directly
to the selected section:

Movie Details

Available Formats (Purchasing Links)

Video

Audio

Subtitles

Special Features & Extras

Trailer and Clips

Pictures

MOVIE DETAILS

JUMP BACK TO TOP

Director: John Sayles

Starring: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, David Strathairn

Genre: Drama, History

Runtime: 135 min

Rating: PG-13

Language: English

Studio: Criterion

Home Video Release Date: October 29, 2019

AVAILABLE FORMATS (click links to order from Amazon):

JUMP BACK TO TOP

DVD

Blu-ray

VIDEO

JUMP BACK TO TOP

DVD

Codec: MPEG-2
Resolution: 480i
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Encoding Format: 16:9
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)

Blu-ray

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Region: Region A/1

AUDIO

JUMP BACK TO TOP

Dubbed:

DVD: None
Blu-ray: None

Audio Formats:

DVD: Dolby Digital Mono
Blu-ray: LPCM Mono

SUBTITLES

JUMP BACK TO TOP

DVD: English SDH

Blu-ray: English SDH

SPECIAL FEATURES & EXTRAS

JUMP BACK TO TOP

Audio commentary featuring Sayles and cinematographer Haskell Wexler
New documentary on the making of the film featuring Sayles, producer Maggie Renzi, production designer Nora Chavooshian, and actors Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham, and David Strathairn
New interview with composer Mason Daring on the film’s soundtrack
New program on the film’s production design featuring Chavooshian
Trailer
PLUS: An essay by critic A. S. Hamrah