Cinematic Road Trip: West Virginia

John Ur makes a stop in West Virginia in this week's Cinematic Road Trip column.

David Strathairn is a 59-year-old actor born in California. His most famous role has probably been as Edward R. Murrow in the Academy Award-nominated Good Night, and Good Luck. Before becoming an actor, he spent some time in a Ringling Brothers Clown College. And he played prominent roles in the two movies that we’re going to look at today in West Virginia.

Strathairn has long been a solid supporting actor in Hollywood, but got his break through his friendship with director John Sayles. Both Sayles and Strathairn made their debut with the Return of the Secaucus Seven in 1980. Seven years later Sayles called Strathairn again to appear in his film Matewan, shot in Thurmond, West Virginia. The city was chosen for its enduring characteristics of a 1920s coal mining town in Appalachia. As of the 2000 census, the town had a population of seven people.

Matewan is the story of coal miners struggling to form a union in the face of a repressive coal company. Despite their attempts at action, the Stone Mountain Coal Company threatens to cut miners’ pay at every turn. When the miners go on strike, the company brings in some hired thugs to intimidate and rough up the union men. Strathairn plays Police Chief Sid Hatfield (of the infamous Hatfield Clan)—an uncommon man who cannot be bought out by the coal company in a time when that practice was commonplace.

The background for the action is the hills and forests of southern West Virginia. The miners come out of their holes sweaty and covered in black coal dirt. Some of the action takes place near the railroad tracks that run through the area: The rails are rusted but trains still lurch into town to drop off their cargo and pick up coal for shipping up the line. The brick buildings and natural beauty of the area—with the New River Gorge just nearby—served the movie well, and also served to inspire Sayles while making the film. He later wrote,

[In] the hills of West Virginia, the people and the music have a mood and rhythm to them that needs to be seen and heard to be felt completely. There is a cyclical sense of time there, a feeling of inescapable fate...Politics are always at the mercy of human nature and custom, and the coal wars of the twenties were so personal that they make ideology accessible in a story, make it immediate and emotional.

Strathairn was back about ten years later in another supporting role. This time, he lined up with Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox in We Are Marshall, the tragic story of the 1970 plane crash which killed the Marshall University football team and its coaches and devastated the surrounding community. In the movie, Strathairn played University President Donald Dedmon in a role psychologically opposite of the one he played in Matewan. As Sid Hatfield, Strathairn was calm, confident, and strong. Dedmon is anxious, insecure, and weak. But he handles both very well.

Some of the best shots from We Are Marshall come at the very beginning of the film. There is an aerial shot sweeping across a hill of green trees, lifting up to reveal the city of Huntington, West Virginia, sitting on the south bank of the Ohio River. (Marshall is located in Huntington). The next aerial traces the Ohio and shows the Robert Byrd Bridge. The camera then shows an industrial section of the city and finally a static shot from the ground of one of the University buildings (you can see the footage here). This opening sequence ends on two shots of the memorial to the victims of the plane crash, which sits on Marshall’s campus.

Given the choice, I would have liked to put another movie in We Are Marshall’s place. The movie suffers from Hollywood’s over-dramatization and highly-polished look which takes away all traces of originality and natural chaos which are important elements of reality and high-quality art. However, West Virginia is another one of those states often overlooked as a filming location and so its filmography does not provide a long list to choose from.

You will find a bonus though if you get your hands on a copy of the We Are Marshall DVD: McConaughey and Strathairn lend their talents to a promotional piece for West Virginia tourism at the beginning of the disc which shows off many locations that you won’t see in the film. In recent years, West Virginia has been laying claim to the title of the "outdoor recreation capital of the east" with white-water rafting and kayaking as its calling cards. The promo piece highlights the state’s rivers and some of the hiking and biking and other adventure activities that are making West Virginia a popular destination for those inclined towards the outdoors.

These two movies should give you a good overview of the state: the hollers, the mountains, and the mines in the former, and the populated areas around Huntington in the other. Both could infuse you with the same feelings John Denver had when he wrote: "Country roads, take me home/To the place I belong/West Virginia, mountain momma/Take me home, country roads...'

Also Recommended: Deer Hunter

Read More: Check out the West Virginia Film Office for a complete list of movies shot in the state and peruse all of John's stops on the Cinematic Road Trip.

Photo: New River Gorge Bridge by Lola Hermosilla via Flickr

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Comments

[Mark Schoneveld]

I love West Virginia. I've been to that spot in the photo several times and it always feels magical.

Those films sound great, too.

[Evan]

Whenever I think WV, I think Deliverance. I know that's not fair to the state. It's a perfectly beautiful place, but its the truth.

[Pam]

Unfortunately, it's a common mistake that people make when referring to Deliverance, which is odd considering that the film makes no references whatsoever to WV nor was it filmed in WV.

[John Ur]

Don't worry. Deliverance will be handled accordingly when we get around to Georgia.

[Brian]

Excellent article. Never been to West Virginia, but would like to after reading this; and that photo is stunning

[Julie]

This is really awesome, the pic you have put is great and breath taking. Sure that a visit would be more than that to this wonderful place.

Thanks