"September Dawn" movie review

[Sosai X]

I went and saw this movie, so you don't have to. Understand when I say, honestly, this is the worst movie to come out of Hollywood in a great while. While the Mountain Meadows massacre is a tragic episode in history, this film tries to make it something else. The Mormons in the film are portrayed as mindless religions fanatics, with no apologies whatsoever. Sacred Mormon temple rites are portrayed in graphic detail, with no respect or sensitivity. The acting is atrocious, as are the screenplay and directing. It almost seemed the writer/director visited the first anti-Mormon site he found in Google, and copied what he found there literally word for word into his script. This makes up about 1/4 of the movie. What happens in the other 3/4? 1/4 is spent on a character taming a horse that was deemed unbreakable. Another 1/4 is spent on a romance between the daughter of the immigrant's priest and the son of the Mormon bishop (played by John Voigt, who phones in an absolutely ludicrous and completely unbelievably bad performance). The other 1/4 is the actual massacre itself, which is nothing more than shaky hand-held camera work with blood squibs going off everywhere. Terrence Stamp plays Brigham Young, but his performance was equally inane. Think General Zod as an Amish farmer. So, while this film might generate some small amount of controversy, with the September 11 date and all, rest asured the film is a complete waste of time. Don't even bother. Roger Ebert gave the movie zero stars, which is the film completely deserves.

:thumbdown :yuck:

[PirateMunkee]

Re: "September Dawn" movie review

I for one CAN NOT WAIT to see this movie. I was Mormon for 12 years and want to see a portrayal of the slaughter that the Latter-Day Saints fail to recognize as truly happening. I will give my review with an Ex-Mormon point of view as soon as I get a chance to go.

[thejoshualee]

Re: "September Dawn" movie review

Here are some reviews for this movie:

September Dawn has the ham-fisted lyricism of political ads and pharmaceutical commercials. The schematic script is further burdened with heavy ironies and hackneyed dialogue

The didactic presentation, grim speechifying and tacked-on love story all signify a less-than-healthy regard for the audience's intelligence.

Succeeds completely at failure; the unified incompetence of its writing, directing and acting suggest a man who manages to be on fire and drowning at the same time, just as the bus runs him over.

September Dawn, written by an evangelical Christian, may be the worst historical drama ever made.

I saw it and agree with everything said here. Quite possibly the worst movie I've seen in five years, and I watched White Chicks not too long ago.

Yes, on September 11th 1857 a group of Mormons ruthlessly slaughtered a wagon train of people. Worse than that, they pretended to be helping them escape from an Indian raid when they disarmed them and shot them in the back as they ran away screaming. It is awful. This film is a ham-fisted slap in the face to the memory of those who died (portrayed as foolish sheep).


All this happened at Mountain Meadow (which, by the way, is less than fifty miles from my current location).

I actually want a good movie to be made about the Mountain Meadow Massacre because it has the elements of a really good story, but this film isn't it. At it's best it's a poorly made western using cliche and sensationalism to substitute for story and at its worse it is hate filled anti-mormon rhetoric.

[7.17.55]

Re: "September Dawn" movie review

....that the Latter-Day Saints fail to recognize as truly happening.

As a matter of fact you are wrong in this matter. In the LDS magazine "Ensign" this month there is an eight page article on this tradgedy. It is very forthcoming in blaming some local church leaders in the events surrounding this horrible episode in LDS history.
You can get a copy of the magazine at any Deseret Book store.
There is also a book coming out soon by two LDS historians called "Massacre At Mountain Meadows". It will be published by Oxford University Press.

[BFJen]

Re: "September Dawn" movie review

It is a sad part of LDS history. I agree - I too have heard the movie is terrible. And not just from a mormon standpoint. Terrance Stamp as Brigham Young? Seriously?

There is plenty of material out there on the subject - it's too bad that Hollywood made another religious bashing movie, and another bad one.

[sir clinksalot]

Re: "September Dawn" movie review

The movie doesn't interest me in the least.

But I've never heard that the LDS denied the incident at all. Of course, there is still much debate whether Brigham Young knew about it, but we will probably never know that.

TJEL, thank you for the review and making sure we avoid this movie. I had never heard of it before this thread, I think I'll forget I know now.

[Junthor]

Re: "September Dawn" movie review

As a matter of fact you are wrong in this matter. In the LDS magazine "Ensign" this month there is an eight page article on this tradgedy. It is very forthcoming in blaming some local church leaders in the events surrounding this horrible episode in LDS history.
You can get a copy of the magazine at any Deseret Book store.
There is also a book coming out soon by two LDS historians called "Massacre At Mountain Meadows". It will be published by Oxford University Press.

This.

[thejoshualee]

Re: "September Dawn" movie review

Not to belabor the point, but this blurb from the Onion's AVClub review of the movie says it all:

From an artistic perspective, at least, Voight was better off facing anal at the hands of inbred Georgia rednecks.

For a much more... well... better look at the Mountain Meadow Massacre, try and find the documentary called Burying the Past: Legacy of the Mountain Meadows. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397048/

[CoasterMatt]

Re: "September Dawn" movie review

Everytime I see this movie's title, I can't help but think they've made some kind of update to 'Red Dawn' (another FINE film)