SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Sexylocher
Masterful Movie
Robert Joyner
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Kaydan Christian
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Ben Larson
Religious fanatics exist everywhere: Mormons in 1857, Christians in the Crusades, Irish Catholics & Protestants, Muslim fundamentalists; no time in history has been without the fanatics, and they exist today.It has been said that more people have died in the name of religion than in all the wars. It should be obvious that that is, on it's face ridiculous. However, the fact is that many people have been killed in religious conflict as this case here that is documented in history. The fact that it is true should not mean it is not to be told. The fact that is is a church involved should not give a pass. Death is death and bigotry is bigotry. We see both here in spades.Jon Voight and Terence Stamp portrayed the hatefulness of the fanatics better than anyone I could imagine. Trent Ford was excellent as the son who could not accept that death was the answer. Tamara Hope was also excellent as the "gentile" woman that Trent loved.The was a beautiful film about love and gentleness amidst evil and hate. It is nothing new, but it was done beautifully.
Erik
Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, it's exaggerated. And yes, it's not the actual 100% truthful story. But. Think of this (and I say this without offense to others): People (as myself) are often simple-minded. They, more often than not, look on the world as a black-and-white place where totally evil or totally good humans exist. And even if this is not the truth, to show how fundamental religion can warp peoples minds, sometimes exaggeration is the only way. This is exactly what "September Dawn" has managed to do, in my opinion. Just look at the wonderful and powerful acting done by Jon Voight and Terence Stamp! Sure there's a heartwarming but extremely cheesy love story mixed into the web of events. But if that makes the "gentiles" (the supposed enemies of Mormons) more explained and look more human in just one religious brain watching this film, then that will be enough! Then the film has filled it's motive. Sometimes, people (as myself) are like children, they need to be overwhelmed by feeling, and the harsh contrast between love in one instance (such as in the cheesy love story) and hate in the other (such as from the scenes of slaughter from the massacre). This black-and-white tapestry can be very educational, even if the true story gets somewhat hampered by it. And this film is just that: educational.
jerroleens
This film doesn't purport to be historically accurate, as far as I know, so I am not going to comment on the way the producers used the history except to say that it reminds me of The DaVinci Code applied to Mormons. Film makers have been using Catholics for years to make their points about religion. Now it's the Mormons' turn, I guess. Aside from that, I would like to point out that the dialogue is sophomoric and often laughable, the plot is predictable and sentimentalist, and the acting is pretty atrocious for the most part. The camera work is quite nice in places. I would have liked to see more landscapes. It would have relieved the boredom. Funny thing. This film reminded me of the LDS Church's docu-dramas. That was amusingly ironic. This movie is pretty much a fail in my view. It would be a fail no matter what the historical subject was.
adrianlindsay4
This movie turned out to be much better than I expected. I have to agree with another reviewer who felt this movie was rating low because of the subject matter. I would think that no group would like to remember such ugly piece of their history. It was very intense and a real eye opener for me. I knew nothing of this event in my history studies and it made me curious enough to research this historic event afterwords. Much of the movie is factual to my surprise. Jon Voight (sometimes he just phones his parts in) was probably the weakest link in the acting but the rest of the actors were very good. Don't pass this one up. A solid movie.