The Hatfields and the McCoys (1975)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Perfect cast and a good story

Absolutely Brilliant!

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The Hatfields and the McCoys have a special meaning for me,in 1975 on Globo television had a session movie called "Premiere 75" on Saturday night every week,just for unseen movies,so l'd watched this movie in that time and l beginning to like movies and the next year l'd started my movie's book for first time ever,this week my brother gave this movie,but with another title in Brazil,this movie have already release on VHS in the 90' right now I recognized the original title and spoke to him how and where l watch this picture...in the same night l watch again,Jack Palance and Steve Forrest are great in this low budge TV movie,although the movie is too shot to fit so complex story like this…but l went to the past for 74 minutes!!!

As an actual descendant of the feud, this is really 70's Hollywood at its flimsiest. Trust me, after having my family's history portrayed in comic strips, cartoons, outdoor dramas, old films and so on, this one is probably the worst as it is trying to be considered somewhat accurate, rather than what it should be which is just sheer entertainment. At least they don't portray the families as being toothless, brainless hicks. If that's one thing positive I can say, it's that. The ending is even totally off. I would have to say that even if you have the chance to watch this for free on television, I would probably see if there is some re-run of Beavis and Butthead somewhere

The Hatfield - McCoy feud of Appalachia is America's most famous feud, even if others were bloodier and more intense. It started when "Devil" Anse Hatfield, a West Virginia logger and Confederate militia leader, was suspected in the death of Harmon McCoy during the Civil War. Harmon, a Union soldier from across the river in Kentucky, made the mistake of recoperating in the pro-Confederate area and paid with his life. Although there was no proof that Hatfield killed Harmon or ordered such, the suspicion lingered. It rose to the surface later when Randall McCoy, Harmon's brother and family leader in what followed, accused a Hatfield of apprehending a free-feeding McCoy hog. McCoy's claims were refuted at a trial, starting what would be the start of a streak of terrible misfortune. The suspicions between the families erupted at an Election Day festival in 1882, when three sons of Randall fatally stabbed Ellison Hatfield, Devil Anse's brother during a liquor fueled dispute. Devil Anse forcefully took custody of the three McCoys, and when Ellison expired, had them executed. "The Hatfields and McCoys" to its credit, treats the two family heads as intelligent men and somewhat reluctant warriors. The late 19th century dialect is well done. The movie starts off fairly close to the real story, but abandons it for heavy dramatic license. For one thing, there was maybe only one real mobilization of the one party against the other - a midnight raid by the Hatfields (less Devil Anse, who begged off) upon the McCoy cabin across the Tug. For some reason, the raid and its terrible consequences - a son and daughter of Randall killed, Randall's wife hurt, and their cabin burned - are skipped over to show male feudists blasting away at each other in broad daylight.Nor did Randall and Devil Anse end up forgetting things in a deer hunt. The losses the two men took were uneven; Devil Anse lost a brother and a nephew, while Randall lost a brother, five sons and a daughter to violence, plus another daughter to sickness and a broken heart. It goes without saying Randall was just a bit bitter.Worth seeing if only to watch Jack Palace as Devil Anse, or to invite a reading of a detailed book or a website on the topic.