Southern Comfort

Name: Southern Comfort
Genre: Action, Thriller
Released: September 25, 1981
Duration: 106 min
Rating: 63
Cast: Alan Autry, Brion James, Franklyn Seales, Fred Ward, Keith Carradine

1981

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Ratings

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6.7

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6.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

EMI Distribution | Release Date: September 25, 1981 | R

Starring: Alan Autry, Brion James, Franklyn Seales, Fred Ward, Keith Carradine, Les Lannom, Lewis Smith, Peter Coyote, Powers Boothe, T.K. Carter

Summary: During a routine exercise, a team of National Guards are threatened by angry and violent locals.

Director: Walter Hill

Genre(s): Action, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 106 min

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Critic Reviews

100

The Guardian Philip French

It's an allegory about the Vietnam war, a study of American character and a national propensity for violence. Southern Comfort is a masterpiece. Read full review

Empire Ian Nathan

A war film without the war but with some interesting observations nonetheless. Read full review

Noel Murray

Beyond its genre roots and its deeper meanings, Southern Comfort is a well-honed study of characters and setting. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Pic is most exciting as a visual experience, as Walter Hill once again proves himself a consummate filmmaker with a great talent for mood, composition and action choreography. Read full review

David Ansen

At times Southern Comfort seems like a kind of war game itself--an academic exercise, perfectly executed but a little cut and dried. Still, it's an exercise passed with flying colors. The objective is sighted, the mission accomplished, the audience properly pummeled. [05 Oct 1981, p.78]

Staff (Not Credited)

Straight-line conflicts, low-light visuals: the film's basics, its strengths, and its critical Achilles' heel are all those of the classic American male action movie. Read full review

Vincent Canby

Though the film was photographed on what appear to have been extremely difficult locations in Louisiana and Texas, it never once convinces you that it's anything but pretentious moviemaking. Read full review

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Deanomite

Jan 16, 2020

I really like Keith Carradine (The Duellists is his best and my all time favorite movie but he's most famous for Dexter). Powers Boothe is always good as a guy who is disgusted by his company, an engineer around rednecks is good. Walter Hill was peaking out here, just did The Warriors, onI really like Keith Carradine (The Duellists is his best and my all time favorite movie but he's most famous for Dexter). Powers Boothe is always good as a guy who is disgusted by his company, an engineer around rednecks is good. Walter Hill was peaking out here, just did The Warriors, on his way to 48 hrs. Cajun music to good effect. i did feel that wanting to finish a play mission after a real death is a big plot hole. They also were in a big hurry to replicate Vietnam too much, it was a template for Platoon also. All in all I would have liked if the rest of the squad died earlier and left Boothe and Carradine in Cajun party longer.… Expand

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