Southern Comfort
EMI Distribution | Release Date: September 25, 1981 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The GuardianPhilip 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
80
The DissolveNoel Murray
Beyond its genre roots and its deeper meanings, Southern Comfort is a well-honed study of characters and setting. Read full review
80
EmpireIan Nathan
A war film without the war but with some interesting observations nonetheless. Read full review
75
Chicago ReaderBen Sachs
Stripping these characters to their essences, Hill identifies a shared culture of hatred that unites a range of Americans. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Southern Comfort is a film of drum-tight professionalism. It is also, unfortunately, so committed to its allegorical vision that it never really comes alive as a story about people. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Arguably writer-director Walter Hill's best film to date, Southern Comfort works both as a pure action film and as an extremely effective allegory of America's involvement in Vietnam. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChuck Bowen
Southern Comfort is a thriller that twists one up in knots, whipping the audience up to a point where they may wish that director Walter Hill would just spring the damn gore already so as to relieve the tension he masterfully coils. Read full review
70
NewsweekDavid 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]
70
VarietyStaff (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
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