Thanks for the memories!

Absolutely the worst movie.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

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.

Scott Renshaw of the Charleston City PaperOne of the flagship IMDb user reviews for September dawn is entitled, "Leanr (sic) the history before commenting." I couldn't agree more.To that end, and in the spirit of equal time and hearing both sides of the story, I am providing the following links so that those genuinely interested in what happened; the corresponding historical, social, and religious context; and how the LDS Church feels about it, can read it from an unfiltered source. The articles linked are fully cross-referenced to other LDS and non-LDS works.Statement by the LDS Church: http://tinyurl.com/2f44gow Review of the book and film by Craig L. Foster of BYU's Maxwell Institute: http://tinyurl.com/3n7gumdDon't believe everything you see in the movies.

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.

The breakdown of ratings for this movie is revealing. 20% hate it. 20% love it. Most others rate it as pretty good. It is pretty good. Well acted and well-paced, beautiful scenery. I thought the love story was touching as well as the relationship between the two Mormon brothers. John Voight was Amazing! It's got some pretty brutal scenes. This is NOT a movie for young children. As far as anti-Mormon bias... I don't think there is any more anti-Mormon bias in this movie than there was anti-German bias in "Schindler's List". The movie doesn't purport to be a documentary. So it's not like an Oliver Stone or Michael Moore production. In summary, I think it's a thought provoking movie that will make people actually want to do a bit of research on the true events of Mountain Meadows.