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Meet "Bad" Frank.... Hatfield/McCoy drama comes to the History Channel

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aristotle

Veteran Expediter
Turtle said:
I enjoyed it. Recorded it and have watched the first two parts a second tome already. The more you watch them again, the more you pick up about certain things.

Knowing the story well, although not likely as well as those from the area who are more intimate with it, I would imagine, I thought it stayed mostly true to historical accuracy with only a few liberties with artistic license to tell the tale. I do believe they were less sensational and more matter of fact in the retelling than the news accounts were in the day.
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Agreed. If viewers were expecting a happy ending, well, feuds don't produce a happy ending. The History Channel has acquitted itself with honor on this production as the mini-series stays incredibly close to historical accounts. Some dramatic liberties were taken, but not at the expense of well known facts. This is the History Channel and they stuck with history.

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On a minor point, watching the conclusion of the mini-series, one might think "Bad Frank" died soon after the hanging of Ellison Mounts. The hanging of Mounts did seem to bring some finality to the feud as Mounts was executed in February,1890 in Pikeville. Bad Frank lived nearly another decade until July,1898.

Here is a link showing actual photos of Ellison Mounts and, if you scroll all the way down, actual photo of public hanging: http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2012/04/ellison-mounts-pike-county.html
 
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Monty

Monty

Expert Expediter
If you wish a factual, historical reading of the area, and all of Appalacia, read "Night Comes To The Cumberlands", by Caudill.

I was also born down there in SE Kentucky, lived in Johnson county until I was 12 ....
 
EnglishLady

EnglishLady

Veteran Expediter
We have only seen the first episode so far - going to have a marathon and watch all episodes on Saturday night LOL.


My favourite line (so far lol) .....

"This is about honour, lying, stealing ... whats Christian right and dam nation wrong"

(I think I got all the words :rolleyes:)
 
A

aristotle

Veteran Expediter
Notanewbie said:
If you wish a factual, historical reading of the area, and all of Appalacia, read "Night Comes To The Cumberlands", by Caudill.

I was also born down there in SE Kentucky, lived in Johnson county until I was 12 ....
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I have a well-worn copy of "Night Comes To The Cumberlands" purchased when I was in high school. Virgil Carrington Jones' book "The Hatfields and McCoys" has been in my collection since high school as well.
 
A

aristotle

Veteran Expediter
Watching a replay of the mini-series, I was struck by what a strong performance actress Mare Winningham gave. Powers Booth and Tom Berenger played memorable roles, too. Superb job by the entire cast. There's something special about a story well told.

The History Channel plans to produce another scripted series about the Vikings. Should be interesting.
 
Turtle

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
I agree that Mare Winningham's performance was extraordinary. Most of the other characters, in particular those played by Costner, Paxton and Booth, were such that you never really lost sight that it was those actors playing a role. Happens a lot with most actors, really. But Mare Winningham was lost in her character, she became the character, and you quickly forgot that it was Mare Winningham playing a role. That's a rare thing to find among well known actors, and is the difference between a "character" actor (Winningham, Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron) and a "personality" actor (Tom Cruise, Clint Eastwood, Julia Roberts, Kevin Costner).

On that note, when I watched Part 1 I missed the opening credits, so other than Costner and Paxton I really didn't know who was in this thing. I took note every time I recognized someone and just enjoyed the show. When I started watching Part 2 I caught the opening credits saw Tom Berenger's name. "Tom Berenger? What part did he play? I don't remember seeing him at all in the first one," I said to myself. It's quite a performance, and quite a surprise, considering he's one of my favorite actors.
 
Brisco

Brisco

Expert Expediter
When I started watching Part 2 I caught the opening credits saw Tom Berenger's name. "Tom Berenger? What part did he play? I don't remember seeing him at all in the first one," I said to myself. It's quite a performance, and quite a surprise, considering he's one of my favorite actors.
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Same here......I didn't catch his name in the opening credits of EP1, but did in EP2....and started watching closely as to whom Tom was playing......

It was half-way through EP2 when they started showing close-ups of ******** (not giving it away!!)...when I finally realized.....There's Freeeeegin Tom Berenger!!! Great Character!!

Loved all 3 Episodes.....Will Watch It Again when the DVD I'm going to order comes in!
 
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