Wuchak "September Dawn" (2007) is a powerful and unforgettable film. It details the long covered-up massacre at Mountain Meadows, Utah, on September 11, 1857, where a group of Mormons murdered well over a hundred settlers traveling from Arkansas to California. The settlers stopped in Utah to rest and resupply and the Mormons graciously allowed it. Unfortunately, in the ensuing days the decision was made to slaughter the settlers, likely due to paranoia over the brief "Utah War" that was going on at the time (between the Feds and the Mormon settlers in Utah) and also because of the Mormons' severe persecutions back East in the 1830s-40s, which provoked them to seek sanctuary in Utah in 1847.Brigham Young was the president of the LDS denomination at the time and the governor of Utah. Was he involved in the decision to slaughter the innocent settlers? Although Mormon leaders deny this to this day it's probable for two reasons: (1.) As the LDS president and Utah governor it's unlikely that something of this magnitude would have been carried out without Young's authorization; and (2.) the leader of the slaughter, John D. Lee – the only man convicted and shot for the massacre – was the adopted son of Brigham Young. The film theorizes that the murderers took an oath of silence and that's why the massacre has been covered-up by LDS officials to this day, although Lee admitted to being the scapegoat before his execution. Chew on that.The vibe of the film is very realistic, sort of like "Dances With Wolves," although not as compelling. For instance, the Paiute natives -- whom the Mormons hoodwinked into participating in the initial assault -- are very well done. The acting is convincing across the board. In this regard "September Dawn" stands head & shoulders above roll-your-eyes Westerns of yesteryear.Perhaps the film has such an authentic vibe because it's based on the historical facts and is fair with them. For one, the film utilizes Juanita Brooks' book and others as sources, and they happen to be devout Mormons. Secondly, the film reveals the valid reasons for the Mormon's paranoia – due to the Feds' harassment presently and also previous persecutions back East, severe persecutions. Thirdly, the film details a bizarre doctrine the Mormons adhered to – "blood atonement" – that gave them the mentality that they were doing the settlers a favor by killing them (that is, the settlers would die to this temporal world but they'd be eternally blessed, or something to this effect).Some have criticized the film for adding a romantic subplot concerning a Mormon youth and a settler girl, but this is a typical Hollywood technique, e.g. "Pearl Harbor," "Red Baron" and "Titanic." Others object to a Mormon youth cracking up after the massacre – another fictional addition – but it makes sense that an unhardened youth would lose his marbles, so to speak, after such a horrific undertaking and, again, it's portrayed in a convincing manner. Besides, who's to say something like these two subplots didn't happen? It's very possible that they did. Although the story takes place in Southwest Utah they couldn't shoot there for obvious reasons. So they shot it in central Alberta, near Calgary. Although these locations are acceptable they lack the dryness (and therefore authenticity) of SW Utah.Bottom Line: The harsh criticism that has been dished on this film is ridiculous and not even remotely accurate. Although it's sometimes a hard film to watch for obvious reasons, "September Dawn" is a worthy modern Western that dares to sneer at political correctness and tell the truth, at least as far as can be done by the documented facts. Sure there's some fictionalization, but all movies based on historical events do this to some extent and, like I said above, these fictionalizations are based on likely possibilities. I guarantee you that "September Dawn" is far more historically accurate than heralded films like "Braveheart." Since the film is so well done I can only chalk up the ridiculous criticism to intolerant liberal ideology. After all, the film dares to show Christians in a positive light being led to the slaughter literally by wacko non-Christian religious fanatics. Not that all Mormons back then or today are wacko religious fanatics, not at all, but that group that murdered the innocent settlers definitely were, and those who authorized it as well.GRADE: Borderline A- or B+

jerroleens This film doesn't purport to be historically accurate, as far as I know, so I am not going to comment on the way the producers used the history except to say that it reminds me of The DaVinci Code applied to Mormons. Film makers have been using Catholics for years to make their points about religion. Now it's the Mormons' turn, I guess. Aside from that, I would like to point out that the dialogue is sophomoric and often laughable, the plot is predictable and sentimentalist, and the acting is pretty atrocious for the most part. The camera work is quite nice in places. I would have liked to see more landscapes. It would have relieved the boredom. Funny thing. This film reminded me of the LDS Church's docu-dramas. That was amusingly ironic. This movie is pretty much a fail in my view. It would be a fail no matter what the historical subject was.

lastliberal 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.

adrianlindsay4 This movie turned out to be much better than I expected. I have to agree with another reviewer who felt this movie was rating low because of the subject matter. I would think that no group would like to remember such ugly piece of their history. It was very intense and a real eye opener for me. I knew nothing of this event in my history studies and it made me curious enough to research this historic event afterwords. Much of the movie is factual to my surprise. Jon Voight (sometimes he just phones his parts in) was probably the weakest link in the acting but the rest of the actors were very good. Don't pass this one up. A solid movie.