“Southern Comfort” directed by Walter Hill, starring Keith Carradine and Powers Boothe / Z-View

Southern Comfort (1981)

Director: Walter Hill

Screenplay: Michael Kane, Walter Hill, David Giler

Stars: Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales, T.K. Carter, Lewis Smith, Les Lannom, Peter Coyote, Alan Autry, Brion James, Allan Graf, Ned Dowd and Sonny Landham.

Tagline: In the Louisiana backwaters, it’s easy to make enemies…and VERY difficult to escape from them.

The Plot…

One weekend when the Louisiana Army National Guard is running maneuvers in a bayou, nine soldiers become lost.  As frustrations with their squad leader grow, the men come upon a campsite.  Although no one is there, the site contains three canoes.  Rather than wait for the owners to return, the soldiers decide to leave a note explaining that they “borrowed” the canoes and will leave them once they find their way to civilization.

As they are paddling across the swamp, they hear yelling.  The Cajun hunters have returned and believe the soldiers are stealing their boats.  One of the National guardsmen, stupidly fires his machine gun filled with blanks towards the Cajuns.  The hunters dive for cover and return fire.  The Guardsmen’s leader is killed.  The guardsmen paddle deeper into the swamp.

Lost, with only a few rounds of live ammunition, the soldiers will have to battle each other, the elements and angry Cajun hunters if they are to survive.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Ned Dowd, who played one of the Cajun hunters, transitioned from acting to producing.  Some of these films include The Last of the Mohicans (supervising producer); The 13th Warrior (producer); Reign of Fire (line producer) and Apocalypto (executive producer).

Many believe that Southern Comfort is an allegory for America’s involvement in Viet Nam.  Walter Hill denies this.

Alan Autry, made his feature film debut playing Corporal ‘Coach’ Bowden.  He was listed in the credits as Carlos Brown.

Walter Hill had one of the best starts as any director.  His first seven films were Hard Times; The Driver; The Warriors; The Long Riders; Southern Comfort; 48 Hrs. and Streets of Fire.

Southern Comfort (1981) rates 4 of 5 stars.