Highest-Rated Movies about 'American South', Sort by Popularity

Django Unchained (2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Deliverance (1972), The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show (2020), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Sparrows (1926), The Chase (1966), Fences (2016) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best American South movies.

#1. Django Unchained (2012)

Storyline: In 1858, a bounty hunter named Schultz seeks out a slave named Django and buys him because he needs him to find some men he is looking for. After finding them, Django wants to find his wife, Broomhilda, who along with him were sold separately by his former owner for trying to escape. Schultz offers to help him if he chooses to stay with him and be his partner. Eventually they learn that she was sold to a plantation in Mississippi. Knowing they can't just go in and say they want her, they come up with a plan so that the owner will welcome them into his home and they can find a way.

Plot Keywords: slave, bounty hunter, criminal, plantation owner, wife, servant, gritty ...

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#2. 12 Years a Slave (2013)

Storyline: Based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty personified by a malevolent slave owner, as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.

Plot Keywords: slave, slave trader, abolitionist, master, african-american, love interest, dark ...

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#3. Deliverance (1972)

Storyline: The Cahulawassee River valley in Northern Georgia is one of the last natural pristine areas of the state, which will soon change with the imminent building of a dam on the river, which in turn will flood much of the surrounding land. As such, four Atlanta city dwellers, alpha male Lewis Medlock, Ed Gentry, Bobby Trippe, and Drew Ballinger, decide to take a multi-day canoe trip on the river, with only Lewis and Ed having experience in outdoor life. They know going in that the area is isolated. Their relatively peaceful trip takes a turn for the worse halfway through with river rapids and unwelcoming locals. The four battle need to their way out of the valley and are asked to do things they never thought possible within themselves.

Plot Keywords: salesman, hillbilly, best friend, police officer, madman, city slicker, creepy ...

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#5. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Storyline: An elderly Jewish widow living in Atlanta can no longer drive. Her son insists she allow him to hire a driver, which in the 1950s meant a black man. She resists any change in her life but, Hoke, the driver is hired by her son. She refuses to allow him to drive her anywhere at first, but Hoke slowly wins her over with his native good graces. The movie is directly taken from a stage play and does show it. It covers over twenty years of the pair's life together as they slowly build a relationship that transcends their differences.

Plot Keywords: elderly person, driver, widow, son, jewish woman, daughter-in-law, charming ...

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#6. Sparrows (1926)

Storyline: Evil Mr.Grimes keeps a rag-tag bunch orphans on his farm deep in a swamp in the US South. He forces them to work in his garden and treats them like slaves. They are watched over by the eldest, Molly. A gang in league with Mr. Grimes kidnaps Doris, the beautiful little daughter of a rich man, and hides her out on Grimes' farm, awaiting ransom. When the police close in, and Mr. Grimes threatens to throw Doris into the bottomless mire, Molly must lead her little flock out through the alligator-infested swamp.—John Oswalt <jao@jao.com>

Plot Keywords: orphan, heroine, headmaster, wife, abductee, wealthy man, creepy ...

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#7. The Chase (1966)

Storyline: Most everyone in town thinks that Sheriff Calder is merely a puppet of rich oil-man Val Rogers. When it is learned that local baddie Bubber Reeves has escaped prison, Rogers' son is concerned because he is having an affair with Reeves' wife. It seems many others in town feel they may have reasons to fear Reeves. Calder's aim is to bring Reeves in alive, unharmed. Calder will have to oppose the powerful Rogers on one hand and mob violence on the other, in his quest for justice.—Buxx Banner <bux572@aol.com>

Plot Keywords: sheriff, businessman, fugitive, wife, lackey, son, tense ...

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#8. Fences (2016)

Storyline: Troy Maxson makes his living as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. Maxson once dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but was deemed too old when the major leagues began admitting black athletes. Bitter over his missed opportunity, Troy creates further tension in his family when he squashes his son's chance to meet a college football recruiter.

Plot Keywords: sanitation worker, son, recruiter, football player, mother, emotional, engaging ...

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#10. Bright Victory (1951)

Storyline: In North Africa during World War II, Sergeant Larry Nevins is blinded by a German sniper's bullet. Rehabilitation at the military hospital presents many challenges, but accepting his disability also proves to be difficult for others.—Jeanne Armintrout <jeannee@uwyo.edu>

Plot Keywords: military officer, sergeant, soldier, young man, fiancée, african-american, profound ...

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#13. Bright Leaves (2003)

Storyline: North Carolina produces more tobacco than any other state in America. Bright Leaves describes a journey taken across the social, economic, and psychological tobacco terrain of North Carolina by a native Carolinian, Ross McElwee, whose great-grandfather created the famous brand of tobacco known as Bull Durham. The comedic chronicle is a subjective, autobiographical meditation on the allure of cigarettes and their troubling legacy for the state of North Carolina. It's also a film about family history, addiction, denial, and filmmaking--as McElwee, noted director of Sherman's March, grapples with the legacy of an obscure Hollywood melodrama that is purportedly based on this curious man that was his great-grandfather.—Sujit R. Varma

Plot Keywords: filmmaker, cousin, businessman, cancer patient, doctor, engaging, lighthearted ...

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#14. Crooklyn (1994)

Storyline: Co-written with siblings Joie and Cinqué Lee, Spike Lee's CROOKLYN is a semi-autobiographical portrait illuminating the life of the lively Carmichael family and their vibrant Bedford-Stuyvesant community. Schoolteacher and loving Carmichael matriarch Carolyn (Alfre Woodard) runs a no-nonsense household, working hard to keep the lights on and raise her nine-year-old daughter Troy (Zelda Harris) alongside her 4 rowdy brothers with little help from her sensitive, struggling jazz-musician husband Woody (Delroy Lindo). Troy proves adept at holding her own while navigating adolescence amid the fertile chaos of one dynamic Brooklyn summer in 1973. Joie Lee conceived the high-spirited CROOKLYN screenplay as a lyrical celebration of her Brooklyn childhood and, together with her brothers, helped develop her story in honor of their mother who died when Joie was 14 years old. Featuring one of the best soundtracks of the 90s, co-starring music from the Stylistics, Sly and the Family Stone, the Staple Singers, Johnny Nash, Curtis Mayfield, Cymande, the Chambers Brothers, the J.B.'s, The Delfonics, the Jimi Hendrix Experience and so much more.—Mae Moreno

Plot Keywords: young girl, brother, teacher, father, mother, musician, emotional ...

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#15. The Yellow Handkerchief (2008)

Storyline: One lazy afternoon in a backwater Louisiana town, Martine takes a leap into an unfamiliar convertible. The driver, Gordy, an awkward young itinerant who eyed her in the diner earlier, isn't displeased to find this pretty sylph in his front seat. Soon they meet Brett, a laconic, humble man just released from prison. Martine isn't keen on going solo with Gordy, and now it's raining cats and dogs, so she invites Brett along, and the unlikely trio sets out, each person unsure of the destination. What ensues is a journey through the lush green byways of rural Louisiana and into the depths of these characters' souls.—Marisa_Gabriella

Plot Keywords: ex-convict, teen boy, teen girl, ex-wife, con artist, somber, emotional ...

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