Highest-Rated Movies about 'Deep South'

Cool Hand Luke (1967), In the Heat of the Night (1967), Mississippi Burning (1988), Down by Law (1986), The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till (2004), Jezebel (1938), Boy Erased (2018), Just Cause (1995) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Deep South movies.

#1. Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Storyline: Luke Jackson is a cool, gutsy prisoner in a Southern chain gang, who, while refusing to buckle under to authority, keeps escaping and being recaptured. The prisoners admire Luke because, as Dragline explains it, "You're an original, that's what you are!" Nevertheless, the camp staff actively works to crush Luke until he finally breaks.

Plot Keywords: prison, fugitive, bet, egg, loss of mother, chain gang, death ...

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#2. In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Storyline: Detective Virgil Tibbs is caught up in the racial tension of the US South when he is arrested after the murder of a prominent businessman. Tibbs was simply waiting for his next train at the station in Sparta, Mississippi and the confusion is soon resolved but when local police chief Gillespie learns that Tibbs is the Philadelphia PD's number one homicide expert, he reluctantly asks for his assistance. The murdered man, Mr. Colbert, had come to Sparta from the North to build a new factory and his wife and business associates immediately point the finger at Endicott, the most powerful man in the county and the one who had the most to lose if a major new employer comes to the area. Tibbs' life is clearly in danger but he perseveres in a highly charged and racially explosive environment until the killer is found.

Plot Keywords: african american, racial tension, small town, southern u.s., abortion, racism, prejudice ...

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#3. Mississippi Burning (1988)

Storyline: Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in FBI school runs up against the small town ways of his former Sheriff partner.

Plot Keywords: 1960s, based on true story, southern u.s., deep south, ku klux klan, small town, investigation ...

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#4. Down by Law (1986)

Storyline: DJ Zack and pimp Jack end up in prison for being too laid-back to avoid being framed for crimes they didn't commit. They end up sharing a cell with eccentric Italian optimist Roberto, whose limited command of the English language is both entertaining and infuriating. More useful to them is the fact that Roberto knows an escape route.

Plot Keywords: prison, independent film, female full frontal nudity, language barrier, female nudity, boredom, wrongful conviction ...

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#5. The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till (2004)

Storyline: This documentary presents a sobering reminder of the racial tensions that gripped America not so long ago. In Mississippi during the '50s, a black teenager named Emmett Louis Till, who is from Chicago and visiting his great-uncle, whistles at a white woman in public. Not too long afterward, he is kidnapped and murdered. The filmmakers revisit the public outrage that follows, revealing Till's family as being particularly brave for standing up to white racism when it was clearly unsafe to do so.

Plot Keywords: teenage boy, mississippi, murder, racism, 1950s, acquittal, civil rights ...

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#6. Jezebel (1938)

Storyline: In one of her most renowned roles, Bette Davis portrays Julie Marsden, a spoiled Southern belle who risks losing her suitor with her impetuous behavior. Engaged to successful banker Preston Dillard, Julie pushes him away with her arrogant and contrary ways, leading to a scandalous scene at a major social event and his subsequent departure. When Preston eventually returns and Julie attempts to win him back, she discovers that it may be too late.

Plot Keywords: based on play, southern belle, american civil war, 19th century, selfishness, love, civil war ...

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#8. Just Cause (1995)

Storyline: Bobby Earl (Blair Underwood) is facing the electric chair for the murder of a young girl. Eight years after the crime, he calls in Paul Armstrong (Sir Sean Connery), a professor of law, to help prove his innocence. Armstrong quickly uncovers some overlooked evidence to present to the local police, but they aren't interested, Bobby was their killer.

Plot Keywords: child gagged, based on novel, neo noir, child murder, psychopath, forced confession, serial killer ...

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#9. Brother John (1971)

Storyline: John Kane (Sidney Poitier) always seems to know when there will be a death in his family, despite not being in touch with them, and returns to his hometown. He has come home again, to be at his sister's deathbed and funeral. There is a strike in the town, and the police think he is a labor agitator. His well-used passport and unusual book collection only fuel their suspicions. But the town's doctor has always noticed that John is different, and thinks he has a larger purpose in life.

Plot Keywords: angel, african american, bigotry, christ figure, deep south, labor strike, prejudice ...

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#10. Hard Target (1993)

Storyline: Natasha Binder comes to New Orleans looking for her father, who has gone missing. In doing so, she meets a very hard man called Chance. He helps her find out that her father was killed by an organisation who sell the opportunity to hunt human prey. They are taking advantage of a police strike in New Orleans. Will the Muscles from Brussels win through?

Plot Keywords: hand to hand combat, crossbow, deep south, exploding body, loss of father, man punches a woman, playing piano ...

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#11. The Ladykillers (2004)

Storyline: A remake of the 1955 comedy, the story revolves around a Southern professor who puts together a group of thieves to rob a casino. They rent a room in an old woman's house, but soon she discovers the plot and they must kill her, a task that is more difficult than it seems.

Plot Keywords: island, concussion, bribe, attempted robbery, explosion, c4 explosives, dog ...

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#12. The Sound and the Fury (1959)

Storyline: Loosely based on the William Faulkner novel, this movie follows the lives and passions of the Compsons: a once-proud Southern family now just barely scraping by both financially and emotionally. Howard passes the time in a bottle; his brother Bengy is child in a man's body; sister Caddy has come crawling home after years of being kept by a string of "admirers." Only Jason, the cruel, cold-hearted adopted head of the family, and Quentin, who was abandoned at birth by Caddy, have the fire and the fury needed to put the family back on its feet again.—A.L.Beneteau <albl@inforamp.net>

Plot Keywords: mississippi, southern u.s., based on novel, mental illness, deep south, emotional abuse, dysfunctional family ...

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#13. In the Electric Mist (2009)

Storyline: Lt. Dave Robicheaux, a detective in New Iberia, Louisiana, is trying to link the murder of a local hooker to New Orleans mobster Julie (Baby Feet) Balboni, who is co-producer of a Civil War film. At the same time, after Elrod Sykes, the star of the film, reports finding another corpse in the Atchafalaya Swamp near the movie set, Robicheaux starts another investigation, believing the corpse to be the remains of a black man who he saw being murdered 35 years before.

Plot Keywords: louisiana, murder, hallucination, ghost, based on novel, bayou, movie star ...

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#14. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)

Storyline: Siddalee Walker (Sandra Bullock), a famous New York City playwright, is quoted in Time Magazine and infuriates her dramatic, Southern mother. A long-distant fight wages until her mother's friends (and members of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) kidnap Siddalee and take her "home" to the South, where they hope to explain her mother's history and to patch up the rift between mother and daughter.

Plot Keywords: childhood memory, reconciliation, friendship between women, mother daughter relationship, female bonding, deep south, confession ...

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#15. Zenobia (1939)

Storyline: A southern country doctor is called on by a visiting circus man to cure his sick elephant. After the doctor heals the grateful beast, the elephant becomes so attached to him that it starts to follow him everywhere.—Daniel Bubbeo <dbubbeo@cmp.com>

Plot Keywords: elephant, u.s. constitution, small town, slapstick comedy, mother son relationship, father daughter relationship, singer ...

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