Product Details

• Actors: Claude Register, Albert Bitterling, Howard Pettis, Roscoe Collins, Henry Shipes
• Directors: Errol Morris
• Format: NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Columbia/Tri-Star
• VHS Release Date: November 3, 1988
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302843812
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,407 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The ordinary denizens of a small Southern town become natural subjects for filmmaker Errol Morris in Vernon, Florida, a hypnotically bizarre character study. Based on the evidence of the film, this small humid town in the panhandle is home to a disproportionately high percentage of oddballs. (On the other hand, Morris's other work suggests that poking a camera anywhere uncovers a common vein of weirdness.) Some of the material comes across as sideways homespun wisdom: when a man gazes across a swamp and marvels at how much water is out there, he adds, "And that's just the top of it." Hard to argue with that. Then there's the jar of sand the contents of which, its owners swear, has been growing in volume over the years. And a hunter's descriptions of the near-orgasmic highs and lows of turkey hunting is a monologue that would have impressed Faulkner or Thomas Wolfe. It has always been an open question whether Morris's blank-eyed camera is encouraging the viewer to laugh at his subjects or simply presenting the world as it is. You'll laugh, and more likely be astonished. --Robert Horton

Product Description

Fire up the pickup and head down to this backwater town with "one of America's strangest and most brilliant documentary filmmakers" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)! Oscar(r)-winning*director Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) presents a pastiche of fascinating interviews with the weird and wonderful people of Vernon, Florida, in this "amusing portrait" (Variety) of oddball Americana! For the inhabitants of this Southern town, there's no place like home for the rest of us, there's no place like Vernon, Florida! From the passionate turkey-hunter to the peculiar pet collector, each member of this motley crew has a story to tell. And in the masterful hands of Morris, their obsessions and eccentricities reveal the heart and soul of an unabashedly unique slice of the American pie! *2003: Documentary Feature, Fog of War (with Michael Williams)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining slice of rural quirk-dom, September 30, 2005

By	P. Kufahl - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Vernon, Florida (DVD)

One disturbing aspect of American political and popular culture is a common prejudice against country people. As long as I've been here in the Milwaukee metro area, many of the locals seem to look down upon the folks living in the northwoods, especially the U.P. The most common postive reaction to "Vernon, Florida" in these reviews consist of laughing AT the people. One can understand the apparent local distaste for the movie.

"Vernon" is indeed funny. The couple with the growing sand, the keeper of the gopher tortise and the turkey hunter are especially hilarious. The turkey hunter is probably the most quoteable character in a movie that I've seen since Carl Childers. He is also the most interesting and likeable. Many, many people who watch this movie find hunting a repellent activity. The extended time given to the turkey hunter in "Vernon" gives the open-minded viewer a chance to at least appreciate how much this "sport" can mean to someone. Maybe he is obsessed to some unhealthy degree, but I tend to think that's just the way he his.

The characters portrayed here remind me of some of the legendary eccentrics in west Iron County, Mich. Like the characters in "Vernon," their quirks were generally accepted and among the locals they had their dignity. Some of the reviews here brag about taking trips down to Vernon to see if they can find people to laugh at. My suggestion to them is that it's unnecessary: there's enough daffiness to be found in their home state. Or the bathroom mirror.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ABSOLUTELY THE FUNNIEST DOCUMENTARY EVER MADE, January 18, 2001

By	Nick Morrison (Gig Harbor, Washington) - See all my reviews

I am saddened and appalled to see that this film is not currently available on video or DVD. I mean, Christopher Guest's 'mockumentaries' are funny, but this is THE REAL THING! It's just a bunch of people talking about their lives and their town, but it'll make you laugh until you think you might throw up. It's the acid test for choosing friends. If you show this to somebody and they don't think it's hilarious, don't waste any more time on them. Somebody, please, reissue this gem so I can continue to expand my social circle. Thanks.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It grows, it grows, May 9, 2001

By	Christa M. Forster (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

I've seen this film 35+ times: I know it by heart, and each time I see and hear it (for it's a aural pleasure as much as it's a visual one), I'm struck by Errol Morris' genius for creating three-dimensional poetry. Anyone interested in people, in the human condition, in language, in beauty, in the absurd needs to see this film. Writers, musicians, film directors and editors -- this is a MUST-SEE for ya'll. If artists are people who take the ordinary and transform it into the extradordinary, then Errol Morris is an artist in the first degree, and Vernon, Florida is the proof. The people he finds are demi-gods, just waiting for the opportunity to tell their stories. It is my sincere hope that this masterpiece become available again on VHS and DVD. Do it, Industry.