Rich Hall's The Dirty South

[@anselpixel]

I'm a southerner, and in my life I've never seen anyone deconstruct the region with greater intelligence than Rich Hall brings to the subject. This piece absolutely reeks of the truth.

[@stalfithrildi5366]

Would be interested in yours and Rich'a thoughts on Red Dead Redemption 2 as a portrayal of The South

[@ThunderWarrior01]

I’ve never set one foot on American soil to I’ve always felt a kinship with the south. Since a young age I’ve been fanatical about Burt Reynolds movies since an early age and own every single one including Operation C.I.A and W.W And The Dixie Dancekings. So along with Wrestling and NASCAR i had a real Southern upbringing and I didn’t even start on the music

[@quickjumpingfoxes]

If the Truth truly "reeks", you are on to something.

[@ericbest9562]

​@@ThunderWarrior01come on! You can stay with us for a couple weeks

[@louiseasmith1336]

It's harsh.

[@rogerhare7886]

Dang, wondered about Rich Hall’s journey in life. This doc blows me away on many levels, especially that this is BBC and not American because more of his countrymen need to see this. Hall is a multi-layered genius whose name belongs with the best.

[@pattymulligan2389]

I was born in NC. Family settled there 1752 on my mother's side; second generation Irish on my daddy's side. I went to Quail Hollow Jr. High & South Mecklenburg High with Rich Hall. I was shy, unpopular. He was funny, offbeat. He went north and hit the comedy scene. I m glad he made it. This is the only documentary I've seen. I'm watching em all now

[@Pragjag]

Excellent documentary. So much better than the current trend for comedians pretending to be dim while going on 'a journey' to discover their subject; Rich is smart, demands you keep up with him, and knows his stuff. Great not to be patronised for a change.

[@sirzodd]

+Pragjag i agree!

[@redman7744]

Well said sir

[@suicidalB9]

Yes!

[@forddriver8827]

Your not American are you.

[@dr.barrycohn5461]

Sounds good.

[@richardkearton9465]

I just love and admire this guy..His stand up is marvelous but his documentaries as written and presented are a work of genius..

[@mikejarrett3297]

BBC 4 is the only decent thing the bbc do now.

[@voulafisentzidis8830]

I agree. It's the only channel which makes one-off programmes. Nothing formulaic.

[@difernandez4899]

I am blown-away, speechless in my admiration of Mr.Hall's plain-spoken assessment of the South in literature and film. Bravo!

[@weblightstudio8215]

Cripe's Rich, You were the right man to tell this story. That was good!

[@nobunaga240]

Rich hall’s programmes should be required viewing for anyone interested in American history. He teaches cultural history brilliantly

[@robstone9745]

Compelling viewing, Rich Hall makes it so good..Should be more of this stuff

[@hensonlaura]

There's some bias, but comared to the culture Nazis of today, it's negligible.

[@letzigstudio]

Exceptional work with insightful perspectives. I'm truly grateful for having watched Mr. Hall's presentation.

[@theriverhudson4005]

I'm from central Kentucky and I'd have to say that Rich has hit the nail on the head. Brilliant program. Thanks for the upload.

[@sarawidmer6632]

This is coming from another Kentuckian. I agree the south has been stained for too long. Yeah, we get it. We were dicks for a time. Message to the world. Our bad, sorry, can we move on now?

[@randall.3189]

@@sarawidmer6632 Being an Aussie I believed what I saw on TV,till my uncle visited America for a few months. He said the south was the best place he visited. Great food, great towns and some of the nicest people he met while over there. He also said the Bronx,and Brooklyn were awesome, Manhattan sucked and LA was full of the most fake ,we're better than every body else freaks his ever seen.

[@amarketing8749]

@@sarawidmer6632 Germany has been asking the world the same question. The answer is NO. You earn a new/better reputation. If you just ask people to forget, then you get the people who tried to overthrow the government on January 6th. There were so many Dixie flags it was disgusting!! The south has spread its treasonous cancer and the true Americans that still believe in democracy will NEVER let you forget the damage that has been done.

[@markgregory3213]

I had forgotten Mr. Hall's intellect and impeccable delivery. Well done Sir!

[@davidedge6512]

Such a brilliant series of documentaries. They are the absolutely the best of the best. I’ve watched two so far, and I’m hungry to watch ALL of them, again and again. ‘Nuff said? Watch and enjoy.

[@helenamcginty4920]

I havent seen Rich Hall in a while. What a treat.

[@mchmch6185]

Can't say that I'm a huge fan of Rich as a stand-up, but as a maker of really interesting, witty documentaries, he's second to none.

[@peterschief9778]

The combination of deep insight with humor is spectacular

[@merledoughty5787]

Love Rich Hall dry humour and well up there when it comes to these type of docos he presents so well thanks Rich

[@pauladouglas9891]

Brilliant, creative, well researched, can't wait for more from Rich

[@TroyTempest63]

Thanks for posting this. One of Rich Hall's best & funniest films for the BBC.

[@heatherfulmore3412]

Thanks

[@TheWesternunionman]

Rich Hall a global treasure Thank you so much Rich

[@JTA1961]

Athefumen ✅

[@donphilp7511]

This is one of the best things I've ever seen on KZbin. And the presenter is pitch perfect.

[@steveadams1850]

I don't agree with every point you made, but what a great documentary. That was truly great. Two thumbs up.

[@malcomlovejoy]

Thank God Rich Hall lives!

[@jamesweaver4381]

As a southerner myself I've always enjoyed Rich Hall's observations.

[@ThaFacka]

is it just me, or is this guy the utmost ideal narrator for this topic?

[@phoneboxchicken4108]

He is good. He has done more like this about California, Texas native Americans on TV and movies.............They're all good, and should be on the BBC website.

[@ThaFacka]

Tom Heywood saw the california documentary, hilarious. insights with wits. wondering if he's close to a true american regarding humor.

[@phoneboxchicken4108]

He is American, but is probably better known here in Britain. From Tennessee or somewhere like that originally.

[@demianhaki7598]

Have seen all his documentaries and they often seem like the most insightful but balanced depictions of US regional culture

[@mottahead6464]

Can't agree with you more. I think he brings with him a kind of credibility to it that would be hard to find had this video another narrator.

[@danaschoen432]

Can't believe I'm only now finding these. This guy reaches into my soul!

[@TokyoStreetReport]

I remember Rich Hall from TV in the '80s, but had no idea he had a career in the UK, and made documentaries for BBC. They are all superb, and add evidence to the claim that the best documentaries about America were made by the BBC.

[@sint0xicateme]

Kevin Mcgue Ken Burns, PBS American Experience and PBS American Masters are evidence for the contrary.

[@SennettCJ]

@MACABRE L.A. xx

[@cowboy104]

brits should look inward , before throwing rocks ...brits were in control when slavery began

[@triciakelly5333]

Absolutely brilliant. Insightful, honest, lyrical, and visceral.

[@lordsgirl1123]

Hands down, the BEST video I’ve ever seen on You Tube. Amazing truth and production!

[@christopherjameslee3341]

I just love Rich Hall's narration.

[@JTA1961]

Athefumen ✅

[@hallohallo1332]

Thoroughly enjoyed the whole video. Now I want to go back and watch all those films that were mentioned and watch them all again - it's like leaving a party with a party bag!

[@jeanneratterman]

Funny, thoughtful, sad, harsh, pointed, and overall insightful. Rich Hall is the only one who could tell this story, IMO, with humor, honesty and respect. 😢

[@jamespardue3055]

Really great expose'/documentary/defense/ Objective Reality lesson, I'm from Mississippi, but luckily ended up in SoCal at the beach when I was 9, in '67. I would point out to Rich that Hollywood, Historians and Media in general treat all regions that way. Mythology is so much more palatable than reality.

[@beth12svist]

Guessing by the number of documentaries in this style that he's made, I think he's well aware of that.

[@StanLaundon]

An excellent documentary and it brought back so many memories for me personally. I'm from the UK but have visited many of the places Rich mentions. I even met Jerry Reed and he gave me a belt buckle from the movie "Gator" he made with Burt Reynolds. Happy memories!

[@wmtarr886]

I still find it astonishing that this is a BBC production rather than someone in the USA making it

[@alzychoze6591]

The BBC does the best

[@michaelcap9550]

BBC still bitter about that spat we had in the 1770's.

[@janmeyer3129]

No - you need some distance

[@pauladouglas9891]

He is married to an Englishwoman and lives in London.

[@pauladouglas9891]

Rich has crazy eyes

[@eldorajohnson1150]

I am from the deep south,Louisiana, and I really enjoyed this analysis of "The South"'

[@matzeklingner3902]

QI brought me here. Cheers, Rick Hall. What a good movie!

[@goittoog7563]

Hilarious from the very start and needless to say spot on accurate as well.

[@annahazlett19]

Excellent programme, it was very interesting and I learnt alot

[@lauriefrancisco1084]

Very interesting. I’ve never seen this side of Rich Hall! Written by? Holy crap!

[@j-me6317]

Thank you for uploading this, it is the best show I have seen in a long time. I grew up and still live in the southern U.S. and, for me, this show rings true. I don't know if they have shown this in America, but they really need to.

[@phoneboxchicken4108]

Check out BBC America. Rich Hall's shows like this are shown on BBC in Britain, so it might be there. He has done several similar shows like this.

[@mottahead6464]

There are great places in the South where Southern Hospitality is portrayed to its max and , at the same time, there's uninviting places where people are ignorant and want to punch foreigners in the face. The wrong thing is to claim that this is a Southern thing - it happens anywhere on the planet. Tell me that it doesn't happen in the Northern states of the US of A (and expect me to laugh 'cause it'd be clearly a joke). Poorer places tend to be hostile to foreigners. Some studies show that the poorer the place, the more prejudice and hostility towards minorities and foreigners one is expected to find. Heaven and Hell can be found in America (anywhere in America: North, South, East, West and Center).

[@j-me6317]

Mottahead Completely agree. Why this is lost on so many Americans is beyond me.

[@AmandaFromWisconsin]

*Mottahead* - I also find that the more educated a person is, the more they tend to shit on the working class and behave condescendingly towards them, and those educated people tend to lean to the left politically. I have a university degree and don't consider myself conservative by any means, but I certainly notice this behavioral pattern among learned elites.

[@jelkel25]

I like that Rich can be observationally (accurately) satirical about most countries he's spent time in. Many comedians can manage this in their own country and maybe a little bit about the countries next door then they rely on stereotyping or generalisations any further afield of how that country is portrayed by their media. A clever guy.

[@khillsy4489]

Had to watch it in two parts, wow. Now that is a film.👏👏👏 Well done sir.

[@daviddrew7852]

An interesting and amusing documentary. I just learned a lot about the North vis-à-vis South thing in America. Thanks.

[@robertfrench8345]

Superb. Rich is brilliant

[@CONNELL19511216]

Brilliantly done!

[@angelagoodwin5758]

I can't recommend INTRUDER IN THE DUST enough. Excellent film.

[@alzychoze6591]

Well done Mr. Hall. Made me consider more that I've never really thought about. Thank You.

[@artteacher71]

One correction- Mark Twain didn't come from Connecticut, he came from Missouri and only moved to Connecticut later in life.

[@margaretwalsh8361]

Thank you! He was a Southerner!

[@HarpurheyPaul]

So much more than I expected. Wonderful.

[@Ammo08]

I grew up in Memphis a long time ago, and I approve this video. I recommend the book, "Southern Ladies And Gentlemen" by Florence King....an excellent book.

[@YouDontKnowMeYet]

Thanks for the movie reference, I enjoyed it and it made me understand the times a little.

[@Pihasanddunes1]

'Quite often they will be Sally Field.' i laughed at that one, cursed the busted air con and kicked open a winder.

[@jerrykitich3318]

Great program. Are you sure about 'The Heart is a Lonely Hunter'? I remember it quite differently. I always get a kick out of my fellow Serb Karl Malden playing in movies about the South . His father emigrated from former-Yugoslavia as a teen and that means Southslavs in our language. They were the Slavs (Poles, Czechs etc that went furthest south in the great migrstion from near the Ural mountains. My family in Bosnia were also corn growers. We mostly used plums to make alcohol though. Everybody's gramdmother or mother were expert at it

[@fcruz43215]

This was outstanding!!!

[@davidprice7162]

I've lived in Australia, Scotland, Oregan, Texas and Louisiana. I've never met nicer people than southerners.

[@lynnfisher3037]

Ask a black person that question. Does Jesus telling the scribes and pharisees that they were hippocrits and whitewashed tombs mean anything to you?

[@davidprice7162]

@lynnfisher3037 No, the bible means nothing to me. And, statistically, a black person is like more than 20 times more likely to assault, mug, rob or murder a white person than the other way around.

[@petebondurant58]

@lynnfisher3037 Black people are Southern too. Haven’t you ever been to Atlanta?

[@cclark7364]

Excellent documentary. Thank you for making it.

[@jimpemberton]

Great documentary through the lens of a humorist. This is as balanced as it gets an exposition of the South seen through the entertainment of the West. However, it only scratches the surface. I was born in Ohio and moved with my parents to North Carolina in 1978 at the age of 11, not far from where Rich Hall grew up. I've been a student of my southern home since then. Hollywood doesn't portray the South very well, but it gets a lot of stereotypes wrong as if a stereotype does anyone justice anyway. My first person exposure to African Americans was when we moved South. My only preparation had been television, primarily Good Times and Fat Albert. Even then, I knew that probably wasn't representative of what I would encounter in the South. My family had some financial hardship when we first moved and for a time I had holes in the patches of my highwaters. That's enough to earn derision from just about anyone. A few of the white kids were pretty well-off and they made fun of me, but most of the white kids were okay. It was the black kids who treated me the best at that time and I even had a girlfriend who happened to be African-American then. The South - white, black, and indifferent - has been good to me.

[@JTA1961]

Thanks for sharing 👍

[@davidhewson8605]

Rich , your programes are ace !. Bet you make moonshine and wear that hat to bed 😂😂. Thanks. Dave

[@stuartmiller7419]

Thank you for sharing. This is good stuff.

[@raggletaggle8827]

Poor Carl Perkins, Rich Hall that was uncalled for :') He was a great early rock artist who wrote Blue Swede Shoes and recorded it before Elvis.

[@ZuluRomeo]

Or maybe he suggested Carl Perkins is the Messiah. 😜

[@mattlc713]

@@ZuluRomeo that's how I assumed he meant it

[@johncarroll772]

Carl Perkins tried to kill David Bowie in a movie.

[@elysium619]

Very well done! Bravo!

[@rodclark5831]

Rich, thank You kindly for all the learnin's. Thoughtful knowledge you share skillfully.

[@Hemulen40]

Hilarious Hall . And awesomely astute .

[@kpadmirer]

One of the best things that I've seen in a looong time!

[@loneprimate]

"He's got a little sugar in his socks." I could not stop laughing.

[@karenriches54]

I needed this right now. Rich tells it like it is. "Bit of a Velvet Turtle." I love it!

[@elinstar6034]

With sugar in his socks...😅

[@iluvkeroppi79]

Amazing breakdown of the various creative avenues that seek to define attributes of the South.

[@orlock5510]

Fantastic, dignified, portrayal.

[@chriscross3962]

Rich's analysis of Joaquin Phoenix & Jamie Foxx portraying Johnny Cash & Ray Charles is right on the money. If you can't find the music without Hollywood's romanticized help - fuck you. The photo on the wall in Sun records is known as "The Million Dollar Quartet" And the line about Scarlet O'Hara going "from carriage to miscarriage wearing a pair of curtains" is the best description of Gone with the Wind you will ever hear. Brilliant.

[@charleediaven6278]

I have not seen the biopics of Charles or Cash, however Scarlet is fucking funny. I am an old rocker and blues dude, living in Mexico now, an expat. I am here for the climate and the sea. Life is good here. We tolerate all.

[@JTA1961]

Athefumen ✅

[@andrewcarson5850]

@@charleediaven6278 Avoid the Cash one. Very bad, mainly because Phoenix is a long way short of 6'5". Not an ounce of the presence Cash had.

[@jeanneratterman]

Mom took us to see GWTW when I was a young teen. It came back to the local art theater. She was enthralled. I was less so. What a dumb movie, full of shallow, 2 dimensional characters, and lots of stereotypes. Maybe, if I was a young woman when it came out, in color no less - which was fabulous!, it might have held some sway because maybe…maybe…I’d have been a product of those times. But in the 1960’s, just nah! I am 70 now and still changing. Life is boring and stagnant if we get stuck in limited, little, local lies, I mean, lives. 😉👍

[@andersdottir1111]

And certainly not suitable viewing for an 8 year old - primary school teachers are dim.

[@byronelenica8329]

What a great narrator... speaks to you like an adult.

[@JTA1961]

Athefumen ✅ ✅ ✅

[@wrmlm37]

Watching "Gone with the Wind" was an Event in our house when I was a kid. I adored that film and the grandeur it displayed. So foreign and exotic to me.

[@deirdre108]

No “grandeur”-just the death of a POS culture.

[@damienflinter4585]

Now THAT is the way to teach history.

[@MrXerxes415]

A work of genius definitely

[@infidel202]

Articulate and funny as f-ck, I'm just getting over a heart attack thank you Rich I'm crying laughin👍👍👍

[@maccoll3644]

Outstanding quality documentary!

[@melherron1]

Oh Rich! Why aren't you writing US History books! You are priceless and such a wonderful narrator. I love the grounded way you provide historical accuracy. I also love the way you comment on the contributions people of color have brought to this country.

[@matthanks1480]

"...Peter Fonda looks around and realises he's misplaced his entire career..." Flawless and Brutal, Rich.

[@theman2017inc]

EASY RIDER??? DAMN!!!

[@lewstone5430]

theman2017inc and what else?

[@jamescooper944]

This gets downright intense.❤️❤️❤️

[@danieldoherty8101]

Another peerless documentary from America's foremost raconteur, more please Mr Hall.

[@blaksu]

This is insightful and all true for the most part, it's refreshing to see someone so pointedly outspoken against Hollywood and the stereotyping of the South etc. I have a small bit of disagreement with Easy Rider however: Fonda and Hopper's characters becoming martyrs isn't my reading at all; just before the scene we get Fonda's cryptic remarks around a campfire that they've failed, that somehow what they've done or were hoping to see isn't good after all. These are not angels killed by the ignorant, but people who've gone wrong somewhere along the line themselves.

[@Heygoodlooking-lk9kg]

Love Rich Hall's doccys, he tells it like it is and apologies to no one

[@tomperry6898]

Excellent and Thank You for Sharing

[@fullwaverecked]

Rich nails it down! Pop goes the sheeple, and shop goes the people... Rich!!!

[@robertjones-eb4xo]

Brilliant , well told and funny .

[@upperleftcoastchelseafan7718]

Rich Hall is freakin' awesome! Thought he was great on his one season on SNL in the mid 80's (when SNL almost died and was just making a comeback). Preach it Rich, keep telling the truth! My kind of edgy honesty and funny as hell.

[@videobizify]

Correction, Rich Hall: though he died living there, Mark Twain did NOT go down from Connecticut and write about the South as a northerner outsider; he grew up on the Mississippi River and was from Hannibal MO, his childhood home and the setting for the books Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn which made him world famous. The reason he eventually left the South was the devastating loss of his brother, a young riverboat pilot. Your remarks would make Sam Clemens roll over in this grave! and hurl an insult your way!

[@JohnAStone-pm7qv]

Thank you! I can't believe Rich Hall and BBC's researchers got that sooooo wrong.

[@katiewood138]

No, they did not get it wrong. Missouri is NOT the south

[@robertsettle2590]

Katie Wood like HELL it's not!!!

[@aclark903]

@@robertsettle2590 MO is geographically in the Mid West but culturally it does have Southern roots.

[@ianworley8169]

So, Rich Hall and the BBC researchers got it geographically correct, but CULTURALLY wrong! Hilarious in your confusing indignation.

[@zthetha]

Facially, Rich always reminds me of the old English comedian, David Jason. Both have those rubbery, overly endowed features that sag and wrinkle so interestingly with age. And both are very funny people. However, Rich has more strings to his bow and presents these Americana programs with an exquisite mix of fact, down home philosophy and blunt scalpel humour that is irresistable.

[@craigharris2731]

willie otoole Rich Hall is Moe. Literally. Old friends with Groening.

[@--Skip--]

Rich, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was born in Hannibal, Missouri, and was a southerner. He moved to Connecticut after he married.

[@tomfitzsimmons6535]

He was born in Florida, MO. A little shitberg he mocked accordingly. The family up and moved to Hannibal when he was very young. I think he said that when he was born it increased the population by a full ten percent.

[@mike112769]

An amazingly good film.

[@zabdas83]

If only all Historian's could teach these histories, as good as Rich Hall... Superb! Always watchable...

[@danielbillington7993]

Really interesting and sharply observed doc. Forced me to reappraise some of my own prejudices.

[@haroldgardner4485]

Daniel Billington h

[@Cantbuyathrill]

That is a great combination of Film Noir and Rich Hall

[@DarkShroom]

okay possibly my fave rich hall doc, wow so insightful about the south, a tonne of films i need to watch makes me realise that places like the south, it's where these ugly realities and differences confront one another, and how important the south is therefore in the evolution of our morality

[@MarthaJones-v5p]

Amazing how he looks the part. Fascinating. High school & college Lit students must see this!

[@nicatnight70]

The fact that they followed up this fine documentary with "God´s Little Acre". I have no words.

[@hoilst265]

"...the plots of most Burt Reynolds films can be converted to pinball machines..."

[@mikeowens4812]

rich hall, our best emissary to the uk

[@USMarineRifleman0311]

mike owens Why? because's critical of his nation? Because the British love nothing more than a self hating American.

[@MrZazzles94]

Exactly, it's ike when Doug Stanhope mocks us for having signs in pubs asking patrons not to beat up paramedics. We love nothing more than taking the piss out of people who take themselves or their country far too seriously, both English and American.

[@rutter1ify]

@@USMarineRifleman0311 us Brits take the piss out of our selves 🤣😂

[@dereksuddreth8672]

Grew up 12 mil,es from Charlotte NC, in a town called Gastonia. Our county was dry on Sunday, and there was only over the counter sales of alcohol six day a week (Charlotte had bars - alcohol by the drink). Went to a white elementary school, then busing of children happened in Gaston County. An amazing time to witness, the mixing of cultures (like it or not). For the first time I had black friends, even though the neighborhoods (Masonic Temple and the Gaston Country Club) were still segregated. Some of my family and old friends still live there, but downtown Gastonia is now pretty much dead. There are bars in G-Town now. I moved to upstate SC 29 years ago.

[@vinnyvincent2862]

Truly Amazing ! 👏

[@nmg70nmg]

WOW!!! Pure brilliance, great writing, editing, research, and just plain fun!!! Well done!!!

[@danielgardner394]

Reputations are earned.