Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Movies

Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores

Wide Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Limited Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

58 (Untitled)
96 35 Shots of Rum
56 Adam
39 Adventures of Power
66 Afterschool
73 Amreeka
49 Antichrist
76 Baader Meinhof Complex, The
86 Beaches of Agnes, The
71 Big Fan
65 Black Dynamite
76 Bliss
26 Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
44 Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81 Bright Star
76 Broken Embraces
70 Bronson
62 Cloud 9
65 Coco Before Chanel
69 Cold Souls
60 Collapse
82 Cove, The
75 Crude
82 Damned United, The
53 Dare
50 Defamation
67 Departures
70 Earth Days
85 Education, An
55 Endgame
88 Fantastic Mr. Fox
31 Fix
49 Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80 Food, Inc.
xx From Mexico with Love
28 Gentlemen Broncos
72 Good Hair
89 Goodbye Solo
63 Horse Boy, The
74 House of the Devil, The
xx How to Seduce Difficult Women
26 I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
70 It Might Get Loud
46 Killing Kasztner
43 Little Traitor, The
34 Looking for Palladin
80 Lorna's Silence
46 Love Hurts
84 Maid, The
45 Mammoth
75 Messenger, The
55 Missing Person, The
59 More Than a Game
34 Motherhood
62 My One and Only
48 New York, I Love You
66 No Impact Man
26 Oh My God
68 Paranormal Activity
68 Paris
79 Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
73 Red Cliff
69 September Issue, The
79 Serious Man, A
65 Skin
41 Splinterheads
42 Staten Island
50 Stoning of Soraya M., The
58 Storm
82 Sun, The
49 Ten9Eight: Shoot for the Moon
73 That Evening Sun
61 Trucker
49 Turning Green
83 U2 3D
45 Uncertainty
67 Visual Acoustics
32 War on Kids
67 Way We Get By, The
65 Wedding Song, The
xx White on Rice
59 William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
74 Woman in Berlin, A
43 Women in Trouble
69 Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Real Dirt on Farmer John, The

EMAILPRINTSlow Hand Releasing

Real Dirt on Farmer John, The reviews
78
9.3 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 11 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >

Movie Info

Genre(s): Documentary

Written by:

Directed by: Taggart Siegel

Release Date:
Theatrical: January 20, 2006

Running Time: 82 minutes, Color / B/W

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

The epic tale of a maverick Midwestern farmer. An outcast in his community, Farmer John transforms his world amidst a failing economy,vicious rumors, and violence. By melding the traditions of family farming with the power of art and free expression,this quintessentially American story heralds a resurrection of farming in America. (Slow Hand Releasing)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

We've seen documentaries with more daring themes, greater drama, sharper craft and timelier subject matter. But few have been as affecting as The Real Dirt on Farmer John.

Read Full Review >
88

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

This is a loving, moving, inspiring, quirky documentary that was made while the lives it records were being lived.

Read Full Review >
80

Village Voice Julia Wallace

At times, the film plays like an extended infomercial for John's new company, Angelic Organics, but the agrarian fantasy is so compelling here that the revitalization of the American family farm begins to seem not just possible, but probable.

Read Full Review >
80

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

Offers one man's extraordinary life as a gateway to a larger history of tragedy and transition. It's an unflinching account of what farming takes -- and, more important, what it gives back.

Read Full Review >
80

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

It’s fascinating that this portrait of the rise, fall and rise of Midwestern organic farmer John Peterson can be read in so many different ways, only some of which appear intentionally in Taggart Siegel’s sympathetic documentary about his friend and fellow artist.

Read Full Review >
80

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

Though its title suggests an exposé on Dodger Dogs, the movie is the moving, inspirational account of John Peterson's discovery of an almost divine calling in the land beneath his feet.

Read Full Review >
75

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Despite the movie's intimate nature, Siegel deftly broadens his view to observe the culture and conditions of contemporary American farming. Don't be surprised if, by the finish, you wind up fantasizing about your own rural homestead.

Read Full Review >
75

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

In many ways, it's a painful story, but it's also full of curious triumphs and outlandish redemptions.

Read Full Review >
75

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

A loose, amiable documentary tracking several decades in the life of this most unusual farmer.

Read Full Review >
70

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

A beguiling combination of agrarian ode and “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,” deepened by Peterson's square sincerity as he struggles to find himself in relation to his family's land.

Read Full Review >
70

Variety Scott Foundas

Examines 50-odd years in the life of its eponymous subject -- a most compelling character -- and in doing so literally provides the viewer with food for thought.

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Steve L. gave it a10:
The film reflects the struggles of American family farmers over the last fifty years and, more importantly, the universal Hero’s Journey through life, death and rebirth.

Sandy gave it an8:
An extremely interesting documentary. Well done,well paced And if you enjoy documentaries,see this!!

Popular on CBS sites: SEC Football | NFL | Video Game Cheats | iPhone | Video Game Reviews | Notebooks | Antivirus Software

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy (UPDATED) | Terms of Use