''Vernon, Florida'' is a 1981 American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

produced and directed by

Errol Morris Errol Mark Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of their subjects, and the invention of the Interrotron. In 2003, his '' The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Li ...

profiling various residents living within the town of Vernon, Florida. Originally titled ''Nub City'', this follow-up to '' Gates of Heaven'' initially focused on residents of the Southern town who cut off their own limbs as a way to collect insurance money. After Morris's life was threatened by the subjects of the film, he re-worked ''Nub City'' into ''Vernon, Florida''.

Background and "Nub City" controversy

After reading an article about the citizens of Vernon, Florida's propensity for collecting insurance money after losing limbs in accidents, Errol Morris, with financial help from filmmaker

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

, spent most of a year living in the town. During this time, he tried to interview the residents about these accidents and was met with hostility, even receiving a death threat. In 1980, following the release of his first film '' Gates of Heaven'', Morris secured funding from

WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as Thirteen (stylized as THIRTEEN), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the Educ ...

and

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

and returned to Vernon with the intention to make the "Nub City" documentary. After receiving further threats from the residents, including an incident in which someone tried to hit his cinematographer with a truck, Morris decided to move forward with the documentary without the "Nub City" angle, electing instead to produce a documentary about the eccentricities of the town.

Reception and legacy

The film was met with critical acclaim, earning 100% from

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

. A review in the January 16, 1982, issue of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said of Morris' approach to the film

"He lets it all go on a bit too long, but his film is humorous, idiosyncratic and fond. The fancifulness of his subjects is something he appears to appreciate and enjoy."

Various clips of the film would later be included as intro/outro segments for '' The Heart, She Holler''.

Home media

It was released on DVD by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

in 2005. It is available on

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...

alongside Morris' 1978 film '' Gates of Heaven''.

References

External links

* *
''Gates of Heaven and Vernon, Florida: Bullshitting a Bullshitter''
an essay by Eric Hynes at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Florida (Film) American documentary films Films directed by Errol Morris Films produced by Errol Morris Washington County, Florida Films set in Florida 1981 documentary films 1981 films Documentary films about Florida 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language documentary films