Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writer (WGA):

Lewis Colick (written by)

Release Date:

20 December 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

In 1963 civil rights leader Medgar Evers was murdered in his own driveway. For 30 years his assassin has remained free. Is it ever too late to do the right thing?

Plot:

The widow of murdered civil rights leader Medger Evers and a district attorney struggle to finally bring the murderer to justice.

Plot Keywords:

Trial | Civil Rights | Widow | Assassin | Activist

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Alec Baldwin	...	Bobby DeLaughter
James Woods	...	Byron De La Beckwith
Virginia Madsen	...	Dixie DeLaughter
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Myrlie Evers
Susanna Thompson	...	Peggy Lloyd
Craig T. Nelson	...	Ed Peters
Lucas Black	...	Burt DeLaughter
Joseph Tello	...	Drew DeLaughter
Alexa Vega	...	Claire DeLaughter
William H. Macy	...	Charlie Crisco
Ben Bennett	...	Benny Bennett (as Lloyd 'Benny' Bennett)
Darrell Evers	...	Himself
Yolanda King	...	Reena Evers
Jerry Levine	...	Jerry Mitchell
James Van Evers	...	Van Evers

Also Known As:

Ghosts from the Past (UK)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34924) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Canada:14A | Germany:12 (w) | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Greenwood, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

The prosthetics used in James Woods's make-up were gelatin-based appliances, the first time this material was used in old-age make-up.

Goofs:

Continuity: Although the film begins in 1989 and ends in 1994, the same child actors portraying Bobby DeLaughter's children are used from the beginning of the movie until the end, showing no signs of aging.

Quotes:

Bobby: Grandpa Russell had guns all over his house and we don't have any guns.
Drew: I have a gun.
Bobby: Well, yours is a nuclear powered lasergun. I'm talking about handguns and rifles.

Movie Connections:

Features Presumed Innocent (1990)

Soundtrack:

The Thrill Is Gone

Based on a true story.

THIS FILM IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY. Not only was the real Myrlie Evers consulted while making the film, two of her and Medgar's sons were actually in the film, playing themselves. Benny Bennett also played himself.

It was based on a actual (although little known) event in American history, and shows how there are still conflicts over civil rights today. We also learn that there are still some people in the Southern U.S. that are opposed to laws that have been in place for over 35 years.

So while watching this you shouldn't think "the story is cliche" or "the acting was good, but predictable," you should be thinking that this actually happened, and reflecting on how far we've come as a society, and how far we still need to go.