Mississippi Burning (1988)

Two F.B.I. Agents, with wildly different styles, arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.

Director:

Alan Parker

Writer:

Chris Gerolmo

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand

Won 1 Oscar. Another 16 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Hackman	...	Anderson
Willem Dafoe	...	Ward
Frances McDormand	...	Mrs. Pell
Brad Dourif	...	Deputy Pell
R. Lee Ermey	...	Mayor Tilman
Gailard Sartain	...	Sheriff Stuckey
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Townley
Michael Rooker	...	Frank Bailey
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Lester Cowens
Badja Djola	...	Agent Monk
Kevin Dunn	...	Agent Bird
Frankie Faison	...	Eulogist
Thomas B. Mason	...	Judge (as Tom Mason)
Geoffrey Nauffts	...	Goatee
Rick Zieff	...	Passenger

Storyline

Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in FBI school runs up against the small town ways of his former Sheriff partner.

---

Plot Keywords:

police | small town | 1960s | civil rights | mississippi | 

---

Taglines:

1964. When America was at war with itself.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | History | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Three Lives for Mississippi

Filming Locations:

19 Alabama Avenue E, La Fayette, Alabama, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$225,034, 11 December 1988, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$34,603,943, 31 December 1989

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (DeLuxe) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The BBC's former film critic, Barry Norman, described the opening of the film as "pure cinema, something no other medium could do so effectively" in a review for Radio Times.

---

Goofs

When Anderson throws Pell into the chairs at the barbershop, the stuntman has a different hairstyle (balding, with a comb-over) than Pell.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Driver: Uh, oh.
Passenger: What is it?
Passenger: [seeing the car behind them] What do they want?
Driver: I don't know... just pass me... pass me...
Driver: [trying to identify the following car] Is it a cop?
Passenger: I can't see.
[they are hit from behind]
Driver: What the fuck are these jokers playin' at?
Rear passenger: Oh, they ain't playin', you better believe it.
[...]

---

Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Best Films of 1988 (1988)

---

Soundtracks

When We All Get to Heaven
Words by Eliza E. Hewitt
Music by Emily D. Wilson
Performed by Lannie Spann McBride, Barbara Gibson, Alisa R. Patrick

User Reviews

1964 - The year America was at war with itself!

1964 - The year America was at war with itself! Thats a pretty good tag-line. The promotion for this film seemed to pitch it as a thriller or a buddy movie. It is neither. This is a very mature investigation of a racist Mississippi town where the brutal murder of three civil rights activists took place in 1964. The film is inspired by real-life events.

Dafoe and Hackman play the two FBI agents sent to investigate. Their differing styles of pursuing the case and Dafoe's belated admiration for Hackman's "method's" is an interesting layer of flesh added to the structure of the film.

You will see some really nasty racist characters played by familiar faces like Brad Dourif, Lee Ermey and an especially violent Michael Rooker. All are excellent. Frances McDormand really steals the movie as the wife of racist Dourif.

This film is far more intelligent than some of the Stanley Kramer movies of the 60's which dealt with racism. It does not shy away from showing the seriousness (and sickness) of the racial mindset without being excessively preachy. It is in fact very watchable - largely due to a colorful and humorous Hackman whose character was himself a Mississippi small-town Sheriff at one time and understands the pitfalls of the Hoover boys going in all guns blazing.

Highly recommended!