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Mississippi Burning

  • 1988
  • Tous publics
  • 2h 8m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
108K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,942
57
Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988)
Home Video Trailer from Orion Pictures
Play trailer1:34
3 Videos
99+ Photos
CrimeDramaMystery

Two F.B.I. Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.Two F.B.I. Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.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
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    108K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,942
    57
    • Director
      • Alan Parker
    • Writer
      • Chris Gerolmo
    • Stars
      • Gene Hackman
      • Willem Dafoe
      • Frances McDormand
    • 249User reviews
    • 81Critic reviews
    • 65Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 17 wins & 25 nominations total

    Videos3

    Mississippi Burning
    Trailer 1:34
    Watch Mississippi Burning
    Mississippi Burning
    Trailer 1:34
    Watch Mississippi Burning
    Which Roles Did Samuel L. Jackson Turn Down?
    Video 2:31
    Watch Which Roles Did Samuel L. Jackson Turn Down?

    Photos105

    Willem Dafoe, Darius McCrary, and Lou Walker in Mississippi Burning (1988)
    Willem Dafoe in Mississippi Burning (1988)
    Willem Dafoe in Mississippi Burning (1988)
    Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988)
    Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988)
    Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988)
    Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988)
    Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988)
    Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988)
    Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988)
    Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988)
    Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gene Hackman
    Gene Hackman
    • Agent Rupert Anderson
    Willem Dafoe
    Willem Dafoe
    • Agent Alan Ward
    Frances McDormand
    Frances McDormand
    • Mrs. Pell
    Brad Dourif
    Brad Dourif
    • Deputy Clinton Pell
    R. Lee Ermey
    R. Lee Ermey
    • Mayor Tilman
    Gailard Sartain
    Gailard Sartain
    • Sheriff Ray Stuckey
    Stephen Tobolowsky
    Stephen Tobolowsky
    • Clayton Townley
    Michael Rooker
    Michael Rooker
    • Frank Bailey
    Pruitt Taylor Vince
    Pruitt Taylor Vince
    • Lester Cowens
    Badja Djola
    Badja Djola
    • Agent Monk
    Kevin Dunn
    Kevin Dunn
    • Agent Bird
    Frankie Faison
    Frankie Faison
    • Eulogist
    Thomas B. Mason
    • Judge
    • (as Tom Mason)
    Geoffrey Nauffts
    Geoffrey Nauffts
    • Goatee
    Rick Zieff
    Rick Zieff
    • Passenger
    Christopher White
    • Black Passenger
    Gladys Greer
    • Hattie
    Jake Gipson
    • Mose
    • Director
      • Alan Parker
    • Writer
      • Chris Gerolmo
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film is inspired by the murder of voting rights activists James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman by the Ku Klux Klan.
    • Goofs
      The street signs are green with white writing. In the 1960s they would have been white with black writing.
    • Quotes

      Anderson: You know, if I were a Negro, I'd probably think the same way they do.

      Ward: If you were a Negro, nobody would give a damn what you thought.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Naked Gun/Dakota/Mississippi Burning/Vincent (1988)
    • Soundtracks
      Take My Hand Precious Lord
      Words and Music by Thomas A. Dorsey

      Performed by Mahalia Jackson

      Courtesy of CBS Records

    User reviews249

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    The film succeeds by being gripping, emotional, and disturbing
    Mississippi Burning is set in 1964 when three civil rights activists are murdered in a small town by the Ku Klux Klan… Two of them were white and one of them black…

    Based on actual events in Philadelphia, the screenplay centers chiefly on the hostility relationship between the two FBI agents (Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe) sent down to the small Mississippi town to seek information about the vanishing of the three victims… Immediately upon their arrival, they are greeted with hostility by the local law enforcement and the town in general…

    Dafoe's Ward— in charge of the case—comes off as the embodiment of everything those men in the south dislike about the "Yankees" who are coming down there commanding them how to act…

    Anderson(Hackman), who was once a Mississippi officer himself, has a special feel for how to settle things with Southerners… He uses his charm to win the confidence of the friendly wife of a Klansman deputy, whom he suspects holds the key to unravel the details of the case…

    The scenes between McDormand and Hackman are the best of the film… They dramatize how quickly two lonely people can match...

    The film succeeds by being gripping, emotional, and disturbing… Alan parker graphically explores the hatred, motivations and mentality that were once flaming through the American society in the 60's.
    helpful•64
    12
    • Nazi_Fighter_David
    • Jun 22, 2007

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    FAQ28

    • How long is Mississippi Burning?Powered by Alexa
    • After Anderson goes to the bar where the KKK is hanging out and lays down the law to them, he returns to the headquarters where Ward chews him out for that incident as well as hanging out at the beauty parlor. Anderson tells Ward "Deputy Pell's wife won't give us the info we need because her husband controls what she says and I'm not going to choke it out of her". Ward responds "this can of worms only opens from the inside". What did Ward mean with the "can of worms" comment?
    • When Ward told Anderson "this can of worms only opens from the inside" after Anderson told ward he won't get any info out of mrs pell, what did that quote mean?
    • How did Sheriff Stuckey know / find out that it was Deputy Pell's wife that blabbed ?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 29, 1989 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Mississippi: Burning
    • Filming locations
      • Ross Barnett Reservior, Mississippi, USA
    • Production company
      • Orion Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $15,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $34,603,943
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $225,034
      • Dec 11, 1988
    • Gross worldwide
      • $34,603,943
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 8 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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