Mississippi Burning (1988)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Alan Parker

Writer (WGA):

Chris Gerolmo (written by)

Release Date:

27 January 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

1964. When America was at war with itself.

Plot:

Two FBI agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.

Plot Keywords:

FBI | Sheriff | Mississippi | Murder | Investigation

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 15 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Gene Hackman	...	Agent Rupert Anderson
Willem Dafoe	...	Agent Alan Ward
Frances McDormand	...	Mrs. Pell
Brad Dourif	...	Deputy Clinton Pell
R. Lee Ermey	...	Mayor Tilman
Gailard Sartain	...	Sheriff Ray Stuckey
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Clayton Townley
Michael Rooker	...	Frank Bailey
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Lester Cowans
Badja Djola	...	Agent Monk
Kevin Dunn	...	Agent Bird
Frankie Faison	...	Eulogist
Tom Mason	...	Judge
Geoffrey Nauffts	...	Goatee
Rick Zieff	...	Passenger

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:18 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Braxton, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Interior shots in the Sheriff's Office, courtroom, and stairs from the courtroom were filmed in the old Carroll County courthouse in Vaiden, Miss. Built in 1905, the building was in such disrepair that crew and extras had to dodge falling bricks during filming. Though slated for designation as a National Historic Building, the courthouse has since been demolished.

Goofs:

Continuity: When agents Anderson and Ward first arrive in town, the air in the street in front of the courthouse is full of dust clouds. However, when they park and leave their car, the air is clear.

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.
[they are hit again]
Passenger: What're we gonna do?
Driver: I don't know... OK, hold on, you guys.
[he veers to a side road]
Passenger: There's a truck, too.
[the car behind them turns on its roof light]
Driver: Shit, it *is* a cop.
Passenger: Better stop.
Driver: OK, sit tight, you guys. Don't say anything; let me talk... All right? We'll be all right; just relax.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hamlet 2 (2008)

Soundtrack:

When We All Get to Heaven

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!