Themes: Social Injustice, Race Relations, Political Unrest
Main Cast: Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey
Release Year: 1988
Country: US
Run Time: 127 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Mississippi Burning is an all-names-changed dramatization of the Ku Klux Klan's murders of three civil rights workers in 1964. Investigating the mysterious disappearances of the three activists are FBI agents Gene Hackman (older, wiser) and Willem Dafoe (younger, idealistic). A Southerner himself, Hackman charms and cajoles his way through the tight-lipped residents of a dusty Mississippi town while Dafoe acts upon the evidence gleaned by his partner. Hackman solves the case by exerting his influence upon beauty-parlor worker Frances McDormand, who wishes to exact revenge for the beatings inflicted upon her by her Klan-connected husband Brad Dourif. Many critics took the film to task for its implication that the Civil Rights movement might never have gained momentum without its white participants; nor were the critics happy that the FBI was shown to utilize tactics as brutal as the Klan's. The title Mississippi Burning is certainly appropriate: nearly half the film is taken up with scenes of smoke and flame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
This gripping drama about two FBI agents investigating the 1963 Mississippi murder of three Northern civil rights workers is great filmmaking. Rich with authentic period detail and incredibly tense, Mississippi Burning fairly smolders with rage and incipient violence. Featuring some terrific performances from Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, and Frances McDormand, its scenes of dialogue are often more exciting than its bloody, fiery showdowns. The film raised some controversy for its seeming conviction that the civil rights movement was entirely a function of helpful white people, but remains an undeniably powerful experience in spite of its often offensive paternalism. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Gailard Sartain - Sheriff Stuckey; Stephen Tobolowsky - Townley; Michael Rooker - Frank Bailey; Pruitt Taylor Vince - Lester Cowens; Badja Djola - Agent Monk; Kevin Dunn - Agent Bird; Tobin Bell - Agent Stokes; Daniel Chapman - Agent MacMillan; Marc Clement - Floyd Swilley; Ron de Roxtra - Reporter; Dan Desmond - TV Commentator; James Eric - Fire Bomber; Frankie R. Faison - Eulogist; John P. Fertitta - TV Commentator; Linda Fuller - Interviewee; Ed Geldart - Fire Bomber; Robert Glaudini - Agent Nash; Gladys Greer - Hattie; Mert Hatfield - Fire Bomber; Ken Magee - Agent Reilly; Tom Mason - Judge; James Arnold Mayes - Interviewee; Darius McCrary - Aaron Williams; Mark Jeffrey Miller - Fire Bomber; Geoffrey Nauffts - Goatee; Park Overall - Connie; Bob Penny - Curtis Foy; Larry Shuler - Earl Cooke; Tonea Stewart - Mrs. Walker; Lou Walker - Vertis Williams; Robert F. Colesberry - Cameraman; Robert Erickson - Reporter; Rick Washburne - Agent Brodsky; Frederick Zollo - Reporter; Lois Allen - Beauty Parlor Woman; Virginia Bennett - SNCC Interviewee; Dwight Boyd - Interviewee; Stephen Wesley Bridgewater - Wesley Cooke; John Brook - Reporter; Stanley W. Collins - Hollis; Zeke Davidson - Lawyer; Ralnardo Davis - Willie; Brenda Dunlap - Mrs. Cowens; Charles Franzen - Interviewer & Reporter; Pat Funderburk - Pell Maid; Barbara Gibson - Church Soloist; Cullen Gilliland - Lawyer; Jake Gipson - Mose; George Isbell - Interviewee; Barry Davis Jim Sr. - Choctaw Man; Dianne Lancaster - Waitress; George Mason - Farmer; Ethel L. Mayes - Interviewee; Lannie Spann McBride - Gospel Singer; Gary Moody - Reporter; James F. Moore - Barber; Alisa R. Patrick - Church Soloist; Bernice Poindexter - Grieving Mother; Rev. Harry Quick - Doctor; Judy Sasser - Neighbor Woman; Paul Saveles - Trooper; Jesse Merle Speaks - Pecan Vendor; Simeon Teague - Obie Walker; E.A. Thrall - Agent Tubbs; Daniel Winford - Fennis; Georgia F. Wise - Beauty Parlor Woman; Billie Jean Young - Mrs. Williams; Rick Zieff - Passenger; Juliet Taylor; Howard Feuer; Harry S. Franklin - SNCC Interviewer; James Lloyd - SNCC Interviewee; Doug Jackson - Reporter
Credit
John Willett - Art Director, Juliet Taylor - Casting, Howard Feuer - Casting, Aude Bronson-Howard - Costume Designer, Aldric La'Auli Porter - First Assistant Director, Alan Parker - Director, Gerry Hambling - Editor, Trevor Jones - Composer (Music Score), David Forrest - Makeup, Philip Harrison - Production Designer, Geoffrey Kirkland - Production Designer, Peter Biziou - Cinematographer, Robert F. Colesberry - Producer, Frederick Zollo - Producer, Jim Erickson - Set Designer, Stan Parks - Special Effects, Rick Kline - Sound/Sound Designer, John Robotham - Stunts, Chris Gerolmo - Screenwriter, Alan Parker - Screenwriter
