Mississippi Burning

Theatrical Release Date: 1988 12 09 (USA)

UPC: 014381408126

Studio: Image Entertainment

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity]

Summary: 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, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Cinematography – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Editing Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Sound Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Sound Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Sound Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – null Best Director – null Best Screenplay – null Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Silver Bear for Best Actor – Berlin International Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Actor – National Board of Review Best Director – National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress – National Board of Review Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Closed captions
Movie trailer

Mississippi Burning

Format: DVD

Release Date: 05/27/1998

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DDS Dolby Digital Surround

Runtime: 126 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: 1. Main Title.
2. Mississippi 1964.
3. Jessup County.
4. Segregated Coffee Shop.
5. The Truth.
6. "Where does it come from, all this hatred?"
7. F.B.I. Headquarters.
8. Mayor Tilman.
9. Mrs. Pell.
10. A Discovery in the Swamp.
11. The War Begins.
12. The Search Continues.
13. Definition of N.A.A.C.P.
14. Trumpet-Pitchers.
15. Questioning Deputy Pell.
16. Anderson Visits Mrs. Pell.
17. The Congregation.
18. Local Interviews.
19. Mrs. Pell's Warmth.
20. The Social Club.
21. A Civil Rights Procession.
22. Pursuit of Obie Walker's Abductors.
23. Interrogation.
24. Mayor Tilman Confronts Ward and Anderson.
25. Suspended Sentences.
26. The Burning Continues.
27. Ward and Anderson's Frustration.
28. Never Never Never.
29. Mrs. Pell Gives the Vital Information.
30. The Earthen Dam.
31. The Morgue.
32. Anderson Takes Control.
33. Eulogy.
34. Mayor Tilman's Abduction.
35. A Razor Sharp Confession.
36. Agent Monk's Departure.
37. The Conspirator's Meet.
38. Lester Cowens Takes a Ride.
39. A Close Shave.
40. The Conspirators Are Sentenced.
41. The Guilty Mayor.
42. Anderson's Goodbye.
43. Not Forgotten.
44. End Titles.

Robert Firsching

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, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Gladys Greer  Actor 
Mark Jeffrey Miller  Actor 
Lois Allen  Actor 
Brenda Dunlap  Actor 
Dianne Lancaster  Actor 
Rev. Harry Quick  Actor 
Billie Jean Young  Actor 
Daniel Chapman  Actor 
James Eric  Actor 
Mert Hatfield  Actor 
Park Overall  Actor 
Robert F. Colesberry  Actor 
Dwight Boyd  Actor 
Pat Funderburk  Actor 
Ethel L. Mayes  Actor 
Paul Saveles  Actor 
Juliet Taylor  Actor 
John P. Fertitta  Actor 
Tom Mason  Actor 
John Brook  Actor 
Cullen Gilliland  Actor 
Gary Moody  Actor 
Simeon Teague  Actor 
Harry S. Franklin  Actor 
Dan Desmond  Actor 
Ed Geldart  Actor 
Darius McCrary  Actor 
Larry Shuler  Actor 
Rick Washburne  Actor 
Zeke Davidson  Actor 
George Isbell  Actor 
Alisa R. Patrick  Actor 
Daniel Winford  Actor 
Doug Jackson  Actor 
Marc Clement  Actor 
Frankie R. Faison  Actor 
Ken Magee  Actor 
Bob Penny  Actor 
Robert Erickson  Actor 
Stephen Wesley Bridgewater  Actor 
Barbara Gibson  Actor 
Lannie Spann McBride  Actor 
Jesse Merle Speaks  Actor 
Howard Feuer  Actor 
Ron de Roxtra  Actor 
Linda Fuller  Actor 
James Arnold Mayes  Actor 
Stanley W. Collins  Actor 
Jake Gipson  Actor 
James F. Moore  Actor 
E.A. Thrall  Actor 
James Lloyd  Actor 
Robert Glaudini  Actor 
Tonea Stewart  Actor 
Frederick Zollo  Actor 
Ralnardo Davis  Actor 
Barry Davis Jim Sr.  Actor 
Bernice Poindexter  Actor 
Georgia F. Wise  Actor 
Tobin Bell  Actor 
Geoffrey Nauffts  Actor 
Lou Walker  Actor 
Virginia Bennett  Actor 
Charles Franzen  Actor 
George Mason  Actor 
Judy Sasser  Actor 
Rick Zieff  Actor 
Trevor Jones  Composer (Music Score) 
Robert F. Colesberry  Producer 
Chris Gerolmo  Screenwriter 
Alan Parker  Director 
Alan Parker  Screenwriter 
Frederick Zollo  Producer 
Gene Hackman  Actor 
Willem Dafoe  Actor 
Frances McDormand  Actor 
Brad Dourif  Actor 
R. Lee Ermey  Actor 
Gailard Sartain  Actor 
Stephen Tobolowsky  Actor 
Michael Rooker  Actor 
Pruitt Taylor Vince  Actor 
Badja Djola  Actor 
Kevin Dunn  Actor 

Country: USA