Mississippi Burning (1988)
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Two FBI agents must navigate a web of local hostility and Ku Klux Klan involvement to solve the disappearance of three civil rights activists in 1964 Mississippi.
The story
In 1964, three civil rights workers go missing while organizing a voter registry for African Americans in the fictional Jessup County, Mississippi. The FBI dispatches agents Alan Ward and Rupert Anderson to investigate the disappearance. The pair faces immediate resistance from the local community, the local police, and members of the Ku Klux Klan. As they search for the missing men, the agents must navigate a tense atmosphere of local hostility and institutional obstruction to uncover the truth behind the disappearance.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1964, FBI agents Alan Ward and Rupert Anderson investigate the disappearance of three civil rights workers in Jessup County, Mississippi. They find the trio's torched car and face a wall of silence from locals and a local sheriff linked to the Ku Klux Klan. After a witness is identified but the perpetrators receive a light sentence, the FBI realizes they have no local support. Anderson forms a bond with the wife of a deputy, who reveals her husband and his Klansmen murdered the activists. Following the discovery of the bodies, the FBI uses a variety of tactics, including a staged confrontation and a coerced confession from a Klansman, to secure convictions for civil rights violations. The film concludes with the conviction of several Klansmen, the suicide of the local mayor, and a final scene at an integrated congregation.
- First release year
- 1988
- Runtime (minutes)
- 128
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Alan Parker
- Writers
- Chris Gerolmo · writer
- Cast and characters
- Gene Hackman · Rupert Anderson; Willem Dafoe · Alan Ward; Frances McDormand · Mrs. Pell; Gailard Sartain · Ray Stuckey; Stephen Tobolowsky · Clayton Townley; Michael Rooker · Frank Bailey; Pruitt Taylor Vince · Lester Cowens; Kevin Dunn · Agent Bird; Tobin Bell · Agent Stokes; Brad Dourif · Clinton Pell
- Genres
- crime thriller; crime drama
- Themes
- civil rights; racial injustice; government corruption; law enforcement
- Tone and mood
- tense; serious
- Setting
- Fictional Jessup County, Mississippi, 1964
- Premise and plot tags
- historical fiction; investigation; political drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1964 investigation into the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- Critical reaction was generally positive, with praise for the cinematography and the performances of Hackman, Dafoe, and Frances McDormand. However, it was criticized by activists and families of the victims for its fictionalization of events.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 79% · review count: 29; Metacritic · score: 65 · scale: 100 · review count: 11
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Cinematography · won; National Board of Review · Best Film · 1988 · won; National Board of Review · Best Director · 1988 · won; National Board of Review · Best Actor · 1988 · won; National Board of Review · Best Supporting Actress · 1988 · won; British Academy Film Award · Best Cinematography · won
- Production trivia
- The film's title is derived from the FBI's code name for the investigation.; The production was filmed in locations in Mississippi and Alabama.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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