Synopsis
Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in FBI school runs up against the small town ways of his partner, a former sheriff.
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Cast
- Gene HackmanAnderson
- Willem DafoeWard
- Frances McDormandMrs. Pell
- Brad DourifDeputy Pell
- R. Lee ErmeyMayor Tilman
- Gailard SartainSheriff Stuckey
- Stephen TobolowskyTownley
- Michael RookerFrank Bailey
- Pruitt Taylor VinceLester Cowens
- Badja DjolaAgent Monk
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
Apart from its pure entertainment value - this is the best American crime movie in years - it is an important statement about a time and a condition that should not be forgotten. The Academy loves to honor prestigious movies in which long-ago crimes are rectified in far-away places. Here is a nominee with the ink still wet on its pages. - 100
USA Today
A powerful drama about the murder of three civil-rights workers in the South. Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe are FBI men investigating. A legitimate Oscar contender. [6 Jan 1989, p.5D] - 90
Washington Post
Mississippi Burning speeds down the complicated, painful path of civil rights in search of a good thriller. Surprisingly, it finds it - 80
The New York Times
For those who know such places, Mr. Parker, who is English, evokes the texture, the gritty, fly-specked Southernness, the brooding sense of small-town menace, the racial hatred, with considerable accuracy. - 80
Variety
Though its credibility is undermined by a fanciful ending, Mississippi Burning captures much of the truth in its telling of the impact of a 1964 FBI probe into the murders of three civil rights workers. - 80
Empire
With remarkable performances, aggressive direction and a cracking pace, this is superb cinema, even if the historical accuracy leaves much to be desired. - 63
San Francisco Chronicle
Parker recreates the hate-and-fear-filled atmosphere in that small Southern town with broad brush strokes. But in the end, all of his spectacular fires send out a lot more heat than light. [13 Jan 1989, p.E1] - 50
TV Guide Magazine
Mississippi Burning is visually splendid. Director Parker and his crew have created a film that is unquestionably watchable. As a history lesson, however, it's laughable.
