Rating: 
Summary: "You can't handle the truth!"
Review: Like "JFK" and "Murder in the First," MB shows us how the phrase "basedon/inspiredby a true story" REALLY means "at most maybe 2% of this story is true, and the rest is BS." Before you say that it doesn't really matter if a film like MB doesn't stick as closely to the facts as it could have, consider this: if you read the rest of the reviews of this movie, or of the other two mentioned above, you will find about half of the time, it is quite clear that people are getting their history from such films. Time and again, reviewers repeat the demonstrably false statements made on the back of the box or that come from the film's press kit. The reason this matters is simple. When one adapts a book for a screenplay -- an art in itself -- one has to make certain changes due to the fact that each media has its own unique limitations. The important thing, then, is not so much faithfulness to the literal text, but faithfulness to the SUBTEXT and SPIRIT of the original material. However, if you're going to base a film on real events and people, it is vitally important to get the essential facts straight! The post-modern notion that "mythic truth" (see "JFK") is more important than historical facts is right out of George Orwell's "1984"! Aside from the fact that the story is almost entirely populated by liberal Hollywood stereotypes, it misses the mark on this important point. The case was not broken by clever investigative techniques, contrary to what Hoover would have us believe. But neither was the case broken by Gestapo tactics, as depicted in the film. It was broken by bribing one of the participants to "rat out" his fellow conspirators! I could have given this film four stars IF it had fictionalized itself to the point of NOT trying to reference itself as basedon/inspiredby "a true story." When I saw this film in Milwaukee the summer of its release, I was one of only maybe a dozen or two people in the audience. In one scene, after taking one of the killers on a car ride and tricking him into giving them information, the FBI agents drop him off in the black part of town. As they drive off, he looks around nervously at all the residents who are eyeing him with suspicion and curiosity. A half-dozen rows behind me, a black teenage boy shouted out, "Get him!" Maybe he was just making a bad joke in poor taste. Maybe he didn't stop to think how his comments might sound to others in the audience. Maybe he even meant me. But maybe it should be obvious by now why this sort of propagandistic film-making is dangerous. I also can't help thinking how many white supremacists who know how far from the truth this film is in some places have been further confirmed in their racist views by the fact that film-makers felt they had to lie to make their point.... Parker, Hackman, and Defoe are all talented people, but when they lend their talents to an effort such as this, are they really any different from Leni Riefenstahl...? I never needed Hollywood to tell me that racism is wrong. And I'm sick and tired of being presumed guilty of racism until I can prove I'm a liberal Democrat and a card-carrying member of the ACLU. Telling the TRUE story -- let's say, at least 90% true -- of what happened in MB would be a far more compelling film, as well as a far more persuasive argument against racism. Instead, we are treated to the usual Hollywood sterotype that the problem of racism is strictly a matter of non-liberal whites oppressing their black moral superiors. And so, in the end, the film actually manages to do more to help perpetuate the cycle of racism than expose or defuse it. The solution is simple, people: treat each and every individual as an individual, and not as a member of any group, and without any preconceived notions about characteristics which the individual has not yet displayed. If it had actually happened the way it was depicted in the film, "Mississippi Burning" would be more deserving of the accolades that some reviewers have heaped upon it. But, at the risk of being labeled "politically incorrect" myself, I must give MB only one star, precisely because the film itself is "politically correct."
Rating: 
Summary: intense drama
Review: this one follows into a southern down when 3 activist boys, i black, 2 white, dissapear one night and 2 federal agents from the north, Gene Hackman(Behind Enemy Lines, Bonnie and Clyde) and Willem Dafoe(Shadow Of The Vampire, Once Upon A Time In Mexico) come down ad investigate, only to be pulled into the hate of the town their in...and also Hackman was once a member of that town also. fits in with some pretty intense scenes...though the acting is really superb and well done and the end where the bad guys get what they deserve is good as well. also starring, R. Lee Ermey(Saving Silverman, Dead Man Walking), Brad Dourif(The Two Towers, NightWatch), Frances McDormand(Fargo, Blood Simple), Pruitt Taylor Vince(Trapped, Identity), Kevin Dunn(Snake Eyes, Stir Of Echoes), Badja Djola(An Innocent Man, The Last Boy Scout), Rick Zieff(Drop Zone, tv's Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Michael Rooker(Replicant, The 6th Day). this is a movie not to be missed if your a Hackman fan..Hackman delivers a solid and outstanding performance and so does Dafoe as usual
Rating: 
Summary: I LIKE BASEBALL TO
Review: Wow Gene Hackman is almost crazier and violent in this than he is
in Unforgiven and The French Connection(both in witch he one an
oscar).This is by far his best,He played a redneck but a fair
man and he was also caring but at times was a sadistic s.o.b
watching him man-handle these Ku Klux Klan bastards and help the
black people that are suffering is great and Hackman is really
likable and Willem Dafoe,R.Lee Ermney,Brad Dourif,and the heart-
less Michael Rooker are all also great and make the movie complete.Beleive it or not,this movie is rewatcable.
Rating:
Summary: THE VERY VERY TOO BAD..... RACISM WITH TWO ACTORS
Review: .... Who are WILLEM DAFOE and GENE HACKMAN !!! TWO HUGES ACTORS are in an hostile zone inhabited by very much bads commoners who are racists and forms a K.K.K. KU KLUX KLAN ! They detests ths strangers ! They detesrs anything witch is abnormal for them ! They are BADS ! They are KILLERS since many many time ago ! But when the two policemen of F.B.I. commes they becomes COWARDS !
They tempts to intimidate them but without result theirs days are now calculateds THE PERFORMANCE OF WILLEM DAFOE and GENE HACKMAN are astoundings !!!
Rating: 
Summary: Racist Film
Review: This film is racist against whites. It depicts whites as evil, uneducated, and racist. But it depicts blacks as articulate, law-abiding, and good. Although terrible things were done to blacks in the south and America, it is certainly not as one-sided as this movie shows.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest movies of all time
Review: I remember watching this movie in a Florida movie theater when it first came out (I was stationed at Orlando Naval Base back then). Watching the movie was an overwhelming emotional experience, and many scenes shook me to the core with their raw emotional power. Mississippi Burning is THE definitive movie about the atmosphere of racism and violence that pervaded the Civil Rights era, with its dead on accurate portrayal and recreation of a small 60's Southern town. We get to intimately know the kinds of places where 3 young men, or any individuals interested in the plight of the oppressed, might disappear or get killed in the 60's South. We understand what it was like to be Black and live in such a divided society. Most important, we know that evil racism has no logical explanation save for the fact that it is taught and learned from one generation to the next. This movie has been unfairly and recklessly attacked by overeager movie critics and experts on social affairs, all of whom feel guilty about praising such an important and powerful piece of film making (they don't DARE want to be called racist for praising the film!). The most common criticism is that this movie doesn't have any strong Black characters. This is absolutely false. There are several strong Black characters in this movie. There is a scene where a Black preacher gives a strong condemnation about the killings of the young men. There are several scenes with a brave young Black child, deeply religious, who somehow manages to find courage amongst his tears and fright (in one exceptional scene, he doesn't run away during a Klan disruption of a church gathering, instead, he kneels and prays). And in the most controversial and powerful scene in the entire movie, a strong Black father (father of the previously mentioned young boy), fed up with the racists, goes out into the night with a shotgun shouting that he will not take this abuse anymore. The other major criticism is that the movie focuses on White characters. This is not valid. I do certainly agree that many Hollywood movies tend to center the action around White actors, even if the story is about minorities (i.e., Come See the Paradise, Windtalkers, etc. etc.) However, this is one case where it was absolutely necessary for the story to be seen through the eyes of two White FBI agents. The two White agents (Gene Hackman in one of the greatest movie performances of all time) represent the opposite spectrum of the evil Southern racists. Just as the Southerners see the world in their segregated view, the two FBI agents see the world in their enlightened and open view, and in fact they stand for many White people that not only gave their lives for the cause of Civil Rights, but made their voices heard and actions seen so that segregation would one day end. The Civil Rights era is as much a story about White Americans as it is Black Americans, so I applaud the filmmakers for being courageous about this. I recently watched the DVD version and it affected me as much as when I first saw it, and I make it a point to see several times a year. There are scenes that are so heartbreaking they will leave you in tears, and moments of beauty and power so self assured that you know you are watching a masterpiece that will one day stand the test of time. This movie is required viewing for all of the youth in America today, many of whom are clueless as to the Civil Rights period (and others simply do not care).
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre and predictable, but Hackman excels.
Review: I cannot comment on how closely this film tracked to the real life events that it supposedly follows. But as a movie, it falls short of it's potential by lapsing into the preachy and stereotypical Hollywood style which has become so commonplace in today's cinema. I doubt there are too many souls left today who would deny that the KKK did some horrific things, or that there wasn't a pervasive racist culture in the South in the early 60's. But if there are, this movie tries to dispel all remaining skeptics with the subtlety of a lead balloon. By trying to tie up hatred and bigotry into one neat little package (by compartmentalizing and homogenizing groups of people), the movie fails in a rather big way. I mean, how many times have we been fed the message that all southerners are ignorant racists, that all blacks are innocent bystanders barely capable of controlling their own destinies, or that liberal educated whites are the saviors of the human race. Hardly original (or truthful). Beyond the problem of the "message", the movie has other faults. William Dafoe just isn't, in my opinion, believable at all. From his overly done "Kennedy-esque" appearance to his constant idealistic waning (the obvious target being the "uneducated audience"), his authenticity never rings true. And did dozens upon dozens of FBI agents really wade into the Mississippi swamps without regard for their expensive suits? Well, if they did, perhaps it just shows that educated Northern white boys aren't that smart after all! Finally, if director Alan Parker's intent was to leave us in the lurch regarding Anderson's and Mrs. Pell's "relationship", he succeeded with flying colors. On a positive note, Gene Hackman's performance is excellent. He holds it all together....well, he IS the movie. His delivery, mannerisms and character make Mississippi Burning quite enjoyable to watch from a cinematic point of view. Also top notch was Brad Dourif as Deputy Pell. Their performances almost make up for a mediocre and all-too-often condescending film.
Rating:
Summary: A great vision of a great period
Review: This film deals with an event that is absolutely essential in 1956 and for our history. Three civil-rights-militants are killed by a local group of KKK members led by a deputy sheriff in some country in Mississippi. The FBI is called into the investigation, eventually finds the bodies, but a wave of violence is unleashed on the county, mainly against blacks. The historical question is to know whether the FBI involvement was decided to curtail the surging civil-rights movement or to encourage it. The main question is whether this civil-rights movement could be contained or if it was the expression of a deep contradiction in the American society that had come to the point of ripening that made it unavoidable, invincible. The film does not answer those two questions, and actually does not give a proper image of the FBI efforts. It is too quick and too superficial. But it shows the impact of such an event on the American psyche. For the first time in history several Klan members were arrested, tried and convicted of murders and other crimes with extremely strict sentences, even if for those crimes in some other conditions the sentences would have been a lot heavier including the death penalty. That was a no-return point that contained in itself the registration of Blacks on the voting lists and the victory of Kennedy some time later. After this event the American society could only move towards a multiracial democracy, even if there were some setbacks, assassinations and other terrorist attacks, and if it was delayed along the way. The key was contained in this particular event : the alliance between the Blacks and some progressive Whites. When this alliance became strong enough to impose its voice to be listened to, progress became irreversible. 1956 was an essential year in the history of the US, just as it was an essential year in the history of the Soviet Union and East-European countries. It was an essential year when democracy became something finally true for everyone. And it will take more that forty years for this to start becoming true all over the world. The task is not yet finished. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Rating: 
Summary: Understandable....
Review: This movie, touches the hearts of even the people with the coldest hearts. The struggle couloured, and non-christian people had to deal with in The 60's. I think Gene Hackman is fantastic, and Dafoe is good as the stick-to-the-rule-book cop! All in all even though this film is very good, I gave it "3 Stars" because some aspects of the film are unbelivable, but all in all (a disturbing) but excelent movie to watch!
Rating:
Summary: Shallow, predictable movie
Review: This movie is a great example of what is wrong with Hollywood today. I watched this movie hoping to see an intelligent, controversial film but instead it was the same old politically-correct propaganda. I'm certain that a lot of racism existed in the South in the old days, and that some of the events in the movie were realistic. But what I didn't like was that this movie portrays most southern white people as despicable, illiterate, racist murderers. Yet all of the black people in the movie are depicted as peaceful, church-going, articulate people. I actually had to rewind the tape at several parts of the movie because I couldn't make out what some of the white people in that movie were saying; they sounded so unintelligible. This film basically makes racial issues of the old South seem very clear cut. Good & evil, black & white. Anyone who feels that there are two sides to every issue will find that Mississippi Burning is an insult to their intelligence.
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