Rating: 
Summary: nice
Review: Good, interesting movie with good actors and director and with wonderful cinematography.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This movie is wonderful - script, actors, direction. The tale of what went on in Jessup County Mississippi in 1964 jumps into your heart and mind thanks to "Mississippi Burning". If you have yet to watch it, please do it will change your life.
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Summary: Tense, gripping, thought-provoking, first-class acting
Review: Gene Hackman and the rest of the cast excel in this stark and utterly gripping portrayal of the FBI's crackdown on racism in Mississippi. It is far from 100 per cent historically accurate, but name me a film that is. In any event, it captures the mood of the times well enough. Some may not be comfortable with its suggestion that the FBI had to emulate the racists' thuggery in order to defeat them. But surely the main point is that the movie's overall message is uncompromisingly in favor of tolerance and a shared humanity.
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Summary: My annual "I hate white people" fix
Review: I watch this film once a year because I find myself getting too comfortable in our majority white society. This film, along with "The Well" and "Do the Right Thing" makes you see certain segments of white society for what they are. It will make you angry and for too long we bottle our anger because we feel we have made progress. We think because black men are in front of and behind the camera that we've climbed up that mountain. But when a black boy can be beaten and a black man dragged behind a car in THIS DECADE, then you know we haven't come far enough. This movie doesn't just illuminate white southern racism. It exposes all of it in its in ugliness. This movie to blacks what Holocaust movies are to people of Jewish origin. We need these kind of movies in our face to help to never forget.
Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunately the book was much better.
Review: The hype given to this movie over shadows the fact that the movie was historically, woefully, inaccurate. Having the powerful story of the book, "Mississippi Burning", the screen writers chose to add events which did not exist while ignoring powerful events which really took place. If you have seen the movie, check out the book from your local library and see how good the movie could have been.
Rating: 
Summary: Insidious, particuarly if this is the only source
Review: "[A]n excellent depiction of the 1960's civil rights struggle in the US," a reviewer called this. Read Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody, see Eyes on the Prize, get it from the library. While it may be "based on a true story", the story is very unrepresentative and the story here historically was insignificant compared to what blacks themselves--and _other_ whites--did as far as voter registration, the "Freedom Summer," etc. As critic Pauline Kael argued, "...the movie hinges on the ploy that the FBI men can't stop the Ku Klux Klan from its terrorism against blacks until they swing over to vigilante tactics. Amazon.com writes: As critic Pauline Kael argued, "...the movie hinges on the ploy that the FBI men can't stop the Ku Klux Klan from its terrorism against blacks until they swing over to vigilante tactics. And we're put in the position of applauding the FBI's dirtiest forms of intimidation. This cheap gimmick undercuts the whole civil rights subject; it validates the terrorist methods of the Klan." This becomes irrelevant to more informed readers when they realize that FBI men usually were one of the major obstacles of the civil rights movement. Once again, Anne Moody's book is the place to start on Mississippi specifically. It's a story at least as gripping. It makes more sense in the context of the rest of the movement and the 60s, so these are other places to look: Eyes on the Prize (Eyes on the Prize II gives how and why the civil rights movement ended/disintegrated) videos, companion book, and document reader. Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch--Martin Luther King, but we really don't know much about him and this also deals with the movement in general. Sweeping, along with Eyes on the Prize, frames much of the movement. The Children by David Halberstam--Black students taking on Nashville. Making Sense of the Sixties--A PBS video series on the sixties. Try to find it at your library. These all are only a few of the books/videos that I think everybody should read and watch to be familiar with this very relevant, passionate, and tragically forgotten part of history. A true understanding of the civil rights movement destroys the audience for this kind of film--though the bias may be unintentional, it reflects ignorance--and gets us focused on major questions of life in America today. Some of you may be surprised to find that these books are at least as gripping as this movie. But if you'd rather watch something, Eyes on the Prize is the ideal place to start. The violence there is real, there are civil rights workers who happen to be victims of violence (that is, drawn out as real people through interviews), and the violence on the blacks is not absurd (again, realistic as it may be, the framing makes it absurd), reminiscent of Birth of a Nation.
Rating:
Summary: The Racial Divide
Review: The filmography of director Alan Parker is an eclectic one. His work covers a large spectrum of genres and themes. This diversity allows Parker to keep his career fresh and invigorated Of course, lots of directors do the same thing, but, Parker is truly diverse. One minute he can do the controversial and very complex Angel Heart, then switch gears to do a lighthearted film, like The Commitments. In 1988's Mississippi Burning, Parker was lucky enough to get a superb cast, willing to tackle some tough material. When three civil rights activists 2 whites and one black, are murdered in the middle of the night, the small Mississippi town becames a cauldron of racial tension. Two FBI agents are soon dispatched to investigate. Soon the veteran Anderson (Gene Hackman) and his green around the gills by the book partner Ward (Willem Dafoe), find themselves at odds with many of the town's citizens and each other. As the case boils over, the two agents must overcome their differences to solve the case before the town is torn apart. Parker sucessfully recreates the look and feel, of a small town in 1964, gripped in the throws of a turbulent time in U.S. history. You get a real sense of what it must have been like at that time. Once again Hackman proves why he is a master at his craft. As Anderson, he gives one of his most complex performances, offerng a multifaceted character study. Like in so maany of Hackman's films, he can turn on a dime, portraying a guy that's charming but with a darker side...Da Foe is nicely matched against Hackman in the film. He gives one of his best performances as well. The supporting players, R. Lee Ermy, Brad Dourif, and Frances McDormaand, really shine too. I don't think there's a rotten apple in the entire film The latest DVD improves only slightly, over the movie only disc, as far as the extras are concerned. While I really enjoyed Parker's audio commentary, aside from the theatrical trailer, I found myself really curious to hear from others who worked on the film. Those ommisions really gnawed at me. Still, Mississippi Burning shows us just how far we have come when dealing with racism...and reminds how far both sides still need to go before it is defeated. It's worth it to see Hackman do his thing on that alone. All the other good stuff about the movie appears as icing on the cake.
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Summary: A powerful indictment of Democratic Party's past sins
Review: This film reminds us of the horrors that the Southern Democrats inflicted upon African Americans. As Wayne Perryman reminds us in his book, "Unfounded Loyalties", "One party and their abolitionist supporters believed the Bible instructed them to lay down their lives for the slaves, the other party and their supporters believed the Bible gave them the right to take the lives of blacks if they rebelled against being slaves. "On the issue of slavery, one party and its supporters gave their lives to expand it (to Northern states) and the other party and their supporters gave their lives to ban it. "One party was heavily influenced by the Abolitionists and the radical wing of their party ... and the other party was influenced by the Ku Klux Klan and other terrorist groups. "One party and its supporters started the Freedman's Bureau and other programs to help build communities for blacks, the other party and their supporters engaged in practices to hinder those efforts and to destroy those communities (Wilmington, North Carolina). "One party and its supporters established quality schools and colleges for blacks, the other party and their supporters engaged in practices that attempted to close some of those schools or diminish their quality. "One party passed laws and Constitutional Amendments (13th , 14th , 15th) to include blacks as part of mainstream society, the other party passed laws to exclude them from the mainstream (Jim Crow Laws and Black Codes). ..." Sadly, many do not know that that "one party" was the Republican Party, while the "other party" was the Democratic Party. I myself didn't know at the time I watched this stirring film. I suppose burning crosses make us assume the bad guys are aligned with the religious right. Unfortunately, the "other party" used a nonsensical interpretation of the "curse of Ham" to justify slavery; fortunately, "one party" saw through it. This film is also a great example of how history is being rewritten or dumbed down. While many films have shown lynchings and other abuse of African Americans, they usually leave you with the impression that the bigots were "Bible bashers" ... as you can see, this is only half the truth. Very rarely are we reminded that it was Republicans who laid their lives on the line to defend blacks, based on their Christian faith. Willem Dafoe is, as always, fascinating to watch. His gesture of futility during Hackman's interrogation of a suspect is priceless. Perhaps the shameful past that the Democrats are trying to forget - indeed, most youngsters today do not need to forget, they haven't even been taught - will spur them onto greater deeds that may even outshine the "one party".
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Summary: HAUNTING STORY OF AMERICA'S UGLY PAST
Review: Based loosely on actual events, Mississippi tells the story of three civil rights workers, one black and two white who disappear in Jessup County, Mississippi. The FBI sends in agents to investigate the disappearances, headed by Willem Dafoe as the young, by-the-book and a bit naive Agent Boyd. He is joined by Gene Hackman as Agent Anderson. Anderson himself was a former, small-town Mississippi sheriff and so has a greater understanding of the town and its people.
Anderson and Boyd bump heads at nearly every turn of their investigation. Boyd tries unsuccessfully to question the town's black residents but they are all unwilling to talk and with good reason...They are regularly beaten, and have their homes torched by the resident KKK members and include members of the local Law Enforcement including Deputy Pell (Brad Dourif) and Sheriff Stuckey, and other townfold including local businessmen. R. Lee Ermey, in one of his earliest roles plays Mayor Tilman who is incensed at the investigation of his law enforecement officers. Eventually, when Boyd fails to make any progress in the investigation, he allows Anderson to bring in his own people and use his own, less than legal methods to question the suspects which are not limited to threats and physical abuse.
Mississippi Burning is a powerful tale of a sad time in America and this movie shows the true ugly underbelly of the deep south in the early 1960's. But it would have been nice if all the residents were not treated as stupid redneck racists. About the only white resident who seems to have any sympathy for the black people is Deputy Pell's wife played magnificently by Frances McDormad. She gives a wonderful performance as a southern wife trapped in a situation that she cannot escape from.
Also, it would have been nice to see some of the black actors given a role with a little more punch. They all play submissive, frightened roles and one even states that perhaps if they leave the (white folk) alone they will leave them alone. Virtually the only strong performance from a black actor comes from the Darius McCrary (Who would later play in the sitcom "Family Matters). Only this boy seems to have the courage to speak out and to the FBI.
All that aside, Hackman and Dafoe really shine in their roles and playoff each other well. Director Alan Parker builds the tention throughout and slowly starts the cracks that will eventually bring down those responsible for killing the three young men. A Wonderful film that is still powerful after many viewings.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Impressively Acted
Review:
Three civil rights campaigners are shot dead by local KKK rednecks in rural 1960s Mississippi with the active involvement and complicity of the local cops. Along come two very different Federal agents (Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe) charged with finding out what has happened. They quickly rub the locals up the wrong way so Dafoe decides to bring in reinforcements. Lots and lots of reinforcements. Soon things start to get very nasty indeed.
This is an Alan Parker movie so it's all a bit over the top and excessively melodramatic. Perhaps too, if one is feeling unkind, a bit moralistically full of itself: of course that's somewhat inevitable given the subject matter but Parker does rather succumb to the temptation to lay it on with a trowel. But there are good reasons not to feel too unkind as there's much here to be impressed by. It's one of the best southern based movies with civil rights themes of recent-ish years, better than `Ghosts of Mississippi' and miles better than `A Time to Kill' if maybe not quite in the same league as the wonderful `In the Heat of the Night'. An extremely effective score and some first class cinematography help it along no end. But what stands out is the acting: Brad Dourif, Michael Rooker and Gailard Sartain splendidly horrid as the racist baddies, Dafoe a welcome oasis of relative subtlety and restraint as Agent Ward. But above all Frances MacDormand, characteristically perfect as Dourif's unhappily married wife and Gene Hackman putting in an utterly incendiary performance as maverick fed Agent Anderson, right up there with `The Conversation' and `Unforgiven' among that tremendous actor's most gripping and brilliantly hardcore performances.
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