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Mississippi Burning (1988)

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 0

audience

87

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 36,756

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Movie Info

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

R, 2 hr. 7 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Drama

Chris Gerolmo

Feb 25, 1998

Orion Pictures Corporation

Cast

All Critics (22) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (2) | DVD (8)

A slick, well-acted film that nonetheless distorts the facts and looks at the civil rights movement from a strictly white perspective by imposing on the actual case the format of a Hollywood cop thriller.

March 29, 2009 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comments (3)

Not anywhere as good as it should be.

February 11, 2008 Comment (1)
ColeSmithey.com

Improbable re-enactment of an investigation into long-ago outbreak of hate crimes.

June 3, 2005 Comment

Well-acted, compelling, good script. Good message.

July 14, 2004 Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | Comment
Hollywood Report Card

Starts out as a vivid portrait of the Civil Rights era and ends up a cop drama in which vengeful anger is used against racist killers.

July 15, 2003 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | Comment
Spirituality and Practice

Hackman delivers some of the best work of his career. And this guy's been doing it for 30 years.

July 25, 2002 Comment
eFilmCritic.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Mississippi Burning

This film was released right after I turned 8, and I remember always being curious to see it because I found the title, "Mississippi Burning," cool and interesting....even though I had no idea what it was about. Besides, I live right beside Mississippi. Finally saw it last night, and I have to say it was wellllllllll

March 19, 2011
stormyweather980

Super Reviewer

The opening scene of the film says it all! There are two water fountains, one for "coloured people" and the other for "whites", labeled clearly so. The water fountain for the coloured people appears dull and unclean while the other one appears much more polished. So a white man and an African American man drink from

November 4, 2010
Aditya Gokhale
Aditya Gokhale

Super Reviewer

    1. Rupert Anderson: Did you smile Pell?
    – Submitted by Malek R (26 days ago)
    1. Mrs. Pell: If you're ever in Des Moines, don't send me a postcard.
    – Submitted by Alyssa B (4 months ago)
    1. Mrs. Pell: you prick
    – Submitted by Annelise R (10 months ago)
    1. Townley: you dont know who i am
    – Submitted by Annelise R (10 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Mississippi Burning - Die Wurzel des Hasses (DE)
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