Mississippi Burning (1988)

I love this movie so much

Too much of everything

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

One year after his misunderstood masterpiece, "Angel Heart", the English director Alan Parker returns to the South for filming "Mississippi Burning", a crime / thriller drama about 2 F.B.I. agents sent to Jessup County, Mississippi in 1964 to investigate the disappearance of 3 civil rights activists. Led by the younger agent, Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe), a yankee 'crusader' and a symbol of Kennedy's administration, who follow the Bureau's rules by the book & his older and savvy partner, Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman), a former Mississippi Sheriff, who knows the behavior, mentality, traditions & way of life of his fellow countrymen. When they suspect that the Ku Klux Klan may be operating there and responsible for the disappearance of the 3 activists with the support of the local law, Ward & Anderson start a war against the "phantom' killers in searching for the truth, clashing with the town people that don't want them there... Superbly directed motion picture from an engaging screenplay penned by Chris Gerolmo, based on actual facts and visually stunning, shot by the cinematographer Peter Biziou, who won a well deserved Academy Award, "Mississippi Burning" is a gritty, realistic & sweaty movie experience, filmed on location near where the actual murders took place with even some scenes shot in a documentary style which enhanced the straight tone of the film. It moves at a thrilling pace, involving the viewer in the sordid ways of racism at his worst, stereotyping that (almost) all of the white southern characters are evil and preaches the audience about the innocent victims of the intolerance and the deserved punishment of their executioners, guided by the eyes of two different lawmen, the liberal moralist - Willem Dafoe and the conservative 'vigilante' , Gene Hackman. Hackman delivers maybe his best performance since his brilliant turn in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" ('74), he's determined, reckless & sarcastic, showy, but commanding the screen with gravitas proving why he's one of the best (still sadly, underrated) north American actors ever. Willem Dafoe, fresh from his Academy Award nomination for "Platoon", co-stars in a less prominent role, but equal effective, especially in his "boy scout" antagonism with the Hackman character. Frances McDormand, who scored a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, is the stand-out / revelation as the disgruntled & fragile wife of the local Deputy. She shines in a role that could have been underplayed if performed by a less capable actress. The supporting players are top notch (kudos to the casting department & Parker's skillful direction of actors) from the always remarkable as the hateful 'usual suspects": Brad Dourif & Michael Rooker to R. Lee Ermey; Gailard Sartain; Badja Djola in an intense cameo appearance; Tobin Bell, making here his feature film debut, years before his breakthrough role in the "Saw" franchise and Stephen Tobolowsky, among others. In short, "Mississippi Burning" was one of the best films of 1988, nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director & Best Leading Actor for Hackman, winning 1 and perhaps only lost the Best Picture Oscar, due to the Academy's emotional vote in favor of Barry Levinson's sympathetic drama, "Rain Man". Highly recommended !!

When a film is based on a true story, it can amplify its emotional effect significantly - think of classics like Attenborough's 'Gandhi', Spielberg's 'Schindler's List' and Lean's 'Lawrence of Arabia'. The tragic history behind Alan Parker's film makes an already dark tale into a deeply unsettling one. Parker has a great ability to evoke a sense of despair, having done so to great effect in the earlier films 'Midnight Express' and 'Angel Heart'. The credit isn't all Parker's, though: he had to have people convey his vision; the people he chose did so very effectively. The two leading actors, Willem Defoe and Gene Hackman, both have a knack for playing villains and menacing characters, and have played the antagonist in a superhero film. But that's pretty much where the similarities end for me. They come from different generations and play their best roles very differently, but if you first saw them in 'Mississippi Burning', you'd be forgiven for thinking that they were a long-standing film duo, like Lemmon and Matthau. Hackman and Defoe are accompanied by a range of highly talented actors, including Oscar winner Frances McDormand, the always enjoyable R. Lee Ermey, and two of the men we'd later find stirring trouble in 'The Walking Dead' – Pruitt Taylor Vince and Michael Rooker. Everyone involved in 'Mississippi Burning' plays their strengths effectively, ensuring that Alan Parker's dark historical drama isn't a film you're likely to forget.

When I was a child and a young man, I really trusted. As an adult, the best it gets is one person at a time. I lived in the South for most of my first 30 years. I am 63 today.I have never understood bondage. I was born free. There are things a free person would never do, money or not.Family is a central force Worldwide. Not making a problem is silence to experience we all face from child to adult. Free will is something that independence over an oppressor has always used in the pyramids of control. There is only so much entertainment. Then it is facts that never change. Love is from above. Never compromise it.Just watching the movie. It is from 1988. Today is May 3, 2016. After Obama, I need to learn all over what I thought about equality and democracy.

"Hatred isn't something you're born with. It gets taught... At 7 years of age, you get told it enough times, you believe it. You believe the hatred. You live it... you breathe it. You marry it."Alan Parker's 1988 film which was nominated for seven Academy Awards is another reminder of what a great career Gene Hackman had, although this time he got to share the spotlight with a pair of other wonderful performances from Willem Dafoe and Frances McDormand. The fact that Mississippi Burning isn't even considered one of Hackman's top ten most popular films just proves how many great films he's made over the span of five decades (he retired from acting in 2004). Since the film was loosely based on a real incident surrounding the disappearance of some civil rights workers in the south during the 60's many people complained that the film wasn't faithful to the story, but Parker never made such a claim and always said his film was a fictional tale of events that could've taken place during the time so I don't see any need to complain about it. Some similarities can be found with the classic film directed by Norman Jewison, In the Heat of the Night, which handles a similar theme about racism. Films like this are important reminders of how dangerous humans can be when they let hate and racism govern their hearts. It is so easy at times to forget those dark moments in our history and act like they never happened, but once in a while we get films like Mississippi Burning that remind us of the horrors of humanity and the sacrifice people made to end them. These are films with important messages which also happen to be well made and count with a stellar cast. Its only Oscar win was for Peter Biziou's wonderful cinematography, but there is so much more worth recommending about this classic from the 80's. The film introduces us to three civil rights workers as they are detained by a police vehicle while they were about to exit a small Mississippi town. The officers begin making all sorts of hateful remarks towards these men and violently shoot them for trying to stir up their quiet and organized segregated town. A few days later, two FBI agents show up in town looking for these disappeared citizens, who they fear have been murdered. Agent Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe) is in charge of the operation despite his young age. His partner, Agent Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman), is more experienced and is not afraid to speak his mind about him as someone he believes to be well educated but lacking more field work. Ward likes to do things by the books, but Anderson who was a former Sheriff in a similar Mississippi town knows the mentality of these places and believes his methods won't get them anywhere in a place like this. The Mayor (R. Lee Ermey) isn't pleased with the agents visit because he believes his segregation methods work and that things are run differently here than in the south. The agents learn it quickly while they're trying to collaborate with the local officers. Sheriff Ray Stuckey (Gaylord Sartain) is very protective of his boys, especially of Deputy Clinton (Brad Dourif) and officer Frank (Michael Rooker) who were the officers involved in the murder. It doesn't take the agents too long to realize what happened, but they can't find anyone in town who will speak to them since the victims have been threatened by the KKK. Every time someone seems to be interested in speaking up, they are immediately intimidated by the gang through violent acts. Ward's tactics don't seem to have an effect, but Anderson may have found the perfect ally in Mrs. Pell (Frances McDormand), the Deputy's wife who rejects his actions. The script handles the civil rights case with care and avoids falling into melodramatic territory by remaining gripping and suspenseful. There are plenty of thrills along the way and some violent scenes that are actually less horrifying than the hateful things these men say. It's true that the civil right theme is told through a white's man point of view, but I think it still remains compelling and well intentioned. In the end it becomes entirely a revenge action film, but it's handled in a convincing and realistic way. Hackman, Dafoe, and McDormand are in the center of the movie and they all deliver gripping performances playing off each other extremely well. Brad Dourif and Michael Rooker are given the stereotypical racist characters who are very easy to hate. Rooker seems to be playing the same character from The Walking Dead series only this time he actually acts upon his remarks more than simply being a loud mouth. Hackman and Dafoe are on the same side despite having very different approaches and that difference helps build the tension and relationships in the film. Parker's sensitive direction works in a film with such a controversial subject matter that could be easily manipulated. Mississippi Burning is a classic that shouldn't be missed by fans of Gene Hackman and his impressive career. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/