Mississippi Burning

This article is about the film. For the FBI case file this film was based on, see Mississippi civil rights workers' murders.
Mississippi Burning

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Alan Parker
Produced by Frederick Zollo
Robert F. Colesberry
Written by Chris Gerolmo
Starring
Music by Trevor Jones
Cinematography Peter Biziou
Edited by Gerald Hambling
Distributed by Orion Pictures
Release dates
  • December 9, 1988 (1988-12-09)
Running time
 128 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $15 million[1][2][3]
Box office $34.6 million[4]

Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker, written by Chris Gerolmo, and starring Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe. It is loosely based on the FBI's investigation into the murders of three civil rights workers in the state of Mississippi in 1964. Set in the fictional small town of Jessup County, Mississippi, the story focuses on the professional relationship between two FBI agents, Rupert Anderson (Hackman) and Alan Ward (Dafoe), who are assigned to investigate the disappearance of three civil rights workers. The investigation is met with hostility and backlash by the town's residents, local police and the Ku Klux Klan.

Gerolmo began work on the script in 1985, inspired by an article and several books detailing the FBI's investigation into the murders of civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner. He and producer Frederick Zollo brought the script to Orion Pictures, and the studio subsequently hired Parker to direct the film. Parker and Gerolmo had repeated disagreements over the focus of the story, which resulted in Orion intervening and allowing Parker to rewrite the script, with Gerolmo receiving a solo screenwriting credit. On a production budget of $15 million, the film's principal photography commenced in March 1988 and concluded in May of that year; filming locations included a number of locales in Mississippi and Alabama.

Upon release, Mississippi Burning became embroiled in controversy and sparked significant media attention over its fictionalization of history and depiction of African-Americans. The film divided film critics for the same reasons, though the performances of Hackman, Dafoe and Frances McDormand were generally praised. The film was a modest box office success, grossing $34.6 million during its domestic theatrical run. It received various awards and nominations; Peter Biziou won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, and the film was nominated for six other Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director (Parker), Best Actor (Hackman) and Best Supporting Actress (McDormand).

Plot

In 1964, three civil rights workers who organize a voter registry for minorities in Jessup County, Mississippi go missing. The FBI sends two agents, Rupert Anderson and Alan Ward, to investigate. The pair find it difficult to conduct interviews with the local townspeople, as Sheriff Ray Stuckey and his deputies exert influence over the public and are linked to a branch of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The wife of Deputy Sheriff Clinton Pell reveals to Anderson in a discreet conversation that the missing civil rights trio have been murdered. Their bodies are later found buried in an earthen dam. Stuckey deduces her confession to the FBI and informs Pell, who brutally beats his wife in retribution.

Anderson and Ward devise a plan to indict members of the Klan for the murders. They arrange for a kidnapping of Mayor Tilman, taking him to a remote shack. There, he is left with a black man, who threatens to castrate him unless he talks. The abductor is an FBI operative acting to intimidate Tilman, who gives the him a full description of the killings, including the names of those involved. Although his statement isn't admissible in court due to coercion, his information proves valuable to the investigators.

Anderson and Ward exploit the new information to concoct a plan, luring identified KKK collaborators to a bogus meeting. The Klan members soon realize it's a set up and leave without discussing the murders. The FBI, who are eavesdropping, concentrate on Lester Cowens, a Klansman of interest who exhibits a nervous demeanor which the agents believe might yield a confession. The FBI pick him up and interrogate him. Later, Cowens is at home when his window is blown in. He looks out to see a burning cross on the lawn. Cowens tries to flee in his truck but is caught by a number of hooded men, who set about hanging him. The FBI arrive to rescue him, having staged the whole scenario, with the hooded men being revealed as other agents.

Cowens, believing that his KKK henchmen have threatened his life because of his admissions to the FBI, speaks to the agents and incriminates his accomplices. The Klansmen are charged with civil rights violations, as this can be prosecuted at the federal level. Most of the perpetrators are found guilty and receive sentences ranging from three to ten years in prison. Stuckey however is acquitted of all charges, and Tilman is later found dead by the FBI in an apparent suicide. Before leaving town, Anderson and Ward attend an integrated congregation gathered at an African-American cemetery, where one of the civil rights activists' desecrated gravestone reads, "Not Forgotten".

Cast

Historical context

Missing persons poster created by the FBI in 1964, showing the photographs of civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner, whom the film story is based on.

Mississippi Burning is loosely based on events related to the 1964 murders of civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner, the FBI's investigation into their disappearance, and the prosecution of suspects.[5] The title of the film was taken from the actual FBI code name for the investigation into the murders of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner–the shortened title being MIBURN.[6] The production does not give the real names of the murderers, for legal reasons, nor does it name the victims, who are referred to in the film as "the Boys".[5] In the film credits, they are identified as "Goatee", based on Michael Schwerner (played by Geoffrey Nauffts); "Passenger", based on Andrew Goodman (portrayed by Rick Zieff); and "Black Passenger", based on James Chaney (depicted by Christopher White).

The film presents Clinton Pell's wife (Frances McDormand) as the informant. However, the identity of the actual informant, known as "Mr. X.", was a closely-held secret for forty years.[7] The informant revealed that the three civil rights workers had been buried under twelve feet of dirt in an earthen dam on a large farm a few miles outside Philadelphia, Mississippi.[8] In the process of reopening the case, journalist Jerry Mitchell and teacher Barry Bradford discovered the identity of the informant; Mr. X was revealed to be Maynard King, a highway patrolman who willingly revealed the location of the civil rights workers' bodies to FBI Agent Joseph Sullivan.[9]

Production

Development

In 1985, screenwriter Chris Gerolmo discovered an article from The Washington Post that excerpted a chapter from the book Inside Hoover's F.B.I. The book chronicled the FBI's investigation into the murders of Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner.[10] Gerolmo stated, "In [the book] they made it clear that under intense pressure from Washington, they had gone to considerable extra-legal lengths to solve the case. They had shot up taverns where Klansmen were known to gather. They had beaten people up. They had intimidated and threatened and bribed others. The hair on the back of my neck stood up ... I immediately read the one decent book that had been written at that time about the case, Attack On Terror; The FBI Against the Ku Klux Klan In Mississippi, and my enthusiasm for the idea only grew."[10]

After writing a draft script, Gerolmo brought the script to Frederick Zollo, who had previously produced his first screenplay for Miles from Home (1988).[1] Zollo and Gerolmo sold the story to Orion Pictures, and the studio began its search for a director to helm the project. Miloš Forman and John Schlesinger were considered, before the studio ultimately hired Alan Parker.[1] After the release of his previous film Angel Heart (1987), Parker moved to Los Angeles, California, where he was given a copy of Gerolmo's script by Orion's executive vice president and co-founder Mike Medavoy.[11] Parker said, "The power of the opening murder scene and the possibilities that the subsequent story offered drew me to it immediately. It’s rare that projects developed in the Hollywood system have any potential for social or political comment and the dramatic possibilities surrounding the two FBI agents had possibly allowed this one to slip through."[11]

Writing

Gerolmo described his original draft script for Mississippi Burning as "a big, passionate, violent detective story set against the greatest sea-change in American life in the 20th century, the civil rights movement".[10] For legal reasons, the names of the people and certain details related to the FBI's investigation were changed.[6] On presenting Clinton Pell's wife as an informant, Gerolmo said, "the fact that no one knew who Mr. X, the informant, was, left that as a dramatic possibility for me, in my Hollywood movie version of the story. That's why Mr. X became the wife of one of the conspirators. That's it – we're making up a story about the facts."[6] The abductor of Mayor Tillman was originally written as a Mafia hitman who forces a confession by putting a pistol in Tillman's mouth. Gerolmo was inspired by Gregory Scarpa, a mob enforcer recruited by the FBI during their search for Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner.[12] Gerolmo said, "In the original screenplay, I wrote the story as I heard it, that there was a Mafioso who owed the FBI a favor who was persuaded to come up and hold a gun in a conspirator's mouth until he told them what they needed to know."[6]

By the time Parker was hired by Orion Pictures to direct the film, Gerolmo had completed two drafts.[11] When Parker traveled to Tokyo, Japan to act as a juror for the 1987 Tokyo International Film Festival, his colleague Robert F. Colesberry began researching the time period, and compiled newspaper articles and live news footage related to the events.[13] Upon returning to the United States, Parker met with Colesberry in New York to view the research. He said, "Seeing the scratchy black and white footage at the CBS archive – much of it unused outtakes – only underlined the responsibility we all had to the film we would eventually make."[11]

"Our film cannot be the definitive film of the black civil rights struggle, our heroes were still white and, in truth, the film would probably have never been made if they weren’t. This is, perhaps, as much a sad reflection on present day society as it is on the film industry. But with all its possible flaws and shortcomings, I hope that our film can provoke thought and kindle the debate allowing other films to be made, because the struggle against racism continues."

—Alan Parker, director of Mississippi Burning[11]

Parker met with Gerolmo at Orion, where they began work on a third draft script. Both the writer and director however had repeated disagreements over the focus of the story. Gerolmo stated, "After [Parker] was hired it quickly became apparent that he was intent on redoing the script. We did try working together, but he really browbeat me into making all of his changes...By the end of the first day, he was holding the script up in the air and saying, 'This ain't worth making'...He took out any lyricism I had in the story and painted all the white people to be ugly, oafish, stupid and drunk."[1] To resolve the issue, Orion allowed Parker to write his own draft script, with Gerolmo receiving a solo screenwriting credit. Parker said, "The agreement was that, however much I rewrote, I would not take Gerolmo’s writing credit and if Orion didn’t like my new script, it would be me who would be looking for another job."[11] Gerolmo criticized Orion's decision, stating, "[Parker] is a $1.6 million player in Hollywood and Orion needed an [A-list] director who could get the movie ready by Christmas. It's a matter of power."[1]

Parker made several changes from Gerolmo's original draft. He omitted the Mafia hitman and created the character Agent Monk, a black FBI specialist who kidnaps and threatens to castrate Tillman. He described the character as being "almost a metaphor for what was happening in real life, the assertion of black anger, and black rights reasserting themselves."[6] The scene in which Frank Bailey brutally beats a news cameraman was based on an actual event; Parker was inspired by a news outtake found during his and Colesberry's research, in which a CBS News cameraman was assualted by a suspect in the 1964 murder case.[1]

By January 4, 1988, Parker had written a complete shooting script, which he submitted to Orion executives. "My screenplay was fortunately liked by everyone (if not Gerolmo) and it was agreed by the Orion hierarchy for us to press on," he said.[11] Gerolmo was not involved in the film's production, due to a 1988 Writers Guild of America strike that would coincide with the film's principal photography.[13] Parker said, "[Frederick] Zollo and Gerolmo graciously stepped aside allowing Colesberry and I to get on with making the movie."[11]

Casting

Actor Willem Dafoe, who portrays FBI agent Alan Ward.

Brian Dennehy was originally considered for the lead role of FBI agent Rupert Anderson, before Orion suggested Gene Hackman.[13][14] During the screenwriting process, Parker discussed the project with Hackman. The director stated, "...although keen on the subject matter, [Hackman] was not overly impressed with [Gerolmo's] script — and so was interested to know where our new script would take us."[11] Hackman said, "...it felt right to do something of historical import. It was an extremely intense experience, both the content of the film and the making of it in Mississippi."[15] On preparing for the role, Hackman said, "I read everything I could get my hands on about that period and the incident, including the book Three Lives for Mississippi. In a curious way, I got a lot of insight from a book called The Courting of Marcus Dupree, which paralleled the life of a black football player born on or near the day of the murders. It was done in such a way as to imply that the civil rights workers’ deaths were not in vain: They died so that he could live."[15]

For the role of Agent Alan Ward, Orion was less resolute in terms of who they wanted. After filming The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Willem Dafoe expressed interest in playing Ward,[13] and Parker traveled to Los Angeles, where he met with the actor to discuss the role. Dafoe was cast shortly thereafter.[11] Regarding the character of Ward, Dafoe stated, "In this film, the dilemma is - where does this FBI guy's moral stance harden into a posture of blind arrogance? That's fascinating to me. You have this guy – [Ward] – who's so morally correct, but fatally compromised by the crusader mentality."[1] To prepare for the role, Dafoe researched the time period and Neshoba County. He also read Willie Morris's 1983 novel The Courting of Marcus Dupree, and looked at 1960s documentary footage detaling how the media covered the murder case.[16]

In his search for supporting actors, Parker held casting calls in New York, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, New Orleans, Raleigh and Nashville.[11] While scouting locations in Jackson, Mississippi, Parker arranged an open casting call for local actors and extras. The director reflected, "...we had arranged an ‘open call’ advertising on the radio and in local newspapers for anyone, who wanted to be in a movie. Nearly two thousand turned up and were dutifully photographed and ushered through the filtering process allowing me to read with as many people as possible."[11] Parker and Colesberry also met music teacher Lannie McBride, who appears as a gospel singer in the film. Parker said, "[McBride] was advising us on the gospel music used in the film. We spent many hours at Lanny’s church as her choir ran through many options she had suggested."[11]

Filming

Location scouting

Alan Parker in 2012.

In December 1987, Parker and Colesberry traveled to Mississippi to visit the stretch of road where Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner were murdered.[13] Parker reflected, "The two of us stood on the actual murder spot for a few minutes in silence, realizing that true life, and death, are so much more important than the movies."[11]

Parker and Colesberry began scouting locations in January 1988. The Mississippi Burning script required that a total of 62 locations be used for filming.[11] The filmmakers were initially reluctant about filming in Mississippi. John Horne, head of the state's film commission, said, "When I first spoke to them, I heard a lot of hesitancy. They'd been doing research in other parts of the South, but I was told they were scared to come to Mississippi. They were even scouting locations in Forsyth County, Georgia (a renowned hotbed of Ku Klux Klan activity). So I said, 'Hey, if you can shoot this movie in Forsyth County, you can shoot it here!'"[1] Parker also met with Mississippi governor Ray Mabus, who voiced his support of the film's production. Parker said, "[Mabus] was extremely gracious and encouraging, his concern being 'the new Mississippi' — firm in the belief that if Mississippi had a chance at a future, it had to own up to its past."[11]

Parker and Colesberry looked at locations close to the city of Jackson, Mississippi. The producer and director set up production offices at a Holiday Inn hotel, and Parker began selecting the creative team; the production of Mississippi Burning reunited him with several of his past collaborators, including director of photography Peter Biziou, editor Gerry Hambling, camera operator Michael Roberts and music composer Trevor Jones.[11] Parker and Colesberry also looked at locations in Canton, Mississippi before travelling to Vaiden, Mississippi, where they scouted more than 200 courthouses that could be used for filming.[11] They had difficulty finding a small town for the story setting. "Colesberry had decided that if we couldn’t settle on our small town at this point he should base our operation out of Jackson, as I was determined to be in Mississippi," Parker said, "and he was confident that the major part of our filming could be effectively done from a striking distance from the city."[11] Parker and Colesberry also had difficulty finding abandoned churches that could be burned down for several scenes. It was ultimately decided that LaFayette, Alabama would act as scenes set in the fictional town of Jessup County, Mississippi, with portions of the film being shot in Mississippi.[11]

Principal photography

The burning of a cross, similar to scenes depicted in the film.

Principal photography for Mississippi Burning began on March 7, 1988 and concluded on May 14, 1988,[11] on a budget of $15 million.[1][2][3] Filming began in Jackson, Mississippi, where the production team filmed a church being burned down. The sequence required a multiple-camera setup; a total of three cameras were used during the shoot. The crew however expressed concerns as the cameras were placed too close to the flames. This resulted in the sequence being filmed in two takes.[11] On March 8, the production team filmed a scene set in a motel where Anderson (Hackman) delivers a monologue to Ward (Dafoe).[11] On March 10, production moved to a remote corner of Mississippi, where the crew filmed the burning of a parish church. The art department created a small cemetary at the front of the church before the church itself was burned down. Parker said of the location, "The church had become derelict many years ago, when the fields had ceased to be worked and the locals had been forced to move away from this remote corner of Mississippi. At the height of the fire the heat began to suck the moisture from the ground, enveloping the old church and cemetery in an eery mist, and it was hard to imagine that ‘prop’ graves weren’t real."[11]

On March 11, the production filmed scenes set in a pig farm, where a young boy is confronted and attacked by three perpetrators. A night later, the crew shot the film's opening sequence, in which the three civil rights workers are murdered.[11] From March 14 to March 18, the crew filmed the burning of several more churches, as well as scenes set in the character Vertis Williams's farm.[11] On March 22, the crew filmed scenes set in a morgue that was located inside the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the exact same location where the bodies of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner were transported.[11] A day later, Parker and the crew filmed a scene set in a cotton field. The art department had to dress each plant with layers of cotton, as the cotton plants had not fully bloomed. "It wasn’t the ideal time of year to show the cotton in full bloom and the cotton was 'dressed', plant by plant, by the entire crew who volunteered to help out the pressed art department to undertake the mammoth task," Parker said.[11] The crew also filmed the abduction of Mayor Tilman (R. Lee Ermey) and his subsequent interrogation by FBI agent Monk (Badja Djola).[11]

On March 24, the production moved to Raymond, Mississippi, where the crew filmed a scene at the John Bell Williams Airport.[11] Depicting Monk's departure, the scene was choreographed by Parker and the cast members so that it could be shot in one take. Parker said of the scene, "We had choreographed everything so that the whole scene could be shot in one take, allowing [Hackman and Dafoe] to build up a head of steam with their performances...I wrote the scene because I felt that an important and dangerous shift in morality had taken place in our story which had to be addressed and articulated as Ward abandons his principled approach acquiescing to Anderson’s street pragmatism."[11]

The production then moved to Vaiden, Mississippi to film scenes set in the Carroll County Courthouse, where several courtroom scenes, as well as scenes set in Sheriff Ray Stuckey's office were filmed.[11][13] The production moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where the crew filmed a funeral procession. On April 11, 1988, the crew filmed a scene set in the Cedar Hill Cemetery.[11] From April 15 to April 16, the production moved to the Mississippi River valley to depict the FBI and United States Navy's search for the three civil rights workers. The art department recreated a Choctaw Indian Village on the location, based on old photographs.[11] On April 23, the crew filmed a Citizens' Councils rally. "Ironically, for a director, large crowd scenes are often easier to shoot than two people in a room," Parker said. "But for everyone else on the crew it was a nightmare: seven hundred and fifty extras in period costume, two hundred period cars, ten buses, thirty trucks, a hundred crew and police, and, fittingly, three borrowed circus tents in which to feed everyone."[11] On April 25, the crew returned to Jackson, Mississippi, where an unused building was to recreate a diner that was found in Alabama during location scouting. A day later, Hackman and Dafoe filmed their opening scene, in which the characters Anderson and Ward drive to Jessup County, Mississippi.[11]

On April 27, the production moved to LaFayette, Alabama for the remainder of filming.[11] From April 28 to April 29, Parker and his crew filmed scenes set in Mrs. Pell's home. On May 5, the production shot one of the film's final scenes, in which Anderson discovers Mrs. Pell's home trashed. Parker described the scene as "an ugly scene and not pleasurable to shoot". On May 13, the crew filmed scenes in a former LaFayette movie theatre, which had now become a store for tractor tires. The art department restored the theatre's interiors to reflect the time period.[11] Filming concluded on May 14, 1988 after the production filmed a Ku Klux Klan speech that is overseen by the FBI.[11]

Music

The film score for Mississippi Burning was produced, arranged and composed by Trevor Jones, who had also scored Parker's previous film Angel Heart (1987).[17] Regarding the score, Jones said, "The thing about Mississippi Burning was that the underscore had one very essential rhythmic idea which I came up with early on...and what I said to [Parker] was what if we use that idea throughout the film to psychologically signal to the audience there’s danger near?"[17] He described the score as "a very simple motif ... that was constructed from 20 different ways of playing it".[17] In addition to Jones's score, the soundtrack for Mississippi Burning features several gospel-themed songs, including "Walk on by Faith" performaed by Lannie McBride, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" performed by Mahalia Jackson and "Try Jesus" performed by Vesta Williams. A motion picture soundtrack album for Mississippi Burning was released by the recording labels Antilles Records and Island Records.[18]

Release

Mississippi Burning held its world premiere at the Uptown Theatre in Washington, D.C. on December 2, 1988.[19] In addition to the cast and crew, the premiere was attended by various politicians, ambassadors and political reporters. At the premiere, United States Senator Ted Kennedy voiced his support of the film, stating, "This movie will educate millions of Americans too young to recall the sad events of that summer about what life was like in this country before the enactment of the civil rights laws."[19]

In what the film industry calls a "platform release", Mississippi Burning was released in a small number of theaters before opening wide in other countries; it opened in Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and New York City on December 9, 1988.[19][20] The film's distributor, Orion Pictures, was confident that the limited release would qualify the film for Academy Awards consideration, and generate good word-of-mouth support from moviegoers.[19] Mike Medavoy, co-founder of the studio, said, "It's a very well-made movie, and we are hoping it does very well at the box office. If it goes above and beyond that, if it provokes people to think about the period - what a triumph!"[21] The film was released across North America on January 27, 1989,[22] playing at 1,058 theaters, and expanding to 1,074 theatres by its ninth week.[23]

Box office

Mississippi Burning's first week of limited release saw it take $225,034—an average of $25,003 per theater.[23] The film grossed an additional $160,628 in its second weekend.[23] The film generated strong local interest in the state of Mississippi, resulting in sold-out showings in its first four days.[24] More theaters were added during the limited run, and on January 27, 1989, the film officially entered wide release. By the end of its opening weekend of wide release, the film had grossed $3,545,305, securing the number five position at the domestic box office with an overall domestic gross of $14,726,112.[23] After seven weeks of wide release, Mississippi Burning ended its theatrical run with an overall gross of $34,603,943.[23] In North America, Mississippi Burning was the thirty-third highest grossing film of 1988[25] and the seventeenth highest-grossing R-rated film of that year.[26]

Home media

Mississippi Burning was released on VHS on July 27, 1989, released by Orion Home Video, the home video division of Orion Pictures.[27] Orion Home Video later released a "Collector's Edition" of the film on LaserDisc on April 3, 1998.[28] The film was released on DVD on May 8, 2001 by MGM Home Entertainment. Special features for the DVD include an audio commentary by Alan Parker and a theatrical trailer.[29] The film received a limited release of 3,000 Blu-ray Disc copies via Twilight Time on May 12, 2015.[30]

Reception

"...with Mississippi Burning the controversy got out of hand. It was impossible to turn on a TV without someone discussing the movie — or using the movie to trigger the debate. Often it was black politicians and activists attacking my film but mostly one another because there certainly was no consensus in the black community towards the film. For myself I was somewhat bemused by it all — and a little punch-drunk. In the beginning it was rather nice to have your film talked about but suddenly the tide turned and although it did well at the box office, we were dogged by a lot of anger that the film generated."

—Parker reflecting on the film's controversy.[11]

Controversy

Following its release, Mississippi Burning became embroiled in controversy and sparked significant media attention. The film was criticized by some groups for its fictionalization of history and depiction of African-Americans.[6][31][32][33][34] Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., stated, "How long will we have to wait before Hollywood finds the courage and the integrity to tell the stories of some of the many thousands of black men, women and children who put their lives on the line for equality?"[31] Carolyn Goodman, mother of Andrew Goodman, and Ben Chaney, Jr., the younger brother of James Chaney, expressed that they were both "disturbed" by the film.[35] Goodman described Mississippi Burning as "a film that used the deaths of the boys as a means of solving the murders and the FBI being heroes."[35] Chaney stated, "...the image that younger people got (from the film) about the times, about Mississippi itself and about the people who participated in the movement being passive, was pretty negative and it didn't reflect the truth."[35]

When asked about the film at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, filmmaker Spike Lee stated that Mississippi Burning was among several films that was dependent upon a white savior narrative that exploits blacks in favor of depicting whites as heroes. Lee said of the film, "Hated it. They should have had the guts to have at least one central black character."[36] Mississippi governor Ray Mabus, who initially voiced his support of the film's production, stated, "...it certainly concerns me and Mississippi that people not think the film represents Mississippi today. We're the most progressive, integrated society in America today."[19]

On a January 16, 1989 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) episode of ABC's late-night news program Nightline, Julian Bond, a social activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement, nicknamed the film "Rambo meets the Klan".[37] He criticized the film for its depiction of the FBI: "People are going to have a mistaken idea about that time...It`s just wrong. These guys were tapping our telephones, not looking into the murders of [Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner]."[37] When asked how Martin Luther King, Jr. would respond to the film, Bond replied, "I think he would have hated it. He knew the FBI -- spreading gossip and innuendo about him -- was his enemy."[37] Willis Edwards, head of the NAACP's Hollywood-Beverly Hills branch, stated, "What I have a problem with is the insulting way Orion would even attach its name to such distorted history, causing pain."[21]

In response to these criticisms, Parker defended his film by stating, "It's a movie. There have been a lot of documentaries on the subject. They run on PBS and nobody watches them. I have to reach a big audience, so hopefully the film is accessible to reach millions of people in 50 different countries. It's fiction in the same way that Platoon and Apocalypse Now are fictions of the Vietnam War. But the important thing is the heart of the truth, the spirit...I defend the right to change it in order to reach an audience who knows nothing about the realities and certainly don't watch PBS documentaries."[6]

Litigation

On February 21, 1989, former Neshoba County sheriff Lawrence A. Rainey filed a lawsuit against Orion Pictures, claiming "defamation...and invasion of privacy". The lawsuit, filed at a United States district court in Meridian, Mississippi, asked for $8 million in damages.[38] Rainey, who was the town's sheriff at the time of the 1964 murders, was suspected of conspiring in a Ku Klux Klan plot to murder Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, but was acquitted of conspiracy charges in a 1967 federal trial.[38] Rainey alleged that the filmmakers of Mississippi Burning had portrayed him in an unfavorable light with the fictional character of Sheriff Ray Stuckey (Gailard Sartain). "Everybody all over the South knows the one they have playing the sheriff in that movie is referring to me," he stated. "What they said happened and what they did to me certainly wasn't right and something ought to be done about it."[38] Rainey's lawsuit was unsuccessful; he dropped the suit after Orion's team of lawyers claimed that they would prove Rainey was indeed responsible for the murders.[39]

Critical response

Parker, the director, doesn't use melodrama to show how terrified the local blacks are of reprisals; he uses realism. We see what can happen to people who are not 'good nigras'. The Dafoe character approaches a black man in a segregated luncheonette and asks him questions. The black refuses to talk to him – and still gets beaten by the klan.

“
”

—Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times[40]

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes sampled 18 reviews, and gave Mississippi Burning a score of 89%, with an average score of 6.4 out of 10.[41] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, assigned the film a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 11 reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[42]

The film divided critics upon release. In Time magazine, author Jack E. White referred to the film as a "cinematic lynching of the truth".[43] Columnist Desson Howe of The Washington Post believed that the film "speeds down the complicated, painful path of civil rights in search of a good thriller. Surprisingly, it finds it". He felt the film was a "Hollywood-movie triumph that blacks could have used more of during – and since – that era."[44] Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader, lightly criticized Parker's direction, commenting that the film was "sordid fantasy" being "trained on the murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964, and the feast for the self-righteous that emerges has little to do with history, sociology, or even common sense."[45] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post wrote, "...like the South African saga Cry Freedom, it views the black struggle from an all-white perspective. And there's something of the demon itself in that. It's the right story, but with the wrong heroes."[46]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the film's fictionalization of history, writing in his review, "It is relentless in the way it maintains its focus. Virtually every image says that this is the way things were, and may still be. Think about it. The film doesn't pretend to be about the civil-rights workers themselves. It's almost as if Mr. Parker and Mr. Gerolmo respected the victims, their ideals and their fate too much to reinvent them through the use of fiction."[47] In his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert surmised, "We knew the outcome of this case when we walked into the theater. What we may have forgotten, or never known, is exactly what kinds of currents were in the air in 1964."[40] On the syndicated television program Siskel and Ebert and the Movies, Ebert and his colleague Gene Siskel gave the film a "two thumbs up" rating.[48] Ebert declared Mississippi Burning as the "Best Film of 1988",[49][50] and later ranked it at number 8 on his list of the "Best Films of the 1980s".[51]

Although the film was met with a mixed response, the performances of Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe and Frances McDormand were repeatedly praised. Siskel, writing for the Chicago Tribune, praised Hackman and Dafoe's "subtle" performances but felt that McDormand was "most effective as the film's moral conscience".[52]Variety magazine wrote, "Dafoe gives a disciplined and noteworthy portrayal of Ward ... But it’s Hackman who steals the picture as Anderson...Glowing performance of Frances McDormand as the deputy’s wife who’s drawn to Hackman is an asset both to his role and the picture."[53] Pauline Kael, writing for The New Yorker, praised the film's performances, but criticized the film's "garish forms of violence" and described it as "morally repugnant".[54] Although critical of the film's depiction of history, Sheila Benson, writing for the Los Angeles Times, praised Hackman and McDormand's performances: "Part of the film's pull comes from the delicacy of the playing between Hackman and McDormand. Hackman's mastery at suggesting an infinite number of layers beneath a wry, self-deprecating surface reaches a peak here, but McDormand soars right with him. And since she is the film's sole voice of morality, it's right that she is so memorable."[55]

Accolades

Mississippi Burning has received various awards and nominations in categories ranging from recognition of the film itself to its writing, direction, editing, sound and cinematography, to the performances of Gene Hackman and Frances McDormand. In February 1989, Mississippi Burning was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor; its closest rivals were Rain Man leading with eight nominations, and Dangerous Liaisons, which also received seven nominations.[56] On March 29, 1989, at the 61st Academy Awards, the film only won one award for Best Cinematography (Peter Biziou).[57] In addition to receiving various awards and nominations, Mississippi Burning was named one of the "Top 10 Films of 1988" by the National Board of Review.[58]

List of awards and nominations
Award Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result
61st Academy Awards[57] Best Picture Frederick Zollo, Robert F. Colesberry Nominated
Best Actor Gene Hackman Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Frances McDormand Nominated
Best Director Alan Parker Nominated
Best Sound Mixing Robert J. Litt, Elliot Tyson, Rick Kline, Danny Michael Nominated
Best Film Editing Gerry Hambling Nominated
Best Cinematography Peter Biziou Won
1989 Annual ACE Eddie Awards[59] Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic Gerry Hambling Won
1989 Annual ASC Awards[60] Best Edited Feature Film Gerry Hambling Nominated
39th Berlin International Film Festival[61] Silver Bear for Best Actor Gene Hackman Won
Silver Bear for Best Director Alan Parker Nominated
43rd British Academy Film Awards[62] Best Sound Bill Phillips, Danny Michael, Robert J. Litt, Elliot Tyson, Rick Kline Won
Best Cinematography Peter Biziou Won
Best Editing Gerry Hambling Won
Best Direction Alan Parker Nominated
Best Film Music Trevor Jones Nominated
1989 British Society of Cinematographers Awards[63] Best Cinematography Peter Biziou Won
1989 Artios Awards[64] Best Casting for a Drama Film Howard Feuer, Juliet Taylor Won
2nd Chicago Film Critics Association Awards[65] Best Film ———— Won
Best Supporting Actress Frances McDormand Won
Best Actor Gene Hackman Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Brad Dourif Nominated
David di Donatello Awards[66] Best Foreign Actor Gene Hackman Nominated
Best Foreign Film Alan Parker Nominated
41st Directors Guild of America Awards[67] Outstanding Directing – Feature Film Alan Parker Nominated
1988 Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards[68] Best Supporting Actress Frances McDormand Won
14th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards[69] Best Actor Gene Hackman Won
46th Golden Globe Awards[70] Best Motion Picture – Drama ———— Nominated
Best Director Alan Parker Nominated
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Gene Hackman Nominated
Best Screenplay Chris Gerolmo Nominated
60th National Board of Review Awards[58] Best Film ———— Won
Best Director Alan Parker Won
Best Actor Gene Hackman Won
Best Supporting Actress Frances McDormand Won
Top Ten Films ———— Won
23rd National Society of Film Critics Awards[71] Best Actor Gene Hackman Won
54th New York Film Critics Circle Awards[72] Best Film ———— Nominated
Best Actor Gene Hackman Nominated
1989 Political Film Society Awards[73] Human Rights Award ———— Won

See also

References

Footnotes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Goldstein, Patrick (June 1989). "Classic Feature: Mississippi Burning". Empire. AFI. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Ressner, Jeffrey (November 17, 1988). "The Burning Truth". Rolling Stone. Vol. 539 (United States). pp. 45–46.
  3. 1 2 Goldstein, Patrick (June 5, 1988). "A Time for Burning--Murder in Mississippi". The New York Times. The New York Times Company.
  4. ↑ "Mississippi Burning (1988)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  5. 1 2 "Barry Bradford and The Reopening Of Mississippi Burning Case | Speaking For A Change". Barrybradford.com. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 King, Wayne (December 4, 1988). "FILM; Fact vs. Fiction in Mississippi". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ Mitchell, Jerry. "New details on the FBI paying $30K to solve the Mississippi Burning case". Journey to Justice. The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  8. ↑ Cartha D. Deloach (June 25, 1995). Hoover’s F. B. I.: The Inside Story by Hoover’s Trusted Lieutenant (First ed.). Regnery Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0895264794.
  9. ↑ Mitchell, Jerry. "Mississippi Burning - Who is Mr. X?". BarryBradford.com. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 Gerolmo, Chris (February 26, 2014). "Mississippi Burning, Reconsidered". Huffington Post. Huffington Post. Retrieved April 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Parker, Alan. "Mississippi Burning - Alan Parker - Director, Writer, Producer - Official Website". AlanParker.com. AlanParker.com. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  12. ↑ MacAskill, Ewan (October 31, 2007). "FBI used mafia capo to find bodies of Ku Klux Klan victims". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Ltd. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 David F. Gonthier, Jr.; Timothy L. O'Brien (May 2015). "9. Mississippi Burning, 1988". The Films of Alan Parker, 1976-2003. United States: McFarland & Company. pp. 162–182. ISBN 978-0786497256.
  14. ↑ Terry, Clifford (September 9, 1990). "Brian Dennehy`s Quest". Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  15. 1 2 Terry, Clifford (September 9, 1990). "Brian Interview: Gene Hackman". Film Comment. Film Society of Lincoln Center. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  16. ↑ Reynolds, Harold (January 17, 1989). "Provocative Dafoe Prefers His Film Roles Served Hot". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  17. 1 2 3 Benitez, Sergio. "Two Days with Trevor Jones at the Phone (First Day)". BSO Spirit. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Trevor Jones - Mississippi Burning (Original Soundtrack Recording) (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 Pagano, Penny. "Civil Rights Star in D.C. Film Opening". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  20. ↑ Wilson, John M. "'Burning' Mad in Ole Miss". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  21. 1 2 Brown, Tony (February 25, 1989). "Hollywood dirty little secret". Indianapolis Recorder (Indianapolis, Indiana).
  22. ↑ "Mississippi Burning (1988)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mississippi Burning (1988) - Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  24. ↑ Adam Nossiter (Jun 16, 2009). "8. Downfall of the Old Order and Reawakening of Memory". Of Long Memory: Mississippi and the Murder of Medgar Evers. United States: Da Capo Press. pp. 228–231. ISBN 978-0306811623.
  25. ↑ "1988 Yearly Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  26. ↑ "1988 Yearly Box Office for R Rated Movies". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  27. ↑ Stephens, Mary (July 21, 1989). "Old Stars, New Kids In Summer Rock Tapes". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 2016.
  28. ↑ "Mississippi Burning: Collector's Edition [ID3922OR]". LaserDisc Database. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Mississippi Burning (1988) - DVD". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  30. ↑ "Mississippi Burning Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  31. 1 2 Toplin, Robert Brent (1996). "Mississippi Burning: A Standard to Which We Couldn't". History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the Hollywood Past. United States: University of Illinois Press. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-0252065361.
  32. ↑ Zinn, Howard (1990). Passionate declarations: essays on war and justice. Harper Collins. pp. 249–251. ISBN 0-06-055767-2.
  33. ↑ Zinn, Howard. "Federal Bureau of Intimidation". History is a Weapon. Retrieved 2011-03-12.
  34. ↑ "Speaking For A Change | American History Speaker/Scholar". Barrybradford.com. 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  35. 1 2 3 Leftovsky, Irv. "Another Case of Murder in Mississippi : TV movie on the killing of three civil rights workers in 1964 tries to fill in what 'Mississippi Burning' left out". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  36. ↑ Handelman, David. "'Do the Right Thing': Insight to Riot". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  37. 1 2 3 Russell, Candace (January 20, 1989). "Julian Bond Disputes Portrayal Of FBI". Sun-Sentinel. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  38. 1 2 3 Associated Press (February 23, 1989). "Sheriff sues film studio, claiming he was libeled". Spokane Chronicle (Spokane, Washington).
  39. ↑ Craft, Stephanie; Davis, Charles N. (2013). "The Foundations of Free Expression". Principles of American Journalism: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 189. ISBN 0-41-589017-9.
  40. 1 2 Ebert, Roger (December 9, 1988). "Mississippi Burning". Chicago Sun-Times. RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  41. ↑ "Mississippi Burning (1988) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  42. ↑ "Mississippi Burning". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  43. ↑ White, Jack E. (January 9, 1989). "Show Business: Just Another Mississippi Whitewash". Time Magazine. White's review is quoted in Roman, James (2009). Bigger Than Blockbusters: Movies That Defined America. ABC-CLIO. p. 274. ISBN 9780313087400.
  44. ↑ Howe, Desson (December 9, 1988). "Mississippi Burning (R)". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  45. ↑ "Mississippi Burning (R)". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  46. ↑ "Mississippi Burning (R)". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  47. ↑ Canby, Vincent (December 9, 1988). "Review/Film - Retracing Mississippi's Agony, 1964". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  48. ↑ Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert (December 3, 1988). Siskel and Ebert and the Movies.
  49. ↑ Ebert, Roger (December 31, 1988). "The Best 10 Movies of 1988". Chicago Sun-Times. RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  50. ↑ Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert (December 17, 1988). Siskel and Ebert and the Movies.
  51. ↑ "Siskel & Ebert org - Best films of the 1980’s (1989)". Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  52. ↑ Siskel, Gene (December 9, 1988). "Subtle Portrayals Imbue Heavy Drama 'Burning'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  53. ↑ Variety Staff (December 31, 1988). "Review: ‘Mississippi Burning’". Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Kael Reviews". Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  55. ↑ Benson, Sheila (December 18, 1988). "RCritic's Notebook: Some 'Burning' Questions". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  56. ↑ Cipely, Michael (February 16, 1988). "Academy Showers 'Rain Man' With 8 Oscar Bids : 'Dangerous Liaisons' and 'Mississippi Burning' Get 7 Each". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  57. 1 2 "The 61st Academy Awards (1989) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  58. 1 2 "1988 Archives – National Board of Review". National Board of Review. National Board of Review. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  59. ↑ MacMinn, Aleene; Puig, Claudia (March 20, 1989). "Kudos". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  60. ↑ "The ASC -- Past ASC Awards". American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  61. ↑ "Berlinale: 1989 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-03-12.
  62. ↑ "Film in 1990". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  63. ↑ "BSC Best Cinematography Award". British Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  64. ↑ "1989 Artios Awards". Casting Society of America. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  65. ↑ "Chicago Film Critics Awards - 1988-97". Chicago Film Critics Association. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  66. ↑ Enrico Lancia. I premi del cinema. Gremese Editore, 1998. ISBN 8877422211.
  67. ↑ "1988 Directors Guild of America Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  68. ↑ "KCFCC Award Winners – 1980-89". Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  69. ↑ Easton, Nina J. (December 12, 1988). "L.A. Film Critics Vote Lahti, Hanks, 'Dorrit' Winners". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  70. ↑ "Winners & Nominees 1989 (Golden Globes)". Golden Globe Awards. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  71. ↑ Kehr, Dave (January 9, 1989). "`Unbearable Lightness` Named Best Film Of `88 By Critics Group". Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  72. ↑ Boyar, Jay (January 25, 1989). "Critics' Picks Are Oscar Indicators". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  73. ↑ "Political Film Society - Previous Award Winners". Political Film Society. Political Film Society. Retrieved April 30, 2016.

Further reading

External links

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