This article is about the film. For the event and FBI case file this film is based on, see Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. For the song, see Building a Better ______.
Mississippi Burning
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Alan Parker
Written by
Chris Gerolmo
Produced by
Frederick Zollo
Robert F. Colesberry
Starring
Gene Hackman
Willem Dafoe
Cinematography
Peter Biziou
Edited by
Gerald Hambling
Music by
Trevor Jones
Distributed by
Orion Pictures
Release dates
December 2, 1988 (1988-12-02) (Washington)
December 9, 1988 (1988-12-09) (United States)
Running time
128 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$15 million
Box office
$34.6 million[1]
Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker and written by Chris Gerolmo that is loosely based on the 1964 murder investigation of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. It stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI agents investigating the disappearance of three civil rights workers in fictional Jessup County, Mississippi, who are met with hostility by the town's residents, local police, and the Ku Klux Klan.
Gerolmo began writing the script in 1986 after researching the 1964 murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. He and producer Frederick Zollo presented it to Orion Pictures, and the studio hired Parker to direct. The writer and director had disputes over the script, and Orion allowed Parker to make uncredited rewrites. The film was shot in a number of locations in Mississippi and Alabama, with principal photography from March to May 1988.
On release, Mississippi Burning was criticized by activists involved in the civil rights movement and the families of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner for its fictionalization of events. Critical reaction was generally positive, with praise aimed towards the cinematography and the performances of Hackman, Dafoe and Frances McDormand. The film grossed $34.6 million in North America against a production budget of $15 million. It received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won for Best Cinematography.
^"Mississippi Burning (1988)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
and 23 Related for: Mississippi Burning information
MississippiBurning is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker and written by Chris Gerolmo that is loosely based on the 1964 murder...
Evita (1996); true-story dramas, including Midnight Express (1978), MississippiBurning (1988), Come See the Paradise (1990) and Angela's Ashes (1999); family...
Bonnie and Clyde (1967), I Never Sang for My Father (1970), and MississippiBurning (1988). Hackman gained further fame for his portrayal of Lex Luthor...
Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie, The Milagro Beanfield War, MississippiBurning, Pelle the Conqueror, Tin Toy, Working Girl, and You Don't Have to...
roles include Chick Gandil in Eight Men Out (1988), Frank Bailey in MississippiBurning (1988), Terry Cruger in Sea of Love (1989), Rowdy Burns in Days of...
informant for the FBI. Dennis testified against the Klan in the MississippiBurning case, and once mentioned having met De La Beckwith. The investigation...
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). His other film appearance include roles in MississippiBurning (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Wild at Heart (1990),...
1960) is an American character actor. He had roles in the films MississippiBurning (1988), Jacob's Ladder (1990), JFK (1991), Identity (2003), and Constantine...
for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in MississippiBurning (1988), Almost Famous (2000), and North Country (2005). McDormand...
guest spots in episodic television and had a role in the 1988 film MississippiBurning before landing the role of Eddie Winslow in Family Matters the following...
Never Sang for My Father Nominated 1972 The French Connection Best Actor Won 1989 MississippiBurning Nominated 1993 Unforgiven Best Supporting Actor Won...
Michael Schwerner (their murder was later depicted in the 1988 film MississippiBurning, loosely based on these events). The victims were members of the...
has appeared in a number of feature films, including Biloxi Blues, MississippiBurning, Talk Radio, and In the Family. Overall was born in Nashville, Tennessee...
background work on feature films. He had his first feature film role in MississippiBurning (1988). Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bell appeared in supporting...
York who worked primarily within black film. He is best known for MississippiBurning, Penitentiary, A Rage in Harlem, and Who's the Man?. Djola's breakout...
run time: 42 minutes; first aired: September 2018. In the 1988 film MississippiBurning, the character of Agent Monk (played by Badja Djola) and his abduction...
Change, 3 Women, An Unmarried Woman, Apocalypse Now, Sophie's Choice, MississippiBurning, Eve's Bayou, and Dark City. In 1985, Ebert declined to rank the...
1988 Off Limits Buck McGriff The Last Temptation of Christ Jesus MississippiBurning FBI Agent Alan Ward 1989 Triumph of the Spirit Salamo Arouch Born...
as Robert Gavel, working as a stunt driver in Steel Magnolias and MississippiBurning. In the film I Know What You Did Last Summer, Watson performed the...
Lambs (1991). Four other Orion films, Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), MississippiBurning (1988), Women Talking (2022) and American Fiction (2023), were nominated...
Temptation of Christ and as an FBI Agent Alan Parker's racial drama MississippiBurning. He also made appearances in Stone's Born on the Fourth of July (1989)...
Global Information