Underplayed Gems

Mississippi Burning (1988)

Mississippi Burning poster
Directed by
Alan Parker
Genre
drama film, crime film
Country
United States
Runtime
2h 07m
Rated
R
Rating
7.7 of 10 from 1,967 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like thisWatch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

Two FBI agents arrive in a small Mississippi town to investigate the disappearance of three civil rights activists. They face violent resistance from the local police and the Ku Klux Klan as they try to uncover the truth.

tensesombergrittysuspensefulbleakslow-burnheavydisturbing

What happens

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 investigation into the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Neshoba County, Mississippi. It stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI agents investigating the disappearance of three civil rights activists 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 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 for 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. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.