Mississippi Burning (1988)

Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker and written by Chris Gerolmo. It was loosely based on the FBI investigation into the murders of three civil rights workers in the U.S. state of Mississippi in 1964. The film focuses on the professional relationship between two FBI agents portrayed by Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe who investigate the murders.

Hackman's character of agent Rupert Anderson, and Dafoe's part of agent Alan Ward, are loosely based on the partnership of FBI agents John Proctor and Joseph Sullivan. The film also features Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey, and Gailard Sartain in supporting roles.

It won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, and was nominated in a number of other categories including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. Filming locations included a number of locales in central Mississippi and LaFayette, Alabama.

Synopsis

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 (Hackman) and Alan Ward (Dafoe) to investigate. The pair find it difficult to conduct interviews with the local townspeople, as Sheriff Stuckey (Sartain) and his deputies exert influence over the public and are linked to a branch of the Ku Klux Klan.

Actors