Mississippi Burning (1989)

Mississippi Burning

It is my understanding there were folks in Mississippi who resented this film, saying it unfairly portrayed their state. History knows better. Blacks in that state as in other southern states endured murder, lynching,and having their homes and churches bombed or burned. The KKK was made up of "respectable citizens" who lived one way during the day and donned their hoods at night. There is a book COMING OF AGE IN MISSISSIPPI that was written by a young black girl who grew up there. She tells about the murder of her father who was walking home after working all day. He was shotgunned to death. No investigation was done, and no arrests were made. This move is one of the most powerful commentaries the deal with the terror and injustice that went on for decades. The three civil rights workers were murdered and "disappeared" on my 22nd birthday. That was a very turbulent time in our history. July 8, 2008

1960

Awesome plot, vulgar language may be excessive, not recommended for young viewers. Strong adult content. June 6, 2008

Another Hackman Classic

Gene Hackman is probably the most underrated actor in Hollywood. To every role he brings passion, humanity and believability. I can't imagine any other actor playing the role of "Mr. Anderson" (I can hear Willem Dafoe saying it) as effectively as he does.

As noted, the film is based on an actual event, the murders of Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Cheney, young civil rights activists trying to register blacks to vote. From what I know about the South in those days, it is a pretty accurate depiction. The hatred, the refusal to change (integrate), the two separate societies was all there. Little Rock, Univ. of Alabama, Central High School, these horrors could be watched on TV. The Southern racists in the movie are so beneath contempt that they risk becoming straw men, a possible weaknesses.

Certainly Mr. Anderson was right that the malefactors could never be charged with murder in a state court and be found guilty (unless somehow they obtained a change of venue, an unlikely event). Do the ends justify the means? When the FBI agents try to find the murderers the old-fashioned way, they meet solid walls of opposition: blacks afraid of retribution if they tell what they know, and whites who button up to protect themselves. So the DaFoe character finally takes Mr. Anderson's advice to "do whatever it takes" to put the murderers behind bars. Is Pauline Kael correct to dismiss this as "vigilantism"? Well, it is a legitimate objection (the DaFoe character reminds Mr. Anderson that the coerced confession he just obtained from the town's mayor violated his civil rights and will be inadmissible in court! Hot damn!). Mr. Anderson observes "These people crawled out of the gutter! Maybe it's time we got in there with them!" Well, they have more tricks up their sleeves, and obtain other evidence against them.

It is a wonderful script, with taut, exciting dialogue, and the conflict between Hackman and DaFoe is the stuff of powerful drama. This is a gut-wrenching film, not for the timid, with wonderful performances by all involved. I never tire of watching it. March 2, 2008

mikeyp review's

brilliant gripping movie. gene hackman at his finest. watched this movie
probably 5-6 times and it never gets old. not sure of the director but kudo's to that individual. 5 stars December 29, 2007

GIMME A DR. PEPPER, QUICK!

The voice of legendary WBZ personality Carl deSuze had none of its buoyancy that morning in 1964: "and if we sound differently this morning,it's because we feel differently..we all are different this morniing". I soon learned that the bodies of 3 civil rights workers had finally been found,dead as expected,shot then buried in an earthen dam in Philadelphia, Mississippi.The radio is not a medium well suited to cover stories such as this one; film and the cinema are highly superior (if used properly and in context). "Mississippi Burning" is a moving experience; heck,any number of actors could have played the lead roles. It's the number of top quality scenes that become etched in one's mind: the swamp search, the hanging outside the church, the burning cross, the backroom bar, Hackman administering a "close shave", the wife beating,the molotov cocktail, the courtroom, and countless other outrages make multiple viewings almost mandatory. See the movie, buy it, just don't miss it! October 20, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...