Mississippi Burning
Mississippi Burning ★★★ 1988 (R)
Hard-edged social drama centers around the civil rights movement in Mississippi in 1964. When three activists turn up missing, FBI agents Anderson (Hackman) and Ward (Dafoe) are sent to head up the investigation. Unfortunately, this is another example of a “serious” film about racial conflict in which white characters predominate and blacks provide background. 127m/C VHS, DVD . Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey, Gailard Sartain, Stephen Tobolowsky, Michael Rooker, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Badja (Medu) Djola, Kevin Dunn, Frankie Faison, Tom Mason, Park Overall; D: Alan Parker; W: Chris Gerolmo; C: Peter Biziou; M: Trevor Jones. Oscars ‘88: Cinematog.; Berlin Intl. Film Fest. ‘88: Actor (Hackman); Natl. Bd. of Review ‘88: Actor (Hackman), Director (Parker), Support. Actress (McDormand).