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Mississippi Burning

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Mississippi Burning reviews
65
10.0 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 11 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 5 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Crime  |  Drama  |  Mystery  |  Suspense/Thriller

Written by: Chris Gerolmo

Directed by: Alan Parker

Release Date:
Theatrical: January 27, 1989
DVD: May 8, 2001

Running Time: 128 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R for profanity, not for children, violence, adult language, Adult Situations

Starring Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey, Frankie Faison, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and Michael Rooker

A fictionalized version of the murders of three civil rights activists on June 21, 1964 in Mississippi. The FBI comes in to solve the case and succeeds only after using unethical and illegal means. (MGM)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Apart from its pure entertainment value - this is the best American crime movie in years - it is an important statement about a time and a condition that should not be forgotten. The Academy loves to honor prestigious movies in which long-ago crimes are rectified in far-away places. Here is a nominee with the ink still wet on its pages.

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100

USA Today Staff (Not Credited)

A powerful drama about the murder of three civil-rights workers in the South. Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe are FBI men investigating. A legitimate Oscar contender. [6 Jan 1989, p.5D]

90

Washington Post Desson Howe

Mississippi Burning speeds down the complicated, painful path of civil rights in search of a good thriller. Surprisingly, it finds it

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80

Washington Post Rita Kempley

Parker, a director of breadth, not depth, never supplies the big answers, but he does powerfully depict the climate of the Confederacy in the "Freedom Summer" of 1964.

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80

The New York Times Wayne King

For those who know such places, Mr. Parker, who is English, evokes the texture, the gritty, fly-specked Southernness, the brooding sense of small-town menace, the racial hatred, with considerable accuracy.

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80

Variety Staff (Not Credited)

Though its credibility is undermined by a fanciful ending, Mississippi Burning captures much of the truth in its telling of the impact of a 1964 FBI probe into the murders of three civil rights workers.

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80

Empire Barry Mcllhenney

With remarkable performances, aggressive direction and a cracking pace, this is superb cinema, even if the historical accuracy leaves much to be desired.

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63

San Francisco Chronicle Judy Stone

Parker recreates the hate-and-fear-filled atmosphere in that small Southern town with broad brush strokes. But in the end, all of his spectacular fires send out a lot more heat than light. [13 Jan 1989, p.E1]

50

TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)

Mississippi Burning is visually splendid. Director Parker and his crew have created a film that is unquestionably watchable. As a history lesson, however, it's laughable.

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25

Boston Globe John Koch

Mississippi Burning plays loose with truth, turning the history of the civil rights movement on its head. The filmmakers shamelessly transform what was ultimately a triumph of due process and nonviolent civil disobedience into an ugly might-makes-right spectacle. It's "Dirty Harry" coming at you from the left. [27 Jan 1989, p.72]

20

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

The glorification of the FBI, the obfuscation about Jim Crow laws, and the absurd melodramatics may all have been well-intentioned, but the understanding about the past and the present of racism that emerges is depressingly thin.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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