Mississippi Burning
| Mississippi Burning | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Alan Parker |
| Produced by |
Frederick Zollo Robert F. Colesberry |
| Written by | Chris Gerolmo |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Trevor Jones |
| Cinematography | Peter Biziou |
| Edited by | Gerald Hambling |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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128 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15 million |
| Box office | $34.6 million |
Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker, and written by Chris Gerolmo. It is loosely based on the FBI's investigation into the murders of three civil rights workers in the state of Mississippi in 1964. Set in fictional Jessup County, Mississippi, the film stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI agents assigned to investigate the disappearance of three civil rights workers. The investigation is met with hostility and backlash by the town's residents, local police and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
Gerolmo began work on the original script in 1985, inspired by an article and several books detailing the FBI's investigation into the 1964 murders of civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. He and producer Frederick Zollo brought the script to Orion Pictures, and the studio hired Parker to direct the film. Parker and Gerolmo, however, had disagreements over the script, which resulted in Orion allowing the director to make uncredited rewrites. On a budget of $15 million, the film's principal photography commenced in March 1988 and concluded in May of that year; filming locations included a number of locales in Mississippi and Alabama.
Mississippi Burning held its world premiere at the Uptown Theatre in Washington, D.C. on December 2, 1988. Orion Pictures released Mississippi Burning using a platform technique which involved releasing the film in select cities to generate strong word-of-mouth interest, before expanding distribution in the following weeks. Upon release, the film became embroiled in controversy; it was heavily criticized for its fictionalization of history by black activists involved in the Civil Rights Movement (1954–68) and the families of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner. Critical reaction towards the film was mixed, though the performances of Hackman, Dafoe and Frances McDormand were generally praised. Mississippi Burning was a modest box office success, grossing $34.6 million during its domestic theatrical run. The film received various awards and nominations; it received seven Academy Award nominations at the 61st Academy Awards in 1989, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, but won only one award for Best Cinematography.
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