Good concept, poorly executed.

good back-story, and good acting

Best movie ever!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This film involves the investigation of the disappearance of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1967.Dafoe plays the straight man from the FBI, He does everything by the book. But he doesn't get far. His investigation is blocked every step of the way by the locals, including law enforcement and the KKK. Clearly these Southern boys don't appreciate these 'bleeding heart liberals' coming down from the North and telling them how to 'treat their coloured folk'...The Gene Hackman comes along. He's another lawman, but with a more radical approach to investigation...Hackman's character is quite happy to do whatever it takes to achieve the desired objective including beating, threatening and intimidating witnesses and suspects. This approach is more successful...But will it prevail, in the face of opposition from (almost) the entire town?As usual, Dafoe is brilliant, and Hackman, of course never puts a foot wrong. He must have a really good agent, because I have never seen him act badly or be in a bad film. In fact his only mistake in his entire career seems to have been dental in nature...surely someone should tell these guys that 70 year olds do not have perfect, straight white teeth...

When three civil rights workers disappear FBI Agents Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe) and Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman) are tasked with investigating their disappearances. What starts out as a routine missing persons investigation quickly escalates into something much more serious especially when Ward (who isn't from Mississippi) starts to learn more about its townsfolk and about how those in charge choose to 'run' their town.I suppose it was kind of inevitable that a film like Mississippi Burning is going to be met with a rather mixed reception particularly as it apparently plays very 'loose' with the facts. In all fairness though anyone who watches a film and expects it to be 100% faithful or true to the story is somewhat naïve. What you get with Mississippi Burning is an interesting and fairly entertaining film which provides an insight into racial segregation in 1960's America - at least that's how I saw it!!!Although a lot of what we see may be fictional director Alan Parker works well with scriptwriter Chris Gerolmo in creating a powerful and somewhat terrifying look at the devastation that can be caused through bigotry and narrow-mindedness. Parker doesn't hold back and manages to stage some excellent scenes (the scene with Gene Hackman in the barber shop is particularly chilling as well as being memorable). The brutality continues throughout the film, which, admittedly, can make it hard to watch, but for me, this adds to the realism and Parker really engages with the viewer by drawing them into this appalling period of history.The strong performances compliment Parker's brutal direction well and the likes of Hackman and Dafoe are both good here (even though they are a rather clichéd pair of mismatched cops) Despite this though there's still an interesting and rather uneasy dynamic between the two men and the script occasionally affords them some amusing exchanges. The villains of the piece (Ermey, Dourif, Rooker, and Sartain) are excellent and all give rather sneering and cold-hearted performances.Aside from the cops and procedural elements being a tad clichéd one other aspect of this film that I found slightly problematic was the character of Mrs Pell (Frances McDormand). Her character is one of the few 'white' people who disagrees with segregation and is against how the Klu Klux Klan and the majority of white people treat the black people. This made her an interesting character who really should have had a more active role in the film. Instead of that, she is little more than window dressing and a bit on the side for Anderson (which is a tad frustrating and a waste of McDormand's acting talent). I personally felt that the film would have been slightly better if it had have at least given us some insight into what things were like on the other side of the fence.So yes there are some flaws with this film and rather ironically the narrative does suffer from being a bit 'black and white' However, it is a powerful drama that takes us back to an appalling time period, and although some of its brutality makes it hard to watch, I did find it to be a relatively engaging story.

When a film is based on a true story, it can amplify its emotional effect significantly - think of classics like Attenborough's 'Gandhi', Spielberg's 'Schindler's List' and Lean's 'Lawrence of Arabia'. The tragic history behind Alan Parker's film makes an already dark tale into a deeply unsettling one. Parker has a great ability to evoke a sense of despair, having done so to great effect in the earlier films 'Midnight Express' and 'Angel Heart'. The credit isn't all Parker's, though: he had to have people convey his vision; the people he chose did so very effectively. The two leading actors, Willem Defoe and Gene Hackman, both have a knack for playing villains and menacing characters, and have played the antagonist in a superhero film. But that's pretty much where the similarities end for me. They come from different generations and play their best roles very differently, but if you first saw them in 'Mississippi Burning', you'd be forgiven for thinking that they were a long-standing film duo, like Lemmon and Matthau. Hackman and Defoe are accompanied by a range of highly talented actors, including Oscar winner Frances McDormand, the always enjoyable R. Lee Ermey, and two of the men we'd later find stirring trouble in 'The Walking Dead' – Pruitt Taylor Vince and Michael Rooker. Everyone involved in 'Mississippi Burning' plays their strengths effectively, ensuring that Alan Parker's dark historical drama isn't a film you're likely to forget.

"Hatred isn't something you're born with. It gets taught... At 7 years of age, you get told it enough times, you believe it. You believe the hatred. You live it... you breathe it. You marry it."Alan Parker's 1988 film which was nominated for seven Academy Awards is another reminder of what a great career Gene Hackman had, although this time he got to share the spotlight with a pair of other wonderful performances from Willem Dafoe and Frances McDormand. The fact that Mississippi Burning isn't even considered one of Hackman's top ten most popular films just proves how many great films he's made over the span of five decades (he retired from acting in 2004). Since the film was loosely based on a real incident surrounding the disappearance of some civil rights workers in the south during the 60's many people complained that the film wasn't faithful to the story, but Parker never made such a claim and always said his film was a fictional tale of events that could've taken place during the time so I don't see any need to complain about it. Some similarities can be found with the classic film directed by Norman Jewison, In the Heat of the Night, which handles a similar theme about racism. Films like this are important reminders of how dangerous humans can be when they let hate and racism govern their hearts. It is so easy at times to forget those dark moments in our history and act like they never happened, but once in a while we get films like Mississippi Burning that remind us of the horrors of humanity and the sacrifice people made to end them. These are films with important messages which also happen to be well made and count with a stellar cast. Its only Oscar win was for Peter Biziou's wonderful cinematography, but there is so much more worth recommending about this classic from the 80's. The film introduces us to three civil rights workers as they are detained by a police vehicle while they were about to exit a small Mississippi town. The officers begin making all sorts of hateful remarks towards these men and violently shoot them for trying to stir up their quiet and organized segregated town. A few days later, two FBI agents show up in town looking for these disappeared citizens, who they fear have been murdered. Agent Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe) is in charge of the operation despite his young age. His partner, Agent Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman), is more experienced and is not afraid to speak his mind about him as someone he believes to be well educated but lacking more field work. Ward likes to do things by the books, but Anderson who was a former Sheriff in a similar Mississippi town knows the mentality of these places and believes his methods won't get them anywhere in a place like this. The Mayor (R. Lee Ermey) isn't pleased with the agents visit because he believes his segregation methods work and that things are run differently here than in the south. The agents learn it quickly while they're trying to collaborate with the local officers. Sheriff Ray Stuckey (Gaylord Sartain) is very protective of his boys, especially of Deputy Clinton (Brad Dourif) and officer Frank (Michael Rooker) who were the officers involved in the murder. It doesn't take the agents too long to realize what happened, but they can't find anyone in town who will speak to them since the victims have been threatened by the KKK. Every time someone seems to be interested in speaking up, they are immediately intimidated by the gang through violent acts. Ward's tactics don't seem to have an effect, but Anderson may have found the perfect ally in Mrs. Pell (Frances McDormand), the Deputy's wife who rejects his actions. The script handles the civil rights case with care and avoids falling into melodramatic territory by remaining gripping and suspenseful. There are plenty of thrills along the way and some violent scenes that are actually less horrifying than the hateful things these men say. It's true that the civil right theme is told through a white's man point of view, but I think it still remains compelling and well intentioned. In the end it becomes entirely a revenge action film, but it's handled in a convincing and realistic way. Hackman, Dafoe, and McDormand are in the center of the movie and they all deliver gripping performances playing off each other extremely well. Brad Dourif and Michael Rooker are given the stereotypical racist characters who are very easy to hate. Rooker seems to be playing the same character from The Walking Dead series only this time he actually acts upon his remarks more than simply being a loud mouth. Hackman and Dafoe are on the same side despite having very different approaches and that difference helps build the tension and relationships in the film. Parker's sensitive direction works in a film with such a controversial subject matter that could be easily manipulated. Mississippi Burning is a classic that shouldn't be missed by fans of Gene Hackman and his impressive career. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/