A visceral Southern Gothic thriller where the sweltering heat of 1964 Mississippi mirrors the incendiary racial hatred consuming a small town. Fire, blood, and swamp water visually define this harrowing procedural about the cost of justice.
Mississippi Burning
"1964. When America was at war with itself."
Director:
Alan Parker
Cast:
Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey
Drama
Crime
Thriller
Mystery
Budget:
$15,000,000
Box Office:
$34,604,000
Mississippi Burning - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details
Easter Eggs
Producer Cameos
Producers Frederick Zollo and Robert F. Colesberry appear in the film. Zollo plays a news reporter, and Colesberry plays the cameraman who gets beaten up.
1964 Not Forgotten Tombstone
The final shot shows a tombstone with the name broken off, reading only '1964 Not Forgotten'. This was a prop, but it symbolizes the anonymous victims of racial violence and the film's fictionalization of the specific real-life victims (Chaney, Goodman, Schwerner).
Sheriff Ray Stuckey / Sheriff Rainey
The character of Sheriff Stuckey is physically and behaviorally modeled closely after the real-life Sheriff Lawrence Rainey, who was known for his chewing tobacco and dismissive attitude during the trial.