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Mississippi Burning

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Mississippi Burning

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• Crime/detective
• Drama

• 1988
• Alan Parker
• 122 mins
• 18

Summary

Alan Parker's drama of racial tension, starring Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe. Mississippi, 1964: FBI agents Anderson and Ward arrive in the small town of Jessup to investigate the disappearance of three civil rights activists. Enraged by the increasingly hostile behaviour of the local Ku Klux Klan, Ward drafts in more and more agents and starts a war.

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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Sue Heal

In this powerful drama from director Alan Parker, Gene Hackman gives a mesmerising performance as a Southern States FBI agent fighting racism with local knowledge and canny psychology. Willem Dafoe is equally impressive, if more restrained, as his rule-obsessed Ivy League partner. Parker's wonderful creation crackles with dramatic tension and simmering violence that often reaches boiling point. Loosely based on a true story and shot with great visual flair (Peter Biziou won the Oscar for best cinematography), this is a gripping evocation of the early days of the civil rights movement.

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7.8/10

How to watch

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Streaming

• Prime Video
• Sky Store

Credits

Cast

rolenameRupert AndersonGene HackmanAlan WardWillem DafoeMrs PellFrances McDormandDeputy PellBrad DourifMayor TilmanR Lee ErmeySheriff StuckeyGailard SartainTownleyStephen TobolowskyFrank BaileyMichael RookerLester CowensPruitt Taylor VinceAgent MonkBadja DjolaAgent BirdKevin DunnAgent StokesTobin Bell

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Crew

rolenameDirectorAlan Parker

Details

Released on

1989-05-05

Languages

English

Guidance

Contains violence and swearing.

Available on

video, DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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