Mississippi Burning

Mississippi Burning (1988)

Timing: 2:8 (128 min)

7.672/10
1578

7.688/10
13597

7.8/10
126000

All about film

Video 1

Photo 39

Actors and characters

Release date

1988-12-08

Country

United States

Production

Orion Pictures

Genre

Drama, Crime

Budget

$15 000 000

Revenue

$34 603 943

Website

http://alanparker.com/film/mississippi-burning/

Director

Alan Parker

Actors

Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey, Gailard Sartain, Stephen Tobolowsky, Michael Rooker, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Badja Djola
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Robert F. Colesberry, Frederick Zollo

Operator

Peter Biziou

Composer

Trevor Jones

Artist

Steve Arnold, James C. Feng

Audition

Juliet Taylor, Howard Feuer

Editing

Gerry Hambling
All team (68)

• A loose adaptation of the events triggered by the murder of civil rights activists James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman by members of the Ku Klux Klan on the night of June 21, 1964.
• The interiors of the sheriff's office, courtroom, and the staircase leading to it were filmed in an old courthouse building in Weden, Carroll County, Mississippi. Built in 1905, the building was in disrepair, and during filming, technical staff and extras sometimes had to dodge bricks falling from above. The building was subsequently demolished, although it had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Samuel L. Jackson auditioned for a role in the film, but Alan Parker found his accent "not Southern enough." Jackson grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one of the so-called Southeastern states.
• Alan Parker actually filmed interviews with local residents, fragments of which were included in the film. Their responses were minimally edited.
• In his documentary film "Steven Tobolowsky's Birthday Party" (2005), Clayton Townley actor Stephen Tobolowsky recounted that many listeners present in the film scene where Townley delivers a speech were genuine members of the Ku Klux Klan.
• During the filming of the clash between racists and reporters, two supporting actors nearly died. They left the cordoned-off area and climbed onto a railway bridge, where they almost were hit by a train.
• In one scene, a member of the Ku Klux Klan throws a victim from a red and white car onto a city square. The car is a 1961 DeSoto.
• Samuel L. Jackson auditioned for the role in the film, but Alan Parker found his accent "not Southern enough." Jackson grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one of the so-called Southeastern states.
• In his documentary film "Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party" (2005), the actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who played Clayton Townley, recounted that many of the listeners present in the scene where Townley delivers a speech were genuine members of the Ku Klux Klan.