R. Lee Ermey, Willem Dafoe & Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning (1988) Alan Parker HD

Director: Alan Parker Two . Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists. Gene Hackman and Michael Rooker in Mississippi Burning (1988) Writer Chris Gerolmo Stars Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker that is loosely based on the 1964 murder investigation of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. It stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI agents investigating the disappearance of three civil rights workers in fictional Jessup County, Mississippi, who are met with hostility by the town’s residents, local police, and the Ku Klux Klan. Screenwriter Chris Gerolmo began the script in 1985 after researching the 1964 murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. He and producer Frederick Zollo presented it to Orion Pictures, and the studio hired Parker to direct the film. The writer and director had disputes over the script, and Orion allowed Parker to make uncredited rewrites. The film was shot in a number of locations in Mississippi and Alabama, with principal photography from March to May 1988. On release, Mississippi Burning was criticized by activists involved in the civil rights movement and the families of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner for its fictionalization of events. Critical reaction was generally positive, with praise aimed towards the cinematography and the performances of Hackman, Dafoe and Frances McDormand. The film grossed $34.6 million in North America against a production budget of $15 million. It received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won for Best Cinematography. Gene Hackman as FBI Agent Rupert Anderson (based on John Proctor) Willem Dafoe as FBI Agent Alan Ward (based on Joseph Sullivan) Frances McDormand as Mrs. Pell (based on Conner Price) Brad Dourif as Deputy Sheriff Clinton Pell (based on Cecil Price) R. Lee Ermey as Mayor Tilman (based on Abner Davis “Ab” Harbour) Gailard Sartain as Ray Stuckey, Sheriff of Jessup County (based on Lawrence A. Rainey) Stephen Tobolowsky as Clayton Townley (based on Samuel Bowers) Michael Rooker as Frank Bailey (based on Alton Wayne Roberts) Pruitt Taylor Vince as Lester Cowens (based on Jimmy Snowden) Badja Djola as FBI Agent Monk (based on Gregory Scarpa) Kevin Dunn as FBI Agent Bird Tobin Bell as FBI Agent Stokes Frankie Faison as Eulogist Geoffrey Nauffts as Goatee (based on Michael Schwerner) Rick Zieff as Passenger (based on Andrew Goodman) Christopher White as Black Passenger (based on James Chaney) Park Overall as Connie Darius McCrary as Aaron Williams Robert F. Colesberry as Cameraman Frederick Zollo as Reporter Bob Glaudini as FBI Agent Nash On June 21, 1964, civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were arrested in Philadelphia, Mississippi, by Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price, and taken to a Neshoba County jail.[2] The three men had been working on the “Freedom Summer“ campaign, attempting to organize a voter registry for African Americans.[3] Price charged Chaney with speeding and held the other two men for questioning.[2] He released the three men on bail seven hours later and followed them out of town.[4][5] After Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner failed to return to Meridian, Mississippi, on time, workers for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) placed calls to the Neshoba County jail, asking if the police had any information on their whereabouts.[6] Two days later, FBI agent John Proctor and ten other agents began their investigation in Neshoba County. They received a tip about a burning CORE station wagon seen in the woods off Highway 21, about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. The investigation was given the code name “MIBURN“ (short for “Mississippi Burning“)] and top FBI inspectors were sent to help with the case. On August 4, 1964, the bodies of the three men were found after an informant nicknamed “Mr. X“ in FBI reports passed along a tip to federal were discovered underneath an earthen dam on a 253-acre farm located a few miles outside Philadelphia, Mississippi.[10] All three men had been shot.[4] Nineteen suspects were indicted by the U.S. Justice Department for violating the workers’ civil rights.[5] On October 27, 1967, a federal trial conducted in Meridian resulted in only seven of the defendants, including Price, being convicted with sentences ranging from three to ten years. Nine were acquitted, and the jury deadlocked on three others.[4] In 2002, Jerry Mitchell, an investigative reporter for The Clarion-Ledger, discovered new evidence regarding the murders. He also located new witnesses and pressured the state of Mississippi to reopen the case.