Product Details

• Actors: Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey
• Directors: Alan Parker
• Writers: Chris Gerolmo
• Producers: Frederick Zollo, Robert F. Colesberry
• Format: Multiple Formats, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Starring two-time Oscar(r) winner Gene Hackman andAcademy Award(r) nominee Willem Dafoe, Mississippi Burning ranks as one ofthe most potent and insightful views of racial turmoil yet produced (Variety).Nominated for six Oscars(r) and winner of an Academy Award(r) for BestCinematography, this emotionally charged film vividly captures acrucialchapter in American history (Time)! As three civil rights activists drive downa desolate stretch of highway, headlights ominously draw near. Telling eachother to stay calm, they have no way of knowing that in minutes they willdisappear into the night and spark one of the most explosive murderinvestigations in history. Enter straight-laced Ward (Dafoe) and deceptivelyeasy-going Anderson (Hackman). Can these two philosophically opposed FBIagents overcome their differences and uncover the chilling mystery of a smallKu Klux Klan-ridden community before an entire town is torn apart by racism? Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe star in this well-intentioned andlargely successful civil rights-era thriller. Mississippi Burning, using thereal-life 1964 disappearance of three civil rights workers as its inspiration,tells the story of two FBI men (Hackman and Dafoe, entertainingly called”Hoover Boys” by the locals) who come in to try to solve the crime. Hackman isa former small-town Mississippi sheriff himself, while Dafoe is a by-the-numbers young hotshot. Yes, there is some tension between the two. The moviehas an interesting fatalism, as all the FBI’s best efforts incite more andmore violence, which becomes disturbing–the film’s message, perhapsinadvertently, seems to be that vigilantism is the only real way to get thingsdone. The brilliant Frances McDormand, here early in her career, is not givenenough to do but still does it well enough to have racked up an Oscarnomination for Best Supporting Actress. (Hackman also received a nominationfor Best Actor, and the film won an Academy Award for Cinematography). Thestory line of Mississippi Burning is ultimately unsatisfying–it is, afterall, the story of white men coming in to rescue poor blacks–but it isbeautifully shot and very watchable and features a terrific cast playing atthe top of their games. –Ali Davis