When the sixties didn't swing

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2004)

Mississipi Burning is a movie which succeeds on two levels.
On the one hand you have a taut, edgy thriller. On the other, a powerful, and unflinching portrayal of the horrors of racial bigotry in America's Deep South.
Just one criticism though, why does Hollywood always depict white supremasists as dungaree clad, banjo strumming, inbred illiterates? Racism, as we all know, has many insidious guises - this is a rather oversimplistic interpretation.
That said (and historical inaccuracies aside), Mississipi Burning is a courageous and challenging film. Surely Alan Parker's finest hour.