What is the iRankMovies score for Mississippi Burning?

Name: Mississippi Burning
Director: Alan Parker
Genre: crime, drama, mystery, thriller
Released: 1988
Duration: 2 h 8 min
Rating: 7.8

Mississippi Burning has an iRankMovies score of 75.5/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

Mississippi Burning (1988)

1964. When America was at war with itself.

Release:1988

Runtime:2h 8m

Country:United States

Director:Alan Parker

Language:English

Genre

CrimeDramaMystery

See the best crime movies →

Keywords

SuicideSheriffPoliceFuneralKu Klux KlanMississippi RiverShotgunFbi

iRank76

Mississippi Burning rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7.8/10· 126K votes

Rotten Tomatoes79%

Metacritic65%

TMDb7.681/10· 2K votes

With 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7.8/10 on IMDb and 65/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been positive.

About Mississippi Burning

Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in FBI school runs up against the small town ways of his partner, a former sheriff.

Cast of Mississippi Burning

Gene Hackman
as Agent Rupert Anderson
Willem Dafoe
as Agent Alan Ward
Frances McDormand
as Mrs. Pell
Brad Dourif
as Deputy Clinton Pell
R. Lee Ermey
as Mayor Tilman
Gailard Sartain
as Sheriff Stuckey
Stephen Tobolowsky
as Townley
Michael Rooker
as Frank Bailey
Pruitt Taylor Vince
as Lester Cowens
Badja Djola
as Agent Monk
Kevin Dunn
as Agent Bird
Frankie Faison
as Eulogist

Mississippi Burning facts

Budget: $15M
Box office: $34.6M

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

•Historical true story provides authentic foundation for exploring racial violence directly
•Crime thriller pacing maintains tension throughout investigation of serious subject matter
•Compassionate character perspectives balance disheartening historical realities effectively

What the audience disliked

•Burning cross imagery and racial violence content creates difficult viewing experience
•Deputy sheriff protagonist perspective potentially centers wrong viewpoint of conflict