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Ghosts of Mississippi

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Ghosts of Mississippi
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRob Reiner
Written byLewis Colick
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJohn Seale
Edited byRobert Leighton
Music byMarc Shaiman
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • December 20, 1996(1996-12-20)
Running time
130 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$36 million[1]
Box office$13,323,144 (US)

Ghosts of Mississippiis a 1996 Americanbiographicalcourtroom dramafilm directed byRob Reinerand starringAlec Baldwin,Whoopi Goldberg,andJames Woods.The film is based on the 1994 trial ofByron De La Beckwith,a white supremacist accused of the 1963 assassination ofcivil rightsactivistMedgar Evers.

James Woodswas nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actorfor his role of Byron De La Beckwith, but lost toCuba Gooding Jr.inJerry Maguire.The film was also nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Makeup,but lost toThe Nutty Professor.[2][3]

Plot[edit]

Medgar Everswas an African-American civil rights activist inMississippimurdered on June 12, 1963. It was suspected thatByron De La Beckwith,awhite supremacist,was the murderer. He had been tried twice in the 1960s and both trials ended inhung juries.Evers' widowMyrlie Evershad been trying to bring De La Beckwith to justice for over 25 years.

In 1989, emboldened by a newspaper article byJerry Mitchellexposingjury tamperingby theMississippi State Sovereignty Commissionin the first two trials, Myrlie Evers believed she had what it would take to bring him to trial again. Although most of the evidence from the old trial had disappeared,Bobby DeLaughter,an assistantDistrict Attorney,decided to help her despite being warned that it might hurt his political aspirations and the strain that it caused in his marriage. DeLaughter forms a team of investigators from his office, however, the investigation suffers many setbacks.

After learning that several of the key witnesses have died, and the court transcript of their testimony from the 1960s trials is lost, the team is convinced this is a futile effort. This is reinforced when DeLaughter fails at a desperate strategy of convincing two police officers who provided De La Beckwith with analibiin the 1960s trials to admit they lied under oath. However, their pessimism fades with two discoveries. The rifle used in the murder, thought to have been lost, was hiding in plain sight. Later, one of the investigators learns of the existence of a witness unknown to the prosecution in the 1960s trials, Delmar Dennis. Dennis was a former member of theKu Klux Klanwho agreed to be an undercover informant for theFBI.Dennis testified against the Klan in theMississippi Burning case,and once mentioned having met De La Beckwith. The investigation turns to finding Dennis, who was living in hiding sinceturning state's evidenceon the KKK, to see what he knows of the case.

Once confirming that Dennis indeed had met De La Beckwith, the team is optimistic they have enough to secure a new indictment. As knowledge becomes public that the district attorney's office has re-opened the case, white supremacist elements threaten DeLaughter and his children, having by this time separated from his wife. After committing to Myrlie that he will try De La Beckwith again, Myrlie, initially skeptical of DeLaughter, reveals that she has a court certified transcript of one of the 1960s trials in her possession. DeLaughter had long sought such a transcript to be able to read testimony from deceased witnesses to the jury for the new trial. DeLaughter mostly presents the same case as was presented in the 1960s trial, with the addition of Dennis and two other witnesses who supported Dennis's testimony. Detective Lloyd Bennett read the testimony of his father, Detective LC Bennett, the officer who found the murder weapon while searching the crime scene, to the jury.

In 1994, De La Beckwith was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. The film ends with Myrlie tearfully rejoicing to the assembled crowd at the courthouse that she never gave up in the fight for justice for Medgar.

Cast[edit]

Music[edit]

The soundtrack of the film, with a score byMarc Shaiman,featured two versions of theBilly Taylorcomposition "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free"– one sung byDionne Farrisand the other byNina Simone– as well as numbers byMuddy Waters,Tony Bennett,Robert JohnsonandB.B. King.[4]

Reception[edit]

The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praises going to Goldberg and Woods.[5][6][7]Rotten Tomatoesgave it a 43% approval rating based on 30 reviews, with an average rating of 5.70/10. The site's consensus states: "James Woods is convincing as a white supremacist, but everything else rings false in this courtroom drama, which examines a weighty subject from the least interesting perspective."[8]Audiences polled byCinemaScoregave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[9]Gene SiskelandRoger Ebertboth gave the film two thumbs down, with both commenting that the film should have focused more on the story of Medgar Evers instead of Baldwin's character.[10]

The film was not a financial success, making less than half of its budget back.[11]Later, Alec Baldwin referred to the film as "tepid": "In ’96, I didThe EdgeandGhosts of Mississippi.And that’s when you hear the sound of the wheels of the train screeching to a halt.The EdgeandGhosts of Mississippiwere my last shots at the arcade, so to speak. Both movies were out in ’97. They bombed.”[12][13]

Accolades[edit]

Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor James Woods Nominated [14]
Best Makeup Matthew W. MungleandDeborah La Mia Denaver Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor James Woods Nominated [15]
Critics Choice Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated [16]
Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Nominated [17]
Heartland Film Festival Truly Moving Picture Rob Reiner Won
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Whoopi Goldberg Nominated
Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Supporting Actor James Woods Nominated [18]
Political Film Society Awards Human Rights Won
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor James Woods Runner-up [19]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) - Financial Information".
  2. ^"Oscar night: Fashion world's moment in sun".The Orlando Sentinel.March 25, 1997. p. 4.Archivedfrom the original on May 6, 2023.RetrievedMay 6,2023– viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  3. ^1997|Oscars.org
  4. ^Steve McDonald,"Marc Shaiman: Ghosts of Mississippi",AllMusic Review.
  5. ^FILM REVIEW -- 'Mississippi' a Burning Drama on Evers Murder / Goldberg, Woods superb in story spanning 30 years - SFGate
  6. ^Roger Ebert
  7. ^EW
  8. ^"Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)".Rotten Tomatoes.Retrieved2020-06-22.
  9. ^"Home".CinemaScore.Retrieved2022-03-05.
  10. ^Evita, Beavis & Butt-Head Do America, One Fine Day, My Fellow Americans, Scream, Ghosts of Mississippi, 1996 — Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews
  11. ^"Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)".Box Office Mojo.Retrieved2016-11-04.
  12. ^"Alec Baldwin: 'I was staring off a cliff'".The Guardian.2013-11-16.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved2023-12-08.
  13. ^Parker, Ian (2008-09-01)."Why Me?".The New Yorker.ISSN0028-792X.Retrieved2023-12-08.
  14. ^"The 69th Academy Awards (1997) Nominees and Winners".Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Archivedfrom the original on November 9, 2014.RetrievedOctober 23,2011.
  15. ^"1988-2013 Award Winner Archives".Chicago Film Critics Association.January 2013.RetrievedAugust 24,2021.
  16. ^"The BFCA Critics' Choice Awards:: 1996".Broadcast Film Critics Association. Archived fromthe originalon December 12, 2008.
  17. ^"Ghosts of Mississippi – Golden Globes".HFPA.RetrievedJuly 5,2021.
  18. ^"1st Annual Film Awards (1996)".Online Film & Television Association.RetrievedMay 15,2021.
  19. ^"1996 SEFA Awards".sefca.net.RetrievedMay 15,2021.

External links[edit]

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