Ghosts of Mississippi Movie Review 1996

Director Reiner attempts to tell the story of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, murdered in 1963, and the three trials of Byron De la Beckwith (Woods), who was finally convicted (after two hung juries) in 1994. Unfortunately, he filters the story through the eyes of white assistant D.A. Bobby De Laughter (Baldwin) while ignoring Evers' accomplishments almost completely. Woods chews up the scenery as the wily old racist, bringing perhaps a little too much glee into a portrait of true evil. Goldberg sleepwalks through her role as Evers' widow, Myrlie; Evers' sons, Darrell and Van, play themselves; daughter Reena plays a juror while her character is played by Yolanda King, the daughter of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Filmed on location in Jackson, Mississippi.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 123 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Civil Rights, American South, Law & Lawyers, Assassination, African America, Order in the Court, Justice Prevails...?, True Stories

Screenplay

Lewis Colick

Cast

Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, James Woods, Craig T. Nelson, Wayne Rogers, William H. Macy, Michael O'Keefe, Yolanda King, Susanna Thompson, Lucas Black, James Pickens, Virginia Madsen, Bill Cobbs, Alexa Vega, Jerry Levine, Bill Smitrovich, Terry O'Quinn, Rex Linn, Richard Riehle, Bonnie Bartlett, Diane Ladd, Andy Romano, Rance Howard, Margo Martindale

Cinematography

John Seale

Director

Rob Reiner

Music

Marc Shaiman

Producer

Frederick Zollo, Nicholas Paleologos, Andrew Scheinman, Rob Reiner, Jeffrey Stott, Charles Newirth, Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures