Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Charming and brutal

Am I Missing Something?

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

It may not be the best film about race relations in the South. Mississippi Burning and A Time To Kill have more intensity, but it is still compelling and worth watching for some great performances.Alec Balwin (Bobby DeLaughter) turned in a fine performance. Personally, I feel it is the best he has ever done.James Woods was perfect as Byron De La Beckwith. He channeled the venomous hatred and cocky arrogance so familiar in those who were consumed with their self-worth, gained by stomping on others. This performance resulted in an Oscar nomination in a year with many fine performances.Dixie DeLaughter, played by Virginia Madsen, shows how ingrained racism is in the South, and how difficult, if not impossible, it is for a marriage to survive with a disparity in views, whether it be race or politics.I also enjoyed seeing Wayne Rogers as Morris Dees, even if it was a small role.This is an important film that should be seen by all who care about the state of race relations in this country.It should also be see by all young people so they can see a sign at a gas station saying 22 cents a gallon. Those were the days.

"Ghosts of Mississippi" from 1996 is based on the true story of the third attempt to put Byron De La Beckwith in prison for the murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963. It stars James Woods, Alec Baldwin, Whoopie Goldberg, Craig T. Nelson, William P. Macy, Susanna Thompson,and Virginia Madsen.Medgar Evers was killed outside his home in Mississippi, shot in the back, in June of 1963. A member of the Klan and a known racist, Byron De La Beckwith was arrested. The jury at his trial consisted of twelve white men, and while Evers' wife was on the stand, some bigwig walked over to De La Beckwith and shook hands with him. A police officer gave the defendant an alibi. Twice, the trials ended in a hung jury. Thirty years later, the district attorney reopened the case, and the assistant DA, De Laughter, made a commitment to it. Many witnesses were dead, there was no court transcript, and what evidence there was had disappeared. De Laughter's wife left him and he was harassed throughout the investigation and trial.De Laughter, with new witnesses, new evidence, and new jurors won the case. De La Beckwith, then around 70 years old, went to prison and died there in 2001.The movie was filmed in Jackson, Mississippi, where Evers was killed, and members of the Evers family and Martin Luther King's daughter Yolanda were all in the movie, and Mrs. Evers was a consultant.So that's the background. Now for the film. Aside from being based on a true story, and the excellent performance by James Woods as the young and then elderly De La Beckwith, there is nothing to separate this from other courtroom dramas like "A Time to Kill" and countless others.The story is very compelling and emotional, as it's painful to remember what the south was like for blacks in the '60s, and thinking about this man getting away with murder is infuriating.The problem lay in the focus of the script, which is on De Laughter (Baldwin). It would have been more interesting and helpful to viewers -- now seeing this on DVD nearly 20 years after the movie was made, and 50 years after the incident -- to have learned more about Evers, and to see more of how it really was in the south for blacks, not just some footage at the beginning.Yes, Alec Baldwin was once adorable, as he is here. He's extremely likable and gives a straightforward, honest performance as a hard-working man, a loving father, and a determined attorney who wants to see this case through to the end. Whoopi Goldberg is an odd choice for Mrs. Evers, but an inspired one. She brings quiet dignity to the role that Myrlie Evers undoubtedly has in real life. The supporting cast is good.If this film were made today, the focus would be more on the Evers family. Times have changed. Like the ghost that De Laughter's daughter kept seeing in her room, ghosts who were victims of prejudice and hatred are still around, wanting their story to be told.

The specter of Gov. Barnett shaking the hand of DeLaBeckwith in front of the jury reminds me of the great line of 1 reporter to another: "You're not in America, you're in Mississippi." One exception: Mississippi has a Air America Radio Station. My home state, Alabama doesn't, so maybe they're leap-frogging your intellectual progress. I can't forget that your state gave birth to William Faulkner, as mine did Truman Capote and Harper Lee. Nor that Mississippi gave birth to BB King and Robert Johnson, as well as many other blues greats, who wrote the blues because of the 'inspiration' given them by the atmosphere in Mississippi.The movie has Medgar Evers' brother AND Alec Baldwin as Bobby Laughter saying, "You can change the law, but it will be a long time before their hearts are changed." Alec refuses to tell Mrs. Evers (Whoopi Goldberg in a great role) that they've found the gun (in his father-in-laws house, a judge who may or may not have presided at the 1st 2 mistrials where DeLabeckwith is ridiculously freed by an all-white jury). His new wife points out that "You were afraid she would leak it", indicating that there's mistrust on both sides.Great movie. I STILL want to read that review off your Univ. of Mississippi site of the book. Wonder if Judge Bobby Laughter still lives. He's no Alec Baldwin, but he had guts, as did Judge Johnson of Alabama, who paid for his courage with his life from the white supremacists' exploded bomb. Never forget that it's the silence of the educated middle classes that promotes such hatred as we've seen in Mississippi and Alabama.Watching the first scenes between Judge Laughter (Alec Baldwin) and his blonde wife evoked memories of Kim Bassinger, who bought a town in Georgia. Wonder how many of those scenes Alec used his ex-wife for inspiration in preparation for.Here's something to chew on: Alec Baldwin and George Clooney have been featured in some fantastic films about human savagery disguised in business suits. Arnold and Reagan were in films that extolled human savagery and buffoonery. Can we extrapolate from that who would make the better president? Baldwin and Clooney have the intelligence, the looks (unfortunately, that's important in our increasingly superficial citizenry), and the compassion to make great presidents, n'est ces pas?Good movie AND timely. From Alabama, I was especially interested in the newsreel shots at the beginning. The cops beating the black people reminds me of what happens to dissenters today nation-wide.

THIS FILM IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY. Not only was the real Myrlie Evers consulted while making the film, two of her and Medgar's sons were actually in the film, playing themselves. Benny Bennett also played himself.It was based on a actual (although little known) event in American history, and shows how there are still conflicts over civil rights today. We also learn that there are still some people in the Southern U.S. that are opposed to laws that have been in place for over 35 years.So while watching this you shouldn't think "the story is cliche" or "the acting was good, but predictable," you should be thinking that this actually happened, and reflecting on how far we've come as a society, and how far we still need to go.