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IMDbPro

Ghosts of Mississippi

  • 19961996
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 10m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
10,097
1,192
Whoopi Goldberg, James Woods, and Alec Baldwin in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
Theatrical Trailer from Castle Rock
Play trailer2:09
1 Video
55 Photos
DramaHistory
A Mississippi district attorney and the widow of Medgar Evers struggle to finally bring a white racist to justice for the 1963 murder of the civil rights leader.A Mississippi district attorney and the widow of Medgar Evers struggle to finally bring a white racist to justice for the 1963 murder of the civil rights leader.A Mississippi district attorney and the widow of Medgar Evers struggle to finally bring a white racist to justice for the 1963 murder of the civil rights leader.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
10,097
1,192
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Rob Reiner
    • Writer
      • Lewis Colick
    • Stars
      • Alec Baldwin
      • James Woods
      • Whoopi Goldberg
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Rob Reiner
    • Writer
      • Lewis Colick
    • Stars
      • Alec Baldwin
      • James Woods
      • Whoopi Goldberg
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 75User reviews
    • 29Critic reviews
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 2 wins & 9 nominations total

    Videos1

    Ghosts of Mississippi
    Trailer 2:09
    Ghosts of Mississippi

    Photos55

    Alec Baldwin in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    Whoopi Goldberg in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    Alec Baldwin and Craig T. Nelson in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    Whoopi Goldberg in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    William H. Macy in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    James Woods in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    Whoopi Goldberg and Alec Baldwin in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    James Woods in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    James Woods in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    Rob Reiner in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    Craig T. Nelson in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    Whoopi Goldberg in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Alec Baldwin
    Alec Baldwin
    • Bobby DeLaughter
    James Woods
    James Woods
    • Byron De La Beckwith
    Whoopi Goldberg
    Whoopi Goldberg
    • Myrlie Evers
    Virginia Madsen
    Virginia Madsen
    • Dixie DeLaughter
    Susanna Thompson
    Susanna Thompson
    • Peggy Lloyd
    Craig T. Nelson
    Craig T. Nelson
    • Ed Peters
    Lucas Black
    Lucas Black
    • Burt DeLaughter
    Joe Tello
    Joe Tello
    • Drew DeLaughter
    • (as Joseph Tello)
    Alexa PenaVega
    Alexa PenaVega
    • Claire DeLaughter
    • (as Alexa Vega)
    William H. Macy
    William H. Macy
    • Charlie Crisco
    Ben Bennett
    • Benny Bennett
    • (as Lloyd 'Benny' Bennett)
    Darrell Evers
    • Self
    Yolanda King
    • Reena Evers
    Jerry Levine
    Jerry Levine
    • Jerry Mitchell
    James Van Evers
    James Van Evers
    • Van Evers
    Sky Rumph
    • Jared Lloyd
    Zoaunne LeRoy
    • Thelma De La Beckwith
    Michael O'Keefe
    Michael O'Keefe
    • Merrida Coxwell
    • Director
      • Rob Reiner
    • Writer
      • Lewis Colick
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The daughter of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Yolanda King, played Medgar Evers' daughter Reena Evers in this film.
    • Goofs
      When the DeLaughter and his investigators drive up to a gas station, the prices for gas are all under a dollar. When DeLaughter is on the phone to Myrlie Evers standing on the other side of the signs, the prices are all now over a dollar.
    • Quotes

      Myrlie Evers: [quoting Medgar Evers] When you hate, the only person who suffers is you, because most of the people you hate don't know it and the others don't care.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Evita/Beavis and Butt-Head Do America/One Fine Day/My Fellow Americans/Scream/Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free
      Music by Billy Taylor

      Lyrics by Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas

      Performed by Dionne Farris

      Courtesy of Columbia Records

      By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

    User reviews75

    Review
    Top review
    A story worth telling, well told
    Based on fact and directed by Rob Reiner, Ghosts recounts the investigation, and retrial in 1994 - after two mistrials in the 60s - of Byron de la Beckwith for the racist shooting in 1963 of Medgar Evers, an NAACP activist. The film has gained renewed topicality with the recent conviction of another white supremacist for the Birmingham, Alabama, Baptist Church bombing, also in 1963.

    Alec Baldwin gives a solid, and sometimes stolid, performance in the central role of prosecuting DA, Bobby DeLaughter (pronounced DeLaw), himself from Mississippi's white uppercrust, whose marriage hits the rocks because of his pursuit of the case. James Woods, convincingly made up to look over 70 for most of the movie, is electrifying as the arrogant, hateful Beckwith. Whoopi Goldberg portrays Medgar's widow with a lot of dignity and even a touch of humour, but it would have been understandable if she had also displayed a little more bitterness.

    The movie is possibly not as powerful as Reiner hoped, partly no doubt because he was restricted by the facts. In particular, the retrial seems to have thrown up little or no new evidence, thus making the courtroom action less dramatic than in a fictional movie. Perhaps a greater criticism is that the intense focus on Baldwin/DeLaughter, who is in almost every scene, tends to turn him into the hero of the movie; whereas it should be Medgar Evers, who as a civil rights activist in one of the most bigoted areas of the USA deserves everyone's undying admiration.

    Despite the movie's flaws, it is gripping for most of its 130 minutes, and this was certainly a story worth telling.
    helpful•23
    4
    • Geofbob
    • Jul 15, 2001

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 3, 1997 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Ghosts from the Past
    • Filming locations
      • Greenwood, Mississippi, USA
    • Production companies
      • Castle Rock Entertainment
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $36,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $13,323,144
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $168,012
      • Dec 22, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $13,323,144
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 10 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

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