Today's civil rights movie is the multiple Oscar nominee from 1988, starring Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI agents who are investigating the murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. It was loosely based on the real life event that took place in the 60's, and was controversial upon the time of its release for some fictionalization of those events, and the fact that most of the black characters in the film were portrayed as passive victims- it was one of those civil rights movies purely from the white person's perspective. But despite the valid criticisms, the movie is an effective thriller with some really good acting from Gene Hackman and Frances McDormand as a woman who's beaten by her Klan member husband. There's nothing like Gene Hackman going Dirty Harry on the KKK.
Original Trailer from 1988:
