In January 1989 , the film received four Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama , Best Director , Best Screenplay and Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama ( Hackman ) , though it failed to any win of the awards at the 46th Golden Globe Awards . In February 1989 , '' Mississippi Burning '' was nominated for seven Academy Awards , including Best Picture , Best Director and Best Actor ; its closest rivals were '' Rain Man '' leading with eight nominations , and '' Dangerous Liaisons '' , which also received seven nominations . On March 29 , 1989 , at the 61st Academy Awards , the film won only one of the seven awards for which it was nominated : Best Cinematography . At the 43rd British Academy Film Awards , the film received five nominations , ultimately winning for Best Sound , Best Cinematography and Best Editing . In 2006 , the film was nominated by the American Film Institute for its 100 Years ... 100 Cheers list
46th Golden Globe Awards
46th Golden Globe Awards
Mississippi Burning