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In The Heat Of The Night [1967]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

This 1967 film took home lots of Oscars for its fascinating drama about a Philadelphia detective (Sidney Poitier) who assists a redneck Southern sheriff (Rod Steiger) in solving a murder. A study in racism that ebbs a bit through the collective and shared need between a black man and a white man who don't want to be working together, In the Heat of the Night continues to strike a chord today. Steiger is a mass of snarling danger, Poitier a bundle of nerves covered in class. Norman Jewison (Moonstruck) directs with a keen feeling for the cultural and social atmosphere of the setting. --Tom Keogh


Good, but should've been better
Review date: 2007-07-28 Rating: 8 out of 10

I don't think this is a technically brilliant film. I don't think it deserved the best picture Oscar ahead of either The Graduate or Bonnie and Clyde. (Nor did anyone else at the time. Personally I think the latter film is the best product of the three, although The Graduate is easily my favourite.) I think there must have been a bit of politics being played here by the Academy, in showcasing a film with just the right message for its time. It has good things in it, the best being Rod Steiger in an 'I'll show you what real acting is' kind of mood. Really, this was set up to be Poitier's film, but for me he doesn't get a look in, Mr. Steiger is in such hot form: One of the all time great movie performances, this. Pretty good photography, very good dialogue, but the plot is weak and unconvincing, with a very annoying improbability at its core: Officer Tibbs, an urbane East Coast man, just happens to be visiting his folks there in a small Southern town, and is found by a cop waiting for the train out of there just hours after the murder of a local cheese. And he's black, in a white man's town. And we know the rest about him being a brilliant homicide detective. Hmmm, takes some believing, that plot line, for me. Still, it's got Steiger, some excellent scenes, a good score, and it does reek of good ol' Southern hospitality. Not bad at all, but no, not great either.

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Reviews


a classic of liberal American film making
Review date: 2007-02-11 Rating: 10 out of 10

This film won best picture Oscar in 1967. It was one of a number of distinguished liberal American films made at the time of the growth of the Civil Rights movement -'To Kill a Mockingbird' was another - when the US was very much a divided nation, with African Americans, as the term now is - it wasn't then - still very much an underprivileged, underrepresented sector of society. Now, when Barak Obama has just announced his intention to run for the Presidency, the film has a certain period, nostalgic feel to it (not that all the race-based problems in the US have been solved by any means). But that does not stop it from being a cracking good film. It's well plotted, very well directed and very atmospherically set. But what really sets it apart is the chemistry between Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) and the local small-town Southern sheriff (Rod Steiger), by birth and upbringing no 'nigger-lover' but at the same time intelligent enough to recognise ability and integrity when he sees them, so that the two eventually form a strange alliance against the deep-rooted prejudices of the town. Steiger in particular is terrific. Ar the end of the film, when they take their farewells of each other, their genuine respect, understated as it would be with two such men, is very moving. Anyway, every minute of this film is totally absorbing and I recommend it highly.

Great Film
Review date: 2006-12-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

From the opening performance of "In The Heat of the Night", sung by the great Ray Charles, this film will grab your attention immediately and will grip you for the next hour and 3/4.

Poitier plays a black northern dectective Virgil Tibbs, who is arrested in the deep south for a murder he had nothing to with. Steiger is a bigoted local Sheriff eventually forced to work with Tibbs to solve the case. Both the lead performances are truly mesmerising. There are a number of classic scenes in this film of which perhaps my favourite is when the Sheriff interviews Tibbs for the first time and finds he's a policeman.

The film is very well directed by Norman Jewison and won 5 Oscars in 1967, including best actor for Rod Steiger. Quincy Jones also deservedly won a Grammy for his music score. The only extra is the original trailer, which is a shame. However the film itself is so good that the DVD has to have 5 stars regardless.



Gripping Murder Mystery
Review date: 2006-03-11 Rating: 10 out of 10

One of my top 20 of all time. I must have seen it at least 50 times on tv, vhs and so happy to own it on dvd. Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier at their best. Shows how the deep south really was in the middle of the last century. Intense drama and gripping dialogues from Steiger and Poitier.

Superb
Review date: 2006-03-06 Rating: 10 out of 10

I can believe this film is forty years old !. The tension is there right from the start. It had me on the edge of my seat throughout. A fantastic thriller, it should also be on every school's citizenship curriculum. Only the ending I found a little flat, it could have been done better - more exciting. But the rest of the film is brilliant. Better than most modern films. Watch it !.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Sidney Poitier
Warren Oates
Larry Gates
Lee Grant
Rod Steiger

Creators:
Sidney Poitier (Primary Contributor)
Rod Steiger (Primary Contributor)
Haskell Wexler (Cinematographer)
Hal Ashby (Editor)
Walter Mirisch (Producer)
John Ball (Writer)
Stirling Silliphant (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
EAN: 5050070009422
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2003-02-03
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 105 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1967
Language: Greek (Subtitled)
Language: Hungarian (Subtitled)
Language: Portuguese (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: German (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)

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