1001 Club - In The Heat of the Night (1967)

#489. In The Heat of the Night (1967)

Why It's In The Book: "Racism was still underexplored on screen when independent producer Walter Mirisch and director Norman Jewison had John Ball’s novel In the Heat of the Night adapted specifically for Sidney Poitier. The result was in the vanguard of new social crime thrillers elevating what earlier would have been B fare into important pictures…
The crime elements and atmosphere are strong (enhanced by a memorable Quincy Jones score), but the film’s enduring impact results from the fascinating relationship developed between the men. Poitier commands his top billing with princely disdain for the white trash who besets him while he unravels a Chandleresque tangle, but Steiger’s gum-snapping, hot-tempered, huge but subtle performance claimed the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film also won Oscars for Best Picture, Screenplay (Stirling Silliphant), Sound, and Editing (Hal Ashby, who would direct some of the most interesting films of the 1970s). Poitier reprised the role of Tibbs in two sequels." -1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Member Ratings

Adolytsi - 9/10
"A real hidden gem; the film at first appears to be a good film on the surface, but by the end you know you’ve seen something really great."
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marie_dressler - 9/10
"And The List serves up another practically perfect movie…"
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Movie Guy Steve - 9/10
"This one is not only still worth a watch, it’s worth discussing afterwards, both for the excellent mystery it contains and also for the racism that run through it."
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Siochembio - 9/10
"It has a point to make, and it makes it fiercely, but it never once feels soggy or ham-fisted."
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Sunny D - 9/10
"In the Heat of the Night is a statement movie, although it raises many more questions than it definitively answers."
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Alyson - 8/10
"With the locals less than happy about a black man acting as part of the law, racial tensions start to flare in this tale of drama, mystery and crime."
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Kim Wilson - 8/10
"Seen today, the scene still works as powerful drama. It no doubt had a greater and more significant impact when In the Heat of the Night was originally released. "
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Lindsey - 8/10
"None of the police have ever been through the hell of a homicide investigation, and as an experienced detective with forensic knowledge, Virgil is the perfect guide."
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Michaël Parent - 8/10
"...this American classic proves to be very effective and even if in more that forty five years later the society has evolved I feel that the subject treated by In the Heat of the Night isn’t much dated."
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Nicolas Krizan - 8/10
"this tense race drama has a brilliant concept"
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Overall Rating: 8.6/10