In the Heat of the Night

Rating:
Summary: Cinema's all-time best detective thriller.
Review: Between the dark film noir of "The Maltese Falcon" and the creepy gorefests inspired by "The Silence of the Lambs," the detective film wasn't exactly a vital film genre. But at least one entry into the genre made a major impact during those years, and that was 1967's "In the Heat of the Night." Since it was released, much has been made of the movie's status as a powerful story of race relations during the time of segregation, but the fact is, these elements are somewhat secondary to its brilliant character studies and expertly-handled mystery investigation. This is THE detective film, and quite possibly THE police film as well.

The film begins with Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) -- sheriff of the small town of Sparta, Mississippi -- investigating the scene where a powerful businessman has been murdered. Gillespie's deputies arrest a traveller named Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) for the murder simply on the grounds that he is black, but he turns out to be a homicide detective from Philadelphia who was just passing through. After being cleared, Tibbs is anxious to leave Sparta, but Gillespie -- in need of such an expert -- convinces him to stay and help solve the case. And from there, we have our movie.

Besides the story, the main thing "In the Heat of the Night" has going for it are the performances of its lead actors. It would have been incredibly easy to portray Tibbs as a noble black crusader, forced by his innate nobility to offer his help in the face of hatred (Poitier had played this type of good-natured gentleman in many of his other films). It would have been even easier for Gillespie to come off as a mindless racist redneck. Neither description comes anywhere close to describing the characters in this film. Virgil Tibbs is arrogant and aloof when we first meet him. He's no hero; he's a real human being who reacts to the way the Sparta police have treated him in the understandable manner of trying to get out of town as quickly as possible. He doesn't want to help them, and even when he's forced to, he lets his prejudices against Southern whites cloud his investigation (Tibbs spends the majority of the film believing one of the victim's business rivals -- a detestable racist -- to be the murderer, only to be proven wrong).

If Poitier's portrayal of Tibbs as a realistic human being rather than a flawless screen hero is admirable, then Rod Steiger's handling of the Sheriff Gillespie character is downright masterful. Bill Gillespie does not like or trust African-Americans, and he makes no secret of this. And yet the filmmakers didn't fall into a cliche trap and take care to show that even though Gillespie is a bigot, he's also a good cop. Unlike certain similar characters (and even some of his deputies in this film), Gillespie doesn't allow his prejudices to stand in the way of his investigation (a character flaw that, oddly enough, Tibbs gives in to while Gillespie does not). This is no "Bull Connor" character; this is a man who knows his job, and does it well. Tibbs and Gillespie begin the movie as two prejudiced men who begrudgingly admit to needing each other's help due to the circumstances (Gillespie's lack of a homicide expert; Tibbs' being forced to remain in an unfamiliar and hostile environment), and end it with a powerful respect for one another.

"In the Heat of the Night" won Best Picture at the 1968 Academy Awards (the first detective film to do so), and Steiger took home the Best Actor award for his career-best portrayal of Gillespie. (Because this, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," and "To Sir, With Love" were all released in the same year, Poitier was unable to consolidate enough votes for any one film and thus failed to be nominated; Norman Jewison lost Best Director to "The Graduate"'s Mike Nichols.) That perfectly sums up this film's legacy: a brilliant film with two powerful lead performances, and an all-time classic of the detective genre.

Rating:
Summary: Cinema's all-time best detective thriller.
Review: Between the dark film noir of "The Maltese Falcon" and the creepy gorefests inspired by "The Silence of the Lambs," the detective film wasn't exactly a vital film genre. But at least one entry into the genre made a major impact during those years, and that was 1967's "In the Heat of the Night." Since it was released, much has been made of the movie's status as a powerful story of race relations during the time of segregation, but the fact is, these elements are somewhat secondary to its brilliant character studies and expertly-handled mystery investigation. This is THE detective film, and quite possibly THE police film as well.

The film begins with Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) -- sheriff of the small town of Sparta, Mississippi -- investigating the scene where a powerful businessman has been murdered. Gillespie's deputies arrest a traveller named Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) for the murder simply on the grounds that he is black, but he turns out to be a homicide detective from Philadelphia who was just passing through. After being cleared, Tibbs is anxious to leave Sparta, but Gillespie -- in need of such an expert -- convinces him to stay and help solve the case. And from there, we have our movie.

Besides the story, the main thing "In the Heat of the Night" has going for it are the performances of its lead actors. It would have been incredibly easy to portray Tibbs as a noble black crusader, forced by his innate nobility to offer his help in the face of hatred (Poitier had played this type of good-natured gentleman in many of his other films). It would have been even easier for Gillespie to come off as a mindless racist redneck. Neither description comes anywhere close to describing the characters in this film. Virgil Tibbs is arrogant and aloof when we first meet him. He's no hero; he's a real human being who reacts to the way the Sparta police have treated him in the understandable manner of trying to get out of town as quickly as possible. He doesn't want to help them, and even when he's forced to, he lets his prejudices against Southern whites cloud his investigation (Tibbs spends the majority of the film believing one of the victim's business rivals -- a detestable racist -- to be the murderer, only to be proven wrong).

If Poitier's portrayal of Tibbs as a realistic human being rather than a flawless screen hero is admirable, then Rod Steiger's handling of the Sheriff Gillespie character is downright masterful. Bill Gillespie does not like or trust African-Americans, and he makes no secret of this. And yet the filmmakers didn't fall into a cliche trap and take care to show that even though Gillespie is a bigot, he's also a good cop. Unlike certain similar characters (and even some of his deputies in this film), Gillespie doesn't allow his prejudices to stand in the way of his investigation (a character flaw that, oddly enough, Tibbs gives in to while Gillespie does not). This is no "Bull Connor" character; this is a man who knows his job, and does it well. Tibbs and Gillespie begin the movie as two prejudiced men who begrudgingly admit to needing each other's help due to the circumstances (Gillespie's lack of a homicide expert; Tibbs' being forced to remain in an unfamiliar and hostile environment), and end it with a powerful respect for one another.

"In the Heat of the Night" won Best Picture at the 1968 Academy Awards (the first detective film to do so), and Steiger took home the Best Actor award for his career-best portrayal of Gillespie. (Because this, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," and "To Sir, With Love" were all released in the same year, Poitier was unable to consolidate enough votes for any one film and thus failed to be nominated; Norman Jewison lost Best Director to "The Graduate"'s Mike Nichols.) That perfectly sums up this film's legacy: a brilliant film with two powerful lead performances, and an all-time classic of the detective genre.

Rating:
Summary: THEY CALL ME MR TIBBS!
Review: I lost track of how many times I've watched this movie over the years and yet, I still find it stimulating to my system. Taking place in the redneck driven byways in the Mississippi of the 1960's, not only does it make a sweeping social statement on racial bias and ignorance, but it's also one entertaining vision of cinema. Sidney Poitier is masterful as Virgil Tibbs, a "colored" homicide detective from Philadelphia, in the wrong place at the right time as a sleepy little river town comes to grips with the death of a big business man who was to be the holy grail of local commerce until his untimely death. It is Rod Steiger, however who burns brightest as a midlife police chief with no family and a metric ton of issues which he vents through misplaced anger and cools at night in a bottle of bourbon as he attempts to bring the murder case to resolution as quickly as possible, regardless of the truth."No pity. No thank YOU!" One of my all time favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Extremely Poor Quality of the DVD
Review: I was very disappointed with the "In the Heat of the Night" DVD. It had a lot of tiling and it was incomplete. When the tiling started, the audio quality was extremely poor. I would like my money back.

Rating:
Summary: Important, timeless portrait of its time and place
Review: I wasn't around in the 60s, and I'm not from the south. And I'm not black. But I know people, and I know how they can be. I think this film accurately depicts the racial attitudes at its time. Attitudes haven't changed much, honestly, but no black person is going to tolerate the treatment dished out by the rednecks in this town. No more calling black men "sonny", and no more forcing black men to do what you want them to do simply because they are black and you are white. So in some ways, we have come a long way. But deep down inside, a lot of people still don't like "differences".

How Mr. Tibbs manages to keep himself from going berserk during each encounter he experienced in this film is beyond me. I found myself seething and shaking with anger as I watched this movie! I don't know how he could tolerate being treated like a piece of trash. He hated it, obviously, but he seemed powerless in the face of it. It's so demoralizing yet undeserved and meaningless, and that is what I found to be the emotional core of this film.

The acting is obviously superb. From the two stars down to each redneck in Sparta, MS, each performance is flawless (the teenaged girl at the end was a little over the top). And I was shocked to see other reviews here say that this film is "dated"! Excuse me?? This film beautifully captures the colors and sounds (and heat) of this town. I couldn't find a single thing that didn't seem rich, detailed, and authentic (well, I did wonder why that restaurant was open at 3 am). Beautiful photography. The music score (by Quincy Jones) is great (be sure to check out his score, as well as another brilliant Rod Steiger performance, in the 1965 classic "The Pawnbroker"--and don't even try to tell me that film is dated!!).

Anyone who thinks this film is dated should keep in mind the real purpose of this film (and most art in general). It is to capture a place and time as it was. This film does it in a brutally honest yet artistic way. A definite landmark classic.

Rating:
Summary: Just About as Good as a Movie Gets
Review: In 1967 Poitier made this movie and Look Who's Coming to Dinner. Both were extremely well received and this won academy awards for best picture and best actor. Poitier's career slid downhill from here almost immediately. That his status as The Greatest Black Actor Ever hasn't diminished nearly 40 years later is a testament to his excellence and influence in the late 50's and the 60's up until '67. The movie is nearly perfect. Rod Steiger gives the performance of his career. Poitier is excellent, of course. The story is good but the movie is really about the racial tensions and two men forced to work together despite their desire not to be in the same room together. Also at hand is a backward and archaic South being slowly dragged kicking and screaming into postwar 20th century.

Rating:
Summary: STEIGER AND POITIER AT THEIR HEIGHTS OF POWER
Review: In 1967, Sidney Poitier again stirred the red-necks with "In the Heat of the Night", where he plays Virgil Tibbs, a competent Philadelphia cop stuck overnight in a Mississippi town. It must be 110 degrees at night. The white boys sweat like stuck pigs while Virgil is as cool as a cucumber in a Savoy Row suit. The sheriff, Rod Steiger, is discomfited by circumstances in which Tibbs is "lent" to him to solve a murder that happens to occur when he is there. In working together, layer after layer of characterization is stripped away in marvelous fashion, through the skill of director Norman Jewison (who tells everybody he is not a Jew, he is Methodist), until understanding between the two men become a metaphor for the healing of a divided America. Very good stuff.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
[e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: THEY CALL ME MR. TIBBS!
Review: In an arresting performance as Mr. Tibbs in what was certainlya shocking, powerful, entertaining movie upon its release, SidneyPoitier's performance is not dated at all. However, the film itself isquite dated. The social issues and ills which the film brings tolight are not dated, unfortunately, but still quite timely. The datedpart of the film has more to do with the process of investigating acrime scene and the aftermath of a crime. In this day and age ofpolice dramas, real life crime dramas and a completely litigious andlegally aware society, the investigative techniques employed in thisfilm are laughable. The local police investigating the murder areprovincial bumbling idiots, which you as the audience are supposed torealise right away. They are ready to convict people without any kindof evidence... without asking any questions, without investigatingcircumstances, times, places, alibis, nothing. Poitier, by comparison,seems to have all the fancy and high tech investigativeanswers. Common sense and reason are on his side. Of course nowadays,much of his activity in investigating the murder would be consideredevidence tampering and contamination of the crime scene. Neverthelessthis was a different time and place, but it is still pretty funny towatch and compare now. What is still timely in this film: racialtensions, racial issues, and the prejudices that accompany skincolour. It is a shame that these problems persist, but they are farfrom being eradicated. This film breaks down some of those barrierswhen the racist and ignorant townspeople are forced to acknowledgethat not only is Poitier intelligent, he cannot be judged simply bythe colour of his skin. This is still an excellent film, and Poitieris outstanding.

Rating:
Summary: Explosive Mystery-Drama
Review: In The Heat Of The Night is an explosively powerful murder mystery that at the time of its release in 1967 was quite controversial. It deals with a black detective, Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) going to a small southern town to investigate a murder. At first he meets the usually hatred and racism from the local cops led by the gruff and racist sheriff, Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) He is arrested and accused of the murder, but when discovered innocent, he goes on to solve the mystery and gain the respect of the sheriff. Both Mr. Poitier and Mr. Steiger are brilliant in the film. Although they do sometimes plays things over the top, the acting fits the mood. The actors make a fine team and they push one another to excellence. The supporting cast is quite strong with Lee Grant, Warren Oates and William Schallert and Norman Jewison guides the movie with his deft hand. Haskell Wexler's cinematography is sharp and Quincy Jones' soundtrack is right on. The film went on to win the Best Picture Oscar and Mr. Steiger took home the Best Actor prize.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful intense drama with two legends in the lead
Review: In the Heat of the Night tells the story of crime and punishment in the 1960's South. With racial tensions brewing we learn that the facts of a murder case aren't all black and white. The views of the individual often color their interpretation of the story.
Rod Steiger plays Sheriff Gillespie; a small-town cop trying to crack the case of the murder of a to close the case quickly, he soon brings in Virgil Tibbs (played by Sidney Potier) for questioning. It turns out MISTER Tibbs is actually a Philadelphia police homicide expert visiting his mother. On their quest to find the killer both men are forced to deal with their racist views about the other and their perceptions of society overall. The plot has many twists and turns; and the real killer's motivation for the committing is truly a surprise worth waiting for.
Rod Steiger and Sidney Potier give powerful performances, each scene they're in together brews with intensity. You feel every emotion as they virtually disappear into the background and let Gillespie and Tibbs come to life to tell their story. Steiger won the Oscar for best actor that year; it was well deserved. The opening song by Ray Charles sets the tone for the entire movie the slow tense down home beats take you into the Deep South and transplant you back to the 1960's.

Overall a Shawn James five star essential movie. This one is a must buy. It truly is worth the purchase price. While you're buying this, get Potier's version of A Raisin in the Sun and A Patch of Blue and see one of the legendary black actors show you how its done.