One of my top 10 favorite films. Amazing dialogue and the way the plot and the characters evolve is genius. I don’t see how anyone could not like and enjoy watching this movie.
I got the motive which is money and the body which is dead.
-Chief Gillespie
I love the way the film isn't just about Sidney Poitier versus the racists, but about a simple murder that would have probably been solved faster not just because of the racists, but because of how it alters Tibbs own behavior.
See you don't just have the hick town not wanting to listen to Virgil Tibbs because he's black, but because Virgil lets it effect his judgment. The best example is that he seems look past the racist remarks of the first suspect, maybe because he recognizes the ignorance in the uneducated man and gives him the benefit of the doubt.. but later on when he's confronted with racism from an educated successful man he wants to accuse him of murder with minimum evidence because you can't excuse his behavior with ignorance. Not only is this second guy a racist asshole, but he's benefited off it.
Of course Poitier is great along with Rod Steiger.
A film noir shot in color about black and white.
Story: 8
Script: 7
Performances: 9...Poitier is outstanding and Steiger's subtle character growth is remarkable
Misc.: 6
Influence: 8
Overall: 8
Poiter was one of the greats and makes the film worth watching all on his lonesome. His searing, uncompromising Mr. Tibbs in a town smothering in its hatred of him is mesmerizing. The things the man can do with his eyes, taking everything in and a million thoughts he’s thought a million times amongst people like these racing in them. And the slapping scene is still a hell of a moment even today with how instant, how instinctual it is. It’s a given and given all the more weight for it.
The rest of the film doesn’t quite live up to Poiter’s work. It gets a little too enamored with Gilliespie. He’s a test run for characters like Rockwell’s in 3 Billboards, the fact his actor won an Oscar for it while Poiter wasn’t nominated a testament to that. The racism is less something to be condemned or commented on so much as a vehicle for dramatic tension, there’s an odd implication that Tibbs is being too harsh on this town and prejudiced in his own way, and the ending is a saccharine note to end things on. But with Poiter giving his all, the film still manages to hold a weight and heat to it that endures.
Starts off with a great premise and is fascinating, but can't quite sustain its hold and drops off by the end. Nonetheless, great acting and character interactions that make it worth watching.
While a sleepy Mississippi town tries its best to ignore the turning racial tides elsewhere in the nation, it’s shocked by the early-morning murder of an important businessman. A visiting Philadelphia police detective is initially suspected, primarily for being a black stranger with a fat wallet, then grudgingly enlisted to help solve the crime. In turning over clues, he also uncovers the flabby underbelly of an ugly southern society that sorely needs a kick in the pants.
Many such films from the heart of the civil rights era tend to be narrow and stilted; easy morality plays with limited desire to directly confront the hard truths. This one’s an exception - there’s a tangible sense of important, uncomfortable change churning right on the surface. A tribe of middle-aged white guys, suddenly forced to challenge their lifelong prejudice. A proud, big city black man who struggles to mask his indignance in the face of slack-jawed (and loose-lipped) yokels. Both slip in the wrong direction at times, giving way to knee-jerks and outbursts, but growth often comes hard and real change is never a straight line.
Though well-written, with a multitude of complex characters and a crafty mystery at the core of it all, In the Heat of the Night is really all about the performances. Key among those are the dual leads, Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, who keenly embody the roiling emotions of their parts. Poitier’s barely-contained rage is intense and understandable; a refined man doing his best to maintain his composure in an impossible situation. By contrast, Steiger’s dumpy police chief fumbles and falters his way through an awakening, grumpy and bigoted but gradually willing to change. Their tense arrangement never quite becomes a friendship, but it does become mutually respectful, and in the end that might be even more meaningful. An excellent, timely effort that had no qualms over pushing the limits of a very difficult, dangerous social atmosphere.
Fifty-six years on and the same attitudes are still all to prevalent today. For shame
Steiger and Poitier outstanding! Love good old fashion story telling.
A great detective story that deals with more than just the murder. Sidney Polter is fantastic in this, I need to see more of his movies.
Shout by Carlos Fernando IbarraBlockedParent2018-02-03T05:25:43Z
An excellent film noir with great performances by the leads and a social commentary that not only was potent for the time, but still resonates.