In the Heat of the Night (1967)
95%RT Audience Score: 92%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Tense, funny, and thought-provoking all at once, and lifted by strong performances from Sydney Poitier and Rod Steiger, director Norman Jewison’s look at murder and racism in small-town America continues to resonate today.
In the Heat of the Night is like a buddy cop movie, but with a lot more racial tension and a lot less cheesy one-liners. Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger are a dynamic duo, playing off each other’s strengths and weaknesses to solve a murder in the Deep South. The screenplay is sharp and the direction is on point, making for a thrilling and thought-provoking film. Plus, with Kino’s 4K release, you can see every bead of sweat on Steiger’s forehead and every nuance in Poitier’s performance. It’s a must-watch for fans of crime dramas and social commentary alike.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
TV-14
Year of Release
1967
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.33 : 1
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Runtime:1h 49m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 2, 1967 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 9, 2001
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Quentin Dean, James Patterson, William Schallert, directed by Norman Jewison, written by Stirling Silliphant, crime, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Derek Smith, Marjory Adams, Lawrence DeVine, Clifford Terry, Myles Standish, Charles Champlin, Sumner Forbes, Richard Schickel, Renee Covington, Win Fanning, R.H Gardner, MPAA rating, Walter Mirisch, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Virgil Tibbs, Bill Gillespie, Sam Wood, Delores Purdy, Purdy, Delores’ brother, Mayor Webb Schubert
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Rod Steiger – Bill Gillespie
Warren Oates – Sam Wood
Quentin Dean – Delores Purdy
James Patterson – Purdy, Delores’ brother
William Schallert – Mayor Webb Schubert
Director(s)
Norman Jewison
Writer(s)
Stirling Silliphant
Producer(s)
Walter Mirisch
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (84) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (80) | Rotten (4)
With its stellar slate of extras, which includes both sequels, and top-notch AV presentation, Kinos 4K release is now the definitive home video edition of In the Heat of the Night.
April 27, 2022
Derek Smith
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The two stars play their roles to the hilt. You don’t feel they are trying to surpass each other. Rather, it seems Steiger and Poitier are acting together like a team, each with his eye on the ball every second and not missing a single chance to score.
February 3, 2022
Marjory Adams
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
In the Heat of the Night is one of the year’s best detective stories and most remarkable films.
February 3, 2022
Lawrence DeVine
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
Stirling Silliphant’s screenplay is commendably unusual in that the relationship between the black and white protagonists is never conveniently defined.
February 2, 2022
Clifford Terry
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Norman Jewison’s brilliant direction and Stirling Silliphant’s trenchant screenplay have turned out a powerful picture, with bitter confrontations between two master actors, Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, as diametrically opposed forces.
February 2, 2022
Myles Standish
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
Poitier is simply one of the finest actors anywhere, and reconfirms it here. And it’s hard to recall a role in which Steiger has seemed more engaging, and less the studied actor.
February 2, 2022
Charles Champlin
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
This is a far cry from examining the structural and sociological ramifications of racism, but hey, we gotta start somewhere.
March 22, 2022 | Rating: 8/10
Sumner Forbes
Film Threat
Greatly to their credit and without getting preachy, they manage to transcend their cute premise and make a sound, serious and altogether excellent film that is quite possibly the best we have had from the U.S. this year.
February 2, 2022
Richard Schickel
LIFE
Artful and entertaining at once, pulse-pounding and thought-provoking at the same time.
February 2, 2022
Renee Covington
Austin American-Statesman
There is an aura of gold about In the Heat of the Night. It is the gold of statuettes — Oscar-shaped statuettes… But if there is here to be an Academy recognition of a leading player, male, only a twin Oscar would be justified.
February 2, 2022
Win Fanning
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It purports to be a thriller concerning an act of violence in the Deep South, but it is really a satire. And the butt of all its jokes — the phenomenon the others and I were splitting our sides over — is bigotry.
February 2, 2022
R.H. Gardner
Baltimore Sun
It’s quite a good movie — forceful and interesting — directed with much punch and pertinence by Norman Jewison.
February 2, 2022
Stanley Eichelbaum
San Francisco Examiner…
Plot
African-American detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested for murder in a small Mississippi town, but after proving his innocence and that of another man, he teams up with the racist police chief to track down the real killer in “In the Heat of the Night.”
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger deliver strong performances in their roles as Virgil Tibbs and Bill Gillespie, respectively.
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