Customer Reviews
In the heat of the night 
2008-08-25
I was very satisfied with my purchase. It arrived earlier than expected and it was in Excellent condition.
An actor's film 
2008-08-10
3.5 stars. I've heard so much about this film over the years and of course I'm from the generation who's more familiar with the television show. For the year that this film was made-yes, the writer and director took a lot of risks. Poitier and Steiger gave career making performances...but I have to tell you, I was more than under impressed with the mystery portion of the movie and I had to re-play the ending twice to understand the killer's confession. When I analyze that-it seems to me Mr. Tibbs did little more than guess. I mean how would he know the girl would try to get rid of her baby? Why not try to get rid of it BEFORE you tell your brother? It wasn't like she was showing. Like I said the mystery has holes, but the individual characters were multilayered and fascinating to watch. Another example of how great acting can save a movie.
Bad disc 
2008-06-23
In the Heat of the Night is a bad disc.
I can't display it. I think the regiocode is not good.
Please send a new one. This is the first time I can't display a purchase by you.
I am waiting for the confirmation you sent me a new one.
Regards.
Jos Sluis
The Birth of the Seventies Police Detective Flick! 2008-06-10
This film clearly inspired the kind of distinctive 70's era police detective films to come such as "Shaft" and "Dirty Harry" and even the great score by Quincy Jones evokes memories of the similar sounding ones connected with those two films. As a detective mystery, this film does a very good job in addition to being a social statement for viewers in the late 60's. Racism is a sign of insecurity as racists need to feel that there is a class of people worse or below themselves so that they can feel good about themselves. It was nice to see how much patience and restraint was shown by Poitier's character amid ignorance and just plain stupidity as he reluctantly goes about solving the murder and makes eventually a positive impression on the racist Sheriff.
One interesting scene was when Steiger's character invites Poitier to his home and starts out on a heart to heart with him showing how natural and possible a friendship based upon equal and mutual respect between races can be but then he catches himself when he realises that he had forgotten to keep him in his "place" and so abruptly ends a promising friendship bonding between equals to return to the "status quo" of discrimination. This poignant scene shows just how unnatural and ridiculous racism is.
The problem with this dvd version though is that the picture quality isn't restored which leaves a number of imperfections in many of the frames and the sound quality is just mono quality; also there are no bonus features at all. This is still a good police detective story and a good social statement on the absurdity of racism making it a worthy Best Picture Oscar winner. Ray Charles is also very good in his rendition of the main theme song. Do however get a better restored version of the dvd which will also hopefully be released in Blu-ray format and give this dvd version a miss.
Poitier educates a southern sheriff 2008-05-11
This was a great movie. It is a bit dated now, in the light of improvements in racial relations in the south, but north and south still have a way to go. Magnificently acted by Poitier and Steiger. But for Poitier's career, I doubt if there would be an African-American running for president of the U. S. today.
AN ALL-AROUND POWERHOUSE FILM 2008-04-03
Starring Academy AwardÂ(r) winners* Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger and Lee Grant, this provocative mystery thriller won** five 1967 OscarsÂ(r), including Best Picture. Highlighted by an evocative score from OscarÂ(r)-winning*** composer Quincy Jones, In The Heat Of The Night is a "powerful film" (The New York Times) that delivers the "highest level of exciting entertainment" (New York Daily News)! While traveling in the Deep South, Virgil Tibbs, a black Philadelphia homicide detective, becomes unwittingly embroiled in the murder investigationof a prominent businessman when he is first accused of the crimeand then asked to solve it! Finding the killer proves to be difficult, however, especially when his efforts are constantly thwarted by the bigoted town sheriff (Steiger). But neither man can solve this case alone. Putting aside their differences and prejudices, they join forces in a desperate race against time to discover the shocking truth. *Poitier: Actor, Lilies of the Field (1963); Steiger: Actor, In the Heat of the Night (1967); Grant: Supporting Actress, Shampoo (1975) **Actor (Steiger), Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Sound ***1994: Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
COTTON PICKIN' GOOD 
2008-03-08
Best picture Oscar for 1967, with Steiger also winning for best actor.Film itself is erratically paced and quite convoluted, especially in the final 7-10 minutes. The major theme,obviously, is Poitier's presence as an intellectually superior black police officer from Philadelphia, Pa. and his gradual acceptance by Steiger.Steiger arrests Poitier twice, before solicitinng his advice on a murder case involving a progressive businessman.Caution: the movie is based on a novel. Steiger finally thinks he has the proper suspect in custody, and wants Poitier to "vamoose", lest the sheriff be labeled a "nigger lover". But Poitier's own independent investigation proves otherwise in a fast paced conclusion that this reviewer has already warned the viewer about. One would like to think that attitudes have moderated over 40 years, but skin pigment and religious disputes continue to plague civilization. For what good cause?
"HEAT" REMAINS HOT 2008-01-19
It's hard to believe that it was 40 years ago that a movie about racism became the best picture at the Oscars. Even harder to believe is that the same film holds as much relevance today as when it was originally released, that it holds the same impact.
In 1967 IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT became the best picture. While the story may seem simple on the surface, it is all that lies under the surface that makes this movie exceptional.
Rod Steiger stars as police Chief Bill Gillespie, a bigoted man in the town of Sparta, Mississippi. When a wealthy Chicagoan who was in the midst of building a new factory turns up dead, Officer Sam Wade (Warren Oates) arrest the first man he doesn't recognize in town. Gillespie's badgering attempts to coerce a confession fall short when he discovers that the man in questions is Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a homicide detective from Philadelphia visiting his mother.
One phone call clears up the misunderstanding but also launches Tibbs into assisting the local police in their hunt for the real killer. Tibbs methods involve evidence and proof while the locals use brutality and suspicions to roust out a suspect. Each new suspect they bring in, Tibbs clears with the evidence that proves them innocent.
Tensions between the two officers' rise and fall as each deal with their own form of prejudice. While Gillespie's is apparent from the get go, Tibb's is more subtle and seen as he tries to find ways to pin the murder on the local town patriarch, a man who looks blacks as less than men. Both men want to find a solution to the murder, both are using their own methods and both allow their beliefs to cloud their judgment. Can they find the real killer?
The winner of five Academy Awards (Steiger for acting, best editing, best screenplay, best sound and best picture as well as nominations for director and sound effects) IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT defied the expectations of the studio that produced it, becoming a movie that the public and critics both loved. One watching makes it easy to see why as this tale unfolds beneath the mastery of direction and acting involved. Steiger and Poitier were at their best with this film.
The theme of racism is dealt with in an adult and factual manner, reflecting the times as they were. The progress made in 40 years may not seem like much to some, but in watching this movie it's hard to believe nothing has changed. There may be room yet for more, but films like these were stepping stones in the path for acceptance.
As much now as then, those 40 years in the past, this story still needs to be told. At the same time, the changes since need to be explored as well. One of the joys of DVDs offering classic films of the past is the sense of history that we can watch right before our eyes. And in doing so, perhaps we can learn, perhaps we can make a cause for not making the same mistakes again. DVDs may offer entertainment, but they can offer education as well. This film is proof of that.
Nearly Worn Out The Disk 2008-01-18
This movie is in my top ten. When I want to watch a movie but don't know what I want to watch I'll see this in my collection and will not have to look any longer.
In the Heat of the Night 2007-12-29
This is a classic movie with top notch stars. would absolutely recommend.
