In the Heat of the Night

This Norman Jewison-directed, five Oscar-winning, 1967 whodunit has Sidney Poitier as Virgil ("They Call Me MISTER") Tibbs, a Philadelphia homicide detective who, while traveling the backwoods of Mississippi, is drawn into a murder investigation headed up by a bigoted local sheriff (Rod Steiger). As a murder-mystery it's less than compelling, but as a racially-charged character study with two actors at the top of their games it's not to be missed. Featuring a score by Quincy Jones and lensing by the great Haskell Wexler, the DVD version also includes an audio commentary by Norman Jewison, Lee Grant, Rod Steiger and Wexler. Recommended. (S. C. Sickles) [DVD Review—Feb. 5, 2008—MGM, 110 min., not rated, $19.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1967's In the Heat of the Night (40th Anniversary Collector's Edition) features a fine transfer. DVD extras include the same audio commentary included on the original release, a 21-minute 'Turning Up the Heat: Movie-Making in the ‘60s' featurette, 'Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound' music featurette (13 min.), 'The Slap Heard Around the World' featurette (8 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: well worth picking up, if you don't already own the first release.] [Blu-ray Review—Mar. 25, 2014—Fox, 110 min., not rated, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1967's In the Heat of the Night features a fine transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras include audio commentary (by director Norman Jewison, costars Lee Grant and Rod Steiger, and cinematographer Haskell Wexler), the production featurettes "Turning Up the Heat: Moviemaking in the 60s" (21 min.), "Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound" with the composer (13 min.), and "The Slap Heard Around the World" (8 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: this Best Picture winner makes a welcome Blu-ray debut.] [Blu-ray/DVD Review—Jan. 29, 2019—Criterion, 110 min., not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1967’s In the Heat of the Night features a fine transfer with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Previously available extras include audio commentary by director Norman Jewison, cinematographer Haskell Wexler, and costars Rod Steiger and Lee Grant, the 2008 retrospective 'Turning Up the Heat: Movie-Making in the ‘60s' (22 min.), and a 2008 'Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound' soundtrack featurette (13 min.). Exclusive to this release are interviews with Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon author Aram Goudsouzian (18 min.), Grant (15 min.), and Jewison (13 min.), as well as a 2006 interview with star Sidney Poitier (8 min.), and an essay by critic K. Austin Collins. Bottom line: an excellent edition of this Oscar-winning classic.]