Race relations are brought to the forefront in 'In The Heat Of The Night (1967)', an engaging and well-paced mystery-thriller. The direction is great, the script captures a sense of time and place and Sir Sidney Poitier gives a fantastic, forceful performance. The themes within are just as important today as they were back then and there's a remarkable clarity to the piece, despite some ever-so-slightly problematic aspects expected with a picture of its age, and there is certainly a sense of forward-thinking to the story. It's an important and impactful flick that's as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. 7/10

In the heat of the night "A hundred and sixty-two dollars and thirty-nine cents a week? Well boy! Sam, you take him outside but treat him nice, because a man that makes a hundred and sixty-two dollars and thirty-nine cents a week, we do not want to ruffle him! " Even when his intelligence laid on the table, racial preoccupation would still stand the way of his investigation." In the heat of the night" was directed by Norman Jewison in 1967. Different from other crime drama, this story puts more focus on building characters rather than the murder itself. This story described a story of a black police detective uncovered a murder case in a small southern racist town. When detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) waiting for a train at the station, a police officer (Rod Steiger) arrested him and accused him of murdering a successful businessman. When he clarified his identity at the police station, the local chief unwillingly asks for his assistance. During the investigation, Virgil's life had been threatened due to racial prejudice. While the racial tensions are growing over time, the hostility of chief is fading... Although storyline evolve around the murder events, still the movie shows a lot of interactions between Virgil and other characters. It draws audiences focus on the question: Can Virgil's career excellence overcome the prejudices and successfully reveal the mystery? " In the heat of the night" won a Best Picture Oscar Award by successfully conveyed the pictures of a hot, slimy, and small southern town. In the film, everyone's head was full of beads of sweat; it makes audiences feel the heat of the hot summer. Also, the characters often held an iced coke in their hand, and it reminds viewers the thirsty feeling of a hot day. By using small details and high saturated color, the film creates realistic pictures of the environment. The chief was very well acted, his accent and the noisy sound of gums also enhanced the impression of his personality. Overall, this is an engaging, entertaining, and well-acted movie.

Personally, This movie wasn't one of my favorites. It wasn't my kind of movie but for the 60's the acting was good and it had a good story line. This movie also touched up on racism in the 60's as well in parts of the movie you can see how Virgil is treat in Mississippi during this time. One of my favorite parts of the movie was when they went to the plantation owner and Virgil slapped him. Overall this movie was good for it's time but I wouldn't watch it again.

This is possibly a very rare flawless mystery thriller. Everything goes well and the audience are attracted to it. It is also elevated by the stellar performances of Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, and by the social satire theme about racism. Most of the white men in the town are prejudiced against black people. Yet in the end it is a negro who solves the murder case.