Friday, July 6, 2012

They call me MR Tibbs - "In the Heat of the Night" (1967)



Mat here. This was another one we enjoyed with my parents – we tend to cram in quite a few Oscar films when they visit...

Sidney Poitier is no stranger to films dealing with race-relations. Here he plays homicide detective Mr Virgil Tibbs, who gets dragged in by a bigoted small town police chief (Rod Steiger) as a suspect in a murder investigation just because he happens to be in the South, and black.

Poitier and Steiger have to put aside their mutual distaste and unravel the mystery surrounding the murder, and a grudging respect forms between the pair. No-one’s happy to have poor ol’ Sid in town, and violence, hate and lynch mobs follow him wherever he goes.

This movie is home to some of the most memorable moments in film history: the scene where the wealthy property owner slaps Mr Tibbs like he was slapping a slave; and Mr Tibbs slaps him right back – electric. And of course the oft-quoted ‘They call me MISTER Tibbs!’ as he stands up for the rights and respect afforded him in the other parts of America.

Watching the film today tends to leave your mouth open in shock, with the ‘n-word’ being casually tossed around and Sidney Poitier being referred to as ‘boy’. Uncomfortable viewing in parts, but they were blazing a trail and sometimes, that’s not pretty.

In the Heat of the Night also received awards for Best Actor (Rod Steiger), Editing, Sound and Adapted Screenplay. Somewhat telling that the times are slow to change, Sidney Poitier wasn’t even nominated for a Best Actor Oscar.

This is one of the most deserving Best Picture winners, not just for being an excellent and entertaining film, but for being so important in getting the struggles of the Civil Rights movement onto the big screen.

We gave In the Heat of the Night the following scores: Danielle 81 and Mat 90.

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