It’s September 1966 and a factory owner in the small town of Sparta, Mississippi is found murdered on the side of the road. An officer notices a black man at the train station and immediately takes him back to the station to arrest him for the murder. However as Chief Gillespie (Rod Steiger) questions the “boy” he discovers that Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is actually a top homicide detective from Philadelphia. Tibbs’ captain orders him to stick around and help out with the case, but Gillespie and his men don’t want him there. They’re more concerned with closing the case as quickly as possible rather than finding the right suspect. While Tibbs just wants to return home and get away from the racial tension of the South, he can’t just leave without seeing justice served. The wife of the murdered man also insists that Tibbs stick around and find her husband’s murderer, and so he starts to show these backwoods cops proper forensics and investigation techniques. However, Tibbs refusal to stay in his social place gets him into trouble and he soon becomes the target of a mob calling for a lynching.

In the Heat of the Night won five Academy Awards in 1968, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Rod Steiger) and Best Adapted Screenplay. It’s easy to see why the critics praised this film. Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger both give stellar performances, bringing their characters to life. The film sets up this well-defined world of the late 1960s where civil rights issues are still at the forefront and some are struggling to accept racial equality. Into this small Southern town comes this well-spoken, intelligent black man who refuses to play by the old rules. Even the police chief, who sees how this man can assist him in his case, is at first a bit apprehensive. Over the course of the film, we see this friendship and mutual respect develop between the two men, but even so, there is always some level of guardedness between them. Gillespie knows things are changing, but doesn’t quite know how to react. He, too, is a bit of an outsider as members of the town would like to see someone less accepting become Sheriff. This sets up the backdrop for a really interesting social commentary.

The film also works really well as a classic detective murder mystery. The case the two men are investigating is interesting, with lots of red herrings and twists and turns. And we see Tibbs deploying classic forensic techniques to narrow down the list of suspects. The supporting characters are also well-defined. You get a real sense of the other bumbling detectives who work at the precinct, and the strange townsfolk that also live in this world. It’s easy to see how this went on to become a TV series as there is such a rich well-defined environment in which the film tells its story.

The music used in the film is also notable. The opening titles set the mood for the rest of film with the bluesy title song performed by Ray Charles. Throughout the film is Quincy Jones’ wonderful jazzy score, as well as many other original songs designed to inform the supporting characters.

The video presentation on the Blu-ray looks quite nice. It is only in some of the darker or indoor scenes where the picture gets excessively grainy or a little less crisp. The audio track makes great use of the stereo and surround channels to bring the viewer into the middle of the action. While there are no new bonus features for this Blu-ray release, it’s great to see that nothing has been dropped either—all of the interesting featurettes from the 2008 DVD release and the audio commentary from the 2001 DVD release have been ported over.

In The Heat of the Night is a great film, and one that should be a part of every Blu-ray collection.

What’s Included:

Film (1:50:04):

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish 1.0 Mono DD, French 1.0 Mono DTS-HD-MA, Castilian 1.0 Mono DTS-HD-MA, German 2.0 Stereo DTS, Italian 1.0 Mono DTS-HD-MA, Portuguese (Brazilian) 1.0 Mono DD
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Castilian, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (Iberian), Greek, Madarin

Extras:
There is nothing new to this release. The audio commentary is ported from the 2001 DVD release while the featurettes were originally created for the 2008 DVD re-release.

• Audio Commentary (1:50:04)
  A really interesting behind-the-scenes audio commentary that provides a lot of insight into the making of the film. Director Norman Jewison and cinematographer Haskell Wexler provide the crux of the commentary, with actors Rod Steiger (“Gillespie”) and Lee Grant (“Mrs. Colbert”) popping in from time to time. It appears as though everyone was recorded separately and then edited together to give one commentary track.
• Turning Up The Heat: Moviemaking in the ’60s (21:10)
  Takes a look at the civil rights revolution and volatile nature of the South at time of the film, the casting of Rodd Steiger and Sydney Poitier, the danger of filming in the South, tricks of filming on a small budget, the music and score, and the critical praise of the film. Features interviews with director Norman Jewison, producer Walter Mirisch, filmmaker John Singleton, Princeton University center for african american studies Dr. Imani Perry, USC professor of critical studies Dr. Todd Boyd, AFI film historian Patricia King Hanson, cinematographer Haskell Wexler, filmmaker/BET president of entertainment Reginald Hudlin, composer Quincy Jones, and film music historian Jon Burlingame.
• The Slap Heard Around The World (7:25)
  A discussion on the groundbreaking scene that finds Virgil slapping Endicott. Features interviews with filmmaker John Singleton, filmmaker/BET president of entertainment Reginald Hudlin, director Norman Jewison, USC professor of critical studies Dr. Todd Boyd, Princeton University center for african american studies Dr. Imani Perry, cinematographer Haskell Wexler, producer Walter Mirisch, and AFI film historian Patricia King Hanson.
• Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound (13:02)
  A discussion on Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, and the music and score used in the film. Also includes a clip from one of Quincy Jones’ original songs that was replaced. Features interviews with composer Quincy Jones, USC professor of critical studies Dr. Todd Boyd, musician Herbie Hancock, film music historian Jon Burlingame, The Tonight Show head audio engineer Patrick Smith, director Norman Jewison, lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman,
• Theatrical Trailer (2:48)

Final Thoughts:

In the Heat of the Night is a great piece of dramatic cinema that works on multiple levels. First and foremost it is a social commentary on civil rights issues and race relations in the South at the time the film was made. But it also works equally well as an interesting detective film. While there are no new-to-this-release bonus features, all of the great extras from the prior two DVD releases have been ported over, so nothing has been lost. The picture and sound have also received an upgrade. This is definitely a title worth adding to your Blu-ray collection.