Review of In the Heat of the Night (1967) by John O — 28 Feb 2013

Such an important film, and so honest! Norman Jewison is an incredible director, but the kudos go all around for this one: Sterling Silliphant's gritty (especially for its time), somewhat theatrical screenplay, Haskell Wexler's brilliant cinematography, Hal Ashby's sharp editing, and of course an incredible cast. Most people, upon mention of the film, think immediately of Sidney Poitier, but Rod Steiger's is the performance with the most depth in my opinion. His character is one of the most layered, genuinely interesting, often imitated, and extremely quotable characters that I can think of. There's some controversy that has loomed over the years about Steiger winning the Best Actor Oscar over Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman, Spencer Tracy, and Warren Beatty, and also about the film itself winning Best Picture over classics like Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate; I think this film deserved both wins. The social statement that this film made was in one way years ahead of its time. In another way, though, the message was a long time coming. The fact that most of this film was shot right near me in southern Illinois makes it a special piece of local history, which, for me, adds to its historical, cultural, social, and cinematic legacy.

P.S. The pie is a metaphor!