Review of In the Heat of the Night (1967) by Jonny P — 25 Sep 2009
This movie was good... but how did it finish ahead of Bonnie and Clyde, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and The Graduate to win best film? Sidney Poitier's acting was excellent, but I do not understand how anybody could feel that Rod Steiger's performance topped Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Spencer Tracy, and Paul Newman (the other nominees).
After seeing all of their respective roles for this year, Steiger should not have even been nominated. Now that I have expressed my disgust for this movie winning these two Oscars, let me express that this was a very good movie.
The racism emotionally engages the audience, but I didn't feel that there was a visible enough change in Steiger to create the full effect. Perhaps the best acting in the entire movie comes from Quentin Dean (16-year-old Delores) in her heated police station encounter.
You should definitely see this, since it is such a highly regarded film; however, don't expect it to top the aforementioned movies that were defeated by it in the 1968 Academy Awards.
This review of In the Heat of the Night (1967) was written by Jonny P on 25 Sep 2009.
In the Heat of the Night has generally received very positive reviews.
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