In the Heat of the Night (4K UHD Review)
Director
Norman JewisonRelease Date(s)
1967 (July 30, 2025)Studio(s)
The Mirisch Corporation/United Artists (Imprint Films/Via Vision Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: A
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: B+
Review
[Editor’s Note: This is a Region-Free Australian Blu-ray import.]
In the Heat of the Night felt like a jolt of electricity to those who saw when it was originally released in 1967. Its portrayal of a black homicide investigator from the city finding himself in the middle of a murder investigation in an overtly racist section of the South was well-handled by director Norman Jewison (Moonstruck, Fiddler on the Roof). The material itself borders on B grade, at least compared to what came before and definitely what would come later, but because Sidney Poitier drives the film merely with his presence, it becomes something else entirely: a cornerstone of commentary on race relations during a tumultuous time in US history.
In the town of Sparta, Mississippi, officer Wood (Warren Oates) finds the dead body of Phillip Colbert, who had recently moved to Sparta with his wife (Lee Grant) to build a new factory, which would have given the town a major financial boost. Passing through and waiting at a nearby train station is Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) who, because of his complexion, is brought in immediately. They’re ready to throw the book at him until police chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) discovers that Tibbs is actually a policeman. Phoning his own chief back home in Philadelphia, Tibbs is told to aid Gillespie in the investigation. At the further insistence of Mrs. Colbert, Gillespie is forced to work with Tibbs, but must set aside his prejudice if the case is to be solved.
The plot and its conclusion are merely a backdrop for the performances. It’s not a very intriguing or distinctive mystery, but one cannot take their eyes off of Sidney Poitier and how he handles the rampant racism constantly being hurled at him, particularly from Gillespie. But the formula of an outsider coming into a town and stirring up the pot is as tried and true as they come. One need look no further than the first season of Amazon’s recent Reacher series, which is almost identical to In the Heat of the Night structurally, to see that this type of narrative isn’t unique. What’s special about it is the fact that it’s a black man being tossed into a bad situation and having the wits and the integrity to not only rise above it, but bring others over to his cause. He may not change Gillepsie’s entire worldview, but he definitely gives him some food for thought.
In the Heat of the Night carries an unorthodox but excellent score by Quincy Jones, who mixes styles to create a tableau of Southern-soaked jazz and blues. The soundtrack also features a wonderful title song, sung by Ray Charles, as well as an incidental country tune by Glen Campbell.
At its heart, In the Heat of the Night is about the mutual respect that one can gain from a place of pure ignorance. The unfortunate truth is that the racism on display in the film is still incredibly relevant, which is partially why it’s aged so well. A pair of conventional though entertaining in their own right sequels were produced in the film’s wake featuring Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs on the job as a tough city cop, but neither are as effective or as hard-hitting as In the Heat of the Night.
Cinematographer Haskell Wesler shot In the Heat of the Night on 35mm film (Eastman 50T 5251) with Mitchell BNCR cameras and Bausch & Lomb Super Baltar and Angenieux lenses, the results of which were finished photochemically, and presented theatrically in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Imprint Films brings the film to UHD utilizing the same 4K scan and restoration of the original camera negative that was included on The Criterion Collection and Kino Lorber Studio Classics UHD releases. The major difference here is that Imprint is including High Dynamic Range grades in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, with the final result encoded to a triple-layered BD-100 disc. Wicked Vision in Germany has also released the film on UHD with the same HDR grades, but I don’t have that release to make direct comparisons. It’s the same level of quality you’d expect if you’ve seen any of the previous 4K incarnations. Encoding is not quite as refined, but neither is it terrible. In fact, you’d have to pay extremely close attention to see some of the minor differentiations in the grain structure. It’s tight, but ever so slightly looser in places. Outside of that, this is still a wonderfully detailed presentation with outstanding saturation, the latter of which has been given some additional muscle with the new HDR grades. Blacks are deeper and more solid, while hues are sharper with a bit more life to them. It’s also a stable and mostly clean presentation with only a stray scratch here or there. There are a couple of occasional dips in quality that occur during transitions, as well a minor density fluctuation during one scene, but these moments are fleeting. It’s another top notch presentation of the film.
Audio is included in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 LPCM with optional subtitles in English SDH. (Take note that the Kino Lorber Studio Classics release features a 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio track and The Criterion Collection release features a 1.0 LPCM track). The 5.1 option expands the original soundtrack without altering it substantially, allowing for ambient activity, score, and music in the surrounding speakers. There’s even some nice panning when cars cross the screen, as well as decent low end for the score. Surprisingly, the 2.0 option is a stereo fold-down, meaning that the original mono track is missing in action here, which is a bummer. However, the 5.1 track is a marked improvement over the original mono. NO matter which option you choose, both tracks are clean and free of any major issues.
The Imprint Films and Via Vision Entertainment 2-Disc Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD release of In the Heat of the Night sits in a black Amaray case alongside a 1080p Blu-ray and a double-sided insert, featuring the original theatrical artwork on the front and a still from the film on the reverse (though unseen to most since this isn’t a clear Amaray case). Also included is an 84-page hardcover booklet featuring the essay “Night Moves”: In the Heat of the Night’s Pursuit of the American South by Travis Woods, a series of pressbook excerpts, and color photos from the film. Everything is housed in flip-top, hardbox packaging featuring artwork from the original theatrical poster, but more closely resembling the way that the same shot is presented in the trailer. This release is limited to 1,500 units only. The following extras are included on each disc:
DISC ONE (UHD)
- Audio Commentary with Norman Jewison, Haskell Wexler, Rod Steiger, and Lee Grant
DISC TWO (BD)
- Audio Commentary with Norman Jewison, Haskell Wexler, Rod Steiger, and Lee Grant
- When the Picture Was Over: The Life and Films of Rod Steiger (HD – 11:18)
- Turning Up the Heat: Movie Making in the 60’s (SD – 21:10)
- The Slap Heard Around the World (SD – 7:25)
- Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound (SD – 13:02)
- Trailers From Hell (HD and Upscaled SD – 3:35)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (HD – 2:48)
The audio commentary, which features director Norman Jewison, cinematographer Haskell Wexler, and actors Rod Steiger and Lee Grant, is quite good. It goes quiet a few times, but the participants (who’ve been recorded separately and stitched together later on) offer their own personal experiences with the film. Jewison and Wexler primarily run the commentary, but everybody contributes dutifully. New to this release is When the Picture Was Over: The Life and Films of Rod Steiger, a very nice video essay about the life and career of the actor by Ryan Jordan.
Turning Up the Heat, The Slap Heard Around the World, and Breaking New Sound take a retrospective look at the film and its score with director Norman Jewison, producer Walter Mirisich, filmmaker John Singleton, university professors Dr. Imani Petty and Dr. Todd Boyd, AFI film historian Patricia King Hanson, cinematographer Haskell Wexler, composer Quincy Jones, filmmaker Reginald Hudlin, musician Herbie Hancock, film music historian Jon Burlingame, audio engineer Patrick Smith, and lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Also exclusive to this release is a Trailers From Hell commentary by film distributor Michael Schlesinger. Last is the trailer itself unfiltered.
There’s also quite a bit of material not carried from the three previous 4K UHD releases. The Kino Lorber Studio Classics release includes an audio commentary with Nathaniel Thompson, Steve Mitchell, and Robert Mirisch; as well as the sequels They Call Me Mister Tibbs! and The Organization, and trailers for both films. The Criterion Collection release includes exclusive interviews with Norman Jewison, Sidney Poitier, Lee Grant, and Aram Goudsouzian. And finally, the Wicked Vision release includes many exclusive extras: an audio commentary with Dr. Gerd Naumann and Christopher Klaese; an image gallery; a re-edited version of the original theatrical trailer; the German versions of both trailers; a German VHS trailer; and German trailers for They Call Me Mr. Tibbs! and The Organization.
Imprint’s UHD upgrade of In the Heat of the Night manages to boost the presentation with more stable color and contrast, even if the encode is slightly lesser than those that have come before it. The advantages of the HDR and a couple of new extras means that if you’re an über fan, you’ll probably want to own all of these releases. If not, then this is as good as any of them. Either way, In the Heat of the Night is an essential disc to own for film fans. Highly recommended.
- Tim Salmons
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