WATCH PARTY: In the Heat of the Night (1967) dir. Norman Jewison @ Jordan Newby

I have randomly seen a couple other Norman Jewison films (Hurricane; Fiddler on the Roof.) Otherwise, don't really know much about this one.

RUNTIME: 110 minutes

SYNOPSIS (via Criterion): Passing through the backwoods town of Sparta, Mississippi, Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) becomes embroiled in a murder case. He forms an uneasy alliance with the bigoted police chief (Rod Steiger), who faces mounting pressure from Sparta’s hostile citizens to catch the killer and run the African American interloper out of town. Director Norman Jewison splices incisive social commentary into this thrilling police procedural with the help of Haskell Wexler’s vivid cinematography, Quincy Jones’s eclectic score, and two indelible lead performances—a career-defining display of seething indignation and moral authority from Poitier and an Oscar-winning masterclass in Method acting from Steiger. Winner of five Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, In the Heat of the Night is one of the most enduring Hollywood films of the civil rights era.

BLURBS:
"Held firmly in the grip of director Norman Jewison, Poitier and Steiger have the explosive menace of hand grenades -- and Jewison knows just when to pull out the pins." - Alexander Walker, London Evening News

"In these roles, Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger give performances that ignite the screen with dramatic sparks. It is the confrontations between these two antagonists that give the movie its powerhouse impact." - Sandra Saunders, Philadelphia Daily News

"What really matters about the film is its feeling for the bizarre, ordinary detail of the little Southern town... Above all, this is a real cameraman's film, shot in bright, hard colours which glitter like jewels." - Tom Milne, Observer (UK)