They call me...

...impressed.

Watching the AFI Top 100 Films (10th Anniversary Edition) in a calendar year and recording my thoughts here.  Getting there.

Film 29

29.  "In The Heat Of The Night" (AFI Rank #75)
Pride is such a recurring theme in drama...it should perhaps be classified as the single most built upon theme.  Some cute catch phrase about it coming before a fall should exist.  What?  Wait.  Shit.

"In the Heat of the Night" is a film entirely built upon pride, and its ability to sway the actions of all that it affects.

This is the second film of three that won the Best Picture Oscar I will have watched in a row.  It is odd that I seemed to distribute these films so tightly bunched, as there are only 27 of the 100 that earned that distinction.  Released in 1967, it tells the tale of a murder that happens in the southern town of Sparta, Mississippi.  Filmed in the actual town of Sparta, Illinois, because lead actor Sidney Poitier refused to shoot below the Mason-Dixon line, the film is about, at its core, ignorance, prejudice and pride.  Pride.  Pride.

I'm not going to go into a synopsis.  Watch the film to get the story.  I'm also likely to spoil a few things, so if you haven't watched it, stop reading, watch it, then come back.

The first thing I wish to discuss is the cinematography of the film.  From the opening sequence, we realize that we are watching a film that is going to challenge us, and tell its story, visually.  Focusing on a person getting off a train, neatly dressed, we see only his legs, and then see him reach his African American colored hand down to pick up a suitcase, and head into the depot.  It's night, we know the setting is Sparta, Mississippi, and we know it's current.  Everything we need to know is there, but it is shot in such a way that we are required to use our brains, and to fill in the details from the clues presented us.  The shots are tight, well thought out, and visually compelling.  This stylized filming is present throughout.  My personal favorite shot in the film was a scene in which Chief Gillespie (Rod Steiger) has arrested Virgil Tibbs (Poitier) in a fit of anger over the uppity man (but clearly superior intellect) refusing to share evidence with him.  Tibbs is sitting in jail, and Gillespie asks his deputy to hand through a waiver for false arrest for Tibbs to sign.  They never show Tibbs, only his hands reaching through the cell bars, signing the form, then handing it back directly to the Chief.  It's a tremendous piece of camerawork and tells a story all by itself.  The impact of that choice is immediate and intelligent.  Great work.

Also of note is the score.  Written by Quincy Jones, it is rooted in jazz, but has tinges of blues.  One can feel the south in the music.  Alternatively funky, then subtle, but always something that grabs our focus, Jones did a masterful job scoring the film.  It was, at the time, a revolutionary thing to use music of the south for a southern film, and the film would suffer without it.

Norman Jewison was the director of "In the Heat of the Night," and it is interesting to note that his career includes such African-American-centric films as "A Soldier's Story," and "The Hurricane."  Jewison has a firm grasp on the conditions of the black man in the south in the late 1960's.  When we visit the black portions of town, the yards are strewn with garbage, the people in them watch the white people with a suspicious eye, and we see the systemized racism expressed.  Don't believe me?  I think it is no accident that the person that Tibbs is entrusted to is a mechanic, working at his home, kids everywhere, in a dilapidated building with a hand painted sign announcing his profession.  Contrast that with the mayor of the town, a farm implement salesman, with a clean shop, filled with white people working in really nice conditions.  Like I said...I think we may not be meant to notice that, but I think it's there on purpose.  Jewison is saying something in most shots we get.  Another not so subtle one is when Tibbs and Gillespie visit the home of Endicott, the plantation owner who is the richest man in town.  We see Gillespie put his hand on the completely offensive lawn jockey in Endicott's front yard.  Yes, Gillespie is perfectly content keeping the black man in his place.  Ultimately, thought, Gillespie represents all the good in people, blinded by pride.  I'm getting off track.  Jewison knew what he was doing, and every frame of this film seems to have purpose.  It's incredibly economic filmmaking, and while he lost the Oscar to the amazing work of Mike Nichols' direction of "The Graduate," one could make a case for Jewison, and not feel one was stretching.

Supporting performances are very good at times, especially Lee Grant as the widow of the murder victim.  Her moment where she asks, "What's wrong with you people?" is a great moment that gives us so much story...it's great.  Also of note are the performances of Scott Wilson as Harvey Oberst and Warren Oates as Sam Wood.  Both actors get a lot of time with Poitier as Tibbs, and both show the affects of the presence of this intelligent man very deftly.

Ultimately, however, this film earns its place on this list because of the performances of its two lead actors.  I'll discuss Poitier first.  Brimming with a volcanic intensity that always seems ready to blow, Poitier plays pride the right way.  And then again, not.  Tibbs is a stranger in a land where he is unwelcome, but Poitier's performance, and his steady hand, immediately affects those around him, when they give him a chance.  Tibbs is a proud man, intelligent, experienced, and nuanced, he is the anchor.  What I found fascinating, however, was how this man of great reason allowed himself to, at times, allow pride to overtake him.  He's got something to prove, and he lets that cloud his judgment on several occasions.  It is telling that one of those ways he lets it cloud him is with his own safety.  He is a hunted man, and KNOWS it, but still puts himself in harm's way...to prove that he can't be beaten.  There's a lot there, and Poitier lets us see all of it.  He does explode a couple of times, and his rage at ignorance boils over in ways that we don't expect.  His famous line, "They call me Mr. Tibbs!" is one such occurrence, as is the moment where Tibbs slaps a very powerful white man.  When that man cries over it, saying that there was a time when he could have Tibbs shot for such an offense, we realize just how powerful Poitier's hold is on those around him, and how out of touch this world is with what is happening in the rest of it.  It takes a special acting performance to bring these things out for our inspection.  Poitier's performance is special.

The role, and the Oscar for Best Actor which it brought, in the film is that of Chief Gillespie, played by Rod Steiger.  When the way you chew gum becomes part of your performance, you know you've done something right.  Steiger is so brutally honest in this film, it is no wonder that my mother, for as long as I've been aware, always talks about how great he was.  Gillespie is a complex character, one who always seems to be in the right place at the right time, yet one who doesn't really know why he is.  He's all instinct, prone to quick conclusions, and always sure of himself.  The film constantly hints at his being an unpopular figure in town.  Like Tibbs, Gillespie is an outsider.  Take the scene previously mentioned where he drops Tibbs off at the African-American's garage.  Gillespie is familiar with the place, in fact, all the police cars are service there.  Contrasted against all the other white characters we meet who are part of the town, we see why he is an outsider.  How did he find this garage, and why do the police trust this black man with their vehicles?  Because Gillespie knew he was the best.  Steiger carries our conscious in the film.  It is his ability to warm to Tibbs that makes us want to continue on the path.  Let's face one thing about this film....as a whodunnit, it is LANGUIDLY paced, and really quite silly.  People are always guilty until Tibbs proves why they are not, so what compels us to want to continue?  Gillespie, relying on those who are smarter than him, makes us watch.  We want to see him change.  It grinds at times, but we see him shift his attitudes.  He feels like an opportunist, but we ultimately believe he believes in justice, in fairness, and in the law.  He has sacrificed everything for it, including a hinted at romance from long ago.  It's a historic performance, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  One other thing.  There is a character named Courtney in the film.  He has a brother who also works at the police station.  We see both brother and Courtney in the film, but Steiger, either mistakenly, or on purpose, calls the brother Courtney in a scene where he is left alone briefly with Steiger.  I don't know whose choice that was, but it's fucking brilliant.  I'm hoping it was Steiger.  It is a big, big window into the character.

One bit that I'm not sure I noticed correctly.  At the end of the film, we see Tibbs on the train, headed away from town, with a satisfied look on his face, having solved the crime, and gained the respect/trust of those he helped...behind him, we see a white woman, and you can almost hear her saying, with her attitude that she shows, "what is this black boy doing so close to me?"  Tibbs just saved the day, made some people wake up, and yet, there he is.  Still just a black boy on a train.  I need to watch again to see if I imagined that, but I think I'm right.

"In the Heat of the Night" is a great film. I was thoroughly entertained, and mesmerized by the performances.  Check it out.

No Ebert this time.  Sorry.

EDIT:  Courtney is the guy's last name!  Ha!  Me and my stupidity, always looking for the deeper meaning.