In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Directed by Norman Jewison · 109 min · Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
85.6 TOPICAL score · #202 of 6,776 films
Vote for it on the board →African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.
In the Heat of the Night (1967, directed by Norman Jewison) has a TOPICAL score of 85.6 - ranked 202 of the 6,776 films TOPICAL scores. It scores highest on awards and historical impact, and lowest on legacy & cult status. It won 5 awards from 7 nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. Critics: 96% on Rotten Tomatoes · 8.3/10 critics' average · Metacritic 76. Audiences: TMDB 7.7/10 (1,309 ratings). Wikipedia covers it in 55 languages, and the Library of Congress chose it for the National Film Registry.
Why this score
Each bar: better than this % of the 6,776 films we score. How the score works.
- Critics96% on Rotten Tomatoes · 8.3/10 critics' average · Metacritic 76
- AudienceTMDB 7.7/10 (1,309 ratings)
- Awards5 wins, 7 nominations - incl. Academy Award for Best Picture; Academy Award for Best Actor; Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
- ImpactWikipedia articles in 55 languages · National Film Registry
- Still read44,292 Wikipedia readers in the last 60 days
Starring: Sidney Poitier (actor #36), Rod Steiger (actor #189), Warren Oates (actor #886), Peter Whitney
“The film also appears on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies, a list of the 100 greatest movies in American cinema.”
Wikipedia · read the article - AI legacy read: 8/10