In The Heat Of the Night

Widely regarded as a classic yet somehow I hadn't managed to get round to watching it. That changed last night when I spotted it's listing on BBC4 @ 10.30pm. My girlfriend and regular viewing companion was of a similar persuasion so we sat back to digest.
This is a near perfect movie in every sense of the word. The main roles are played by Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger as an out of town homicide detective and a local sheriff respectively. Ably supported by a uniformly brilliant cast there are brilliant characters drawn and developed over the course of the movie. Set in rural Mississippi in the late 60's against a backdrop of severe racial tensions, the two protagonists attempt to solve the murder of a businessman. There are several dead leads in the case, helped in no small part by an incompetent local police force. Poitier's measured and intelligent application to the case doesn't sit well with Steiger's sheriff character, especially given his skin colour. Local hatred for Poitier's involvement in the case add extra pressure on an already vexed Steiger. He plays the unhinged sheriff to perfection and by the end has almost come to respect Mr Poitier.
For his part Poitier is a model of restrained brilliance, spare and measured in his contribution, yet all the while a step ahead of the baying locals.
The screenplay by Stirling Silliphant is one of the very best committed to a project, not a word is wasted. Director Norman Jewison working from this excellent script keeps everything tight and keeps the audience at arms length to the very end.
This is a must watch for every film fan.