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Robert Harris

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No need to further discuss In the Heat of the Night as a film.

The interest here is Kino's new 4k of the film, derived from the same master used by Criterion for their Blu-ray, and the "surprise inside."

Remember those kids' cereals with a prize at the bottom of the package?

That's what you get here, albeit not in quite the quality one may like.

Purchase Kino's new 4k of ItHotN (1967), and receive - absolutely free! - the two sequels, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs (1970), and The Organization (1971).

The only caveat here, and it only really matters if you're seeking top quality versions of the films, is that they're relegated to a singe disc, which also contains all the extras.

This lowers the bit rate to the mid-20s, nothing terrible, especially as they derived from dupes, but nothing great either, as they're 214 minutes total, plus the extras.

They both better than okay, but I'd have much preferred that there was one more disc, with the extras split across the two Blu-rays. Both were released by Kino in 2015, so best to check. You may already have them.

How does In the Heat of the Night look in 4k?

Terrific, and very similar to the Criterion Blu-ray, with rich blacks, here possibly a tad heavier, but without a single problem.

Big question is this.

If you already have the extra-ladden Criterion disc, do you need the Kino, aside from the extras?

Grain structure is clearly better resolved, and obvious when stepping up to the screen.

But sit ten feet away, and I'm not certain that there's anything to be gained, as lovely as the 4k is.

If you don't have Heat of the Night in Blu-ray, and are also missing the two sequels, this is a slam dunk at $27.

You'll also find some of the same extras on the two different releases.

Image – 5

Audio – 5

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors - Yes

Makes use of and works well in 4k - 5

Upgrade from Blu-ray - probably not, unless you desire the sequels

Very Highly Recommended

RAH
 

Lord Dalek

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I never bought the Criterion and I couldn't care less about the subsequent Tibbsploitation "sequels". Should I just buy the former release?
 

Mark-P

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Edit: nevermind. I misread that. Thought the bonus movies where on the UHD disc, but they are on a separate BD.
 
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Peter Apruzzese

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So the sequels, I take it are 1080p on a UHD disc? I think it may be a first to use UHD in that manner. Blu-ray has been used to include bonus SD full movies, but I don’t ever recall UHD having HD bonus movies. Perhaps I’m wrong.

No, there’s a second disc - a Blu-ray - with those two movies and special features.
 

JoshZ

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I’d buy the Kino, based upon 4k and price. The Criterion is running $50+.

The Criterion Blu-ray is $27.84 on Amazon while the Kino 4K is $26.49 on Amazon.

The Criterion Blu-ray is actually $54.99 on Amazon at the moment for some reason. But it's the regular MSRP of $39.99 on Barnes & Noble. The next Criterion 50% off sale at B&N should be in July, which will bring it down to $19.98 there.
 

Robert Crawford

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That's weird. When I go to Amazon and search for "In the Heat of the Night Blu-ray," it brings up this:



I have to search specifically for "In the Heat of the Night Criterion" to find the listing you linked.

Regardless, it'll be $19.98 at B&N if you can wait until the July sale.

If you haven't noticed that has a shipping charge too which makes me think it's an Amazon reseller charging that high pricing.

As to B&N sale, I think we all know about those November and July sales which is why I didn't mention it. The same with Criterion's flash sales that they have a couple of times each year.
 

Bartman

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I never bought the Criterion and I couldn't care less about the subsequent Tibbsploitation "sequels". Should I just buy the former release?
I like The Organization, I saw it streaming on Prime and bought the Blu-ray in a KL sale for $6 but it doesn't have subtitles, if that matters to you!
 

Noel Aguirre

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I’m sticking w the Criterion. Not upgrading for any more gritty films only visually spectacular films. Which by the way where are they??

Like what’s next- The Detective in 4K?
 

roxy1927

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vincent parisi
My mother took me to see In the Heat of the Night. At one point she turned to me and said your father should have brought you. I think she was a bit embarrassed by taking me to see a film of such an adult nature. I haven't seen it since. the 4k seems like a good reason.
Thank god it was my father who took me to see Catch 22. That would have been tough with my mother.
 

jayembee

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If you haven't noticed that has a shipping charge too which makes me think it's an Amazon reseller charging that high pricing.

Willing to bet that you're right, and that the reseller in question believes (erroneously) that the Kino release means the Criterion BD is OOP.

To be clear, it isn't. Just as it is with other UHDs that have still-in-print Criterion blues (The Great Escape, Some Like It Hot, et alia), Criterion still has the BD and DVD rights to the film, while Kino just has the UHD rights.

I'll be picking up the UHD. I have the other two from the previous Kino BDs. If those two films are compression compromised by being on a single BD, I'll keep the others. If not, they'll get brought to Bull Moose for trade-in.
 

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