Press Release Criterion Press Release: In the Heat of the Night (1967) (4k UHD Combo) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

​

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 Nightis one of the most enduring Hollywood films of the civil rights era.

FILM INFO​

• United States
• 1967
• 110 minutes
• Color
• 1.85:1
• English
• Spine #959
  
  

  4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES​

  • 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Interviews with director Norman Jewison and actor Lee Grant
  • Segment from a 2006 American Film Institute interview with actor Sidney Poitier
  • Interview with Aram Goudsouzian, author of Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon
  • Audio commentary featuring Jewison, Grant, actor Rod Steiger, and cinematographer Haskell Wexler
  • Turning Up the Heat: Movie-Making in the ’60s, a program about the production of the film and its legacy, featuring Jewison, Wexler, producer Walter Mirisch, and filmmakers John Singleton and Reginald Hudlin
  • Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound, a program about Jones’s innovative soundtrack, including the title song sung by Ray Charles, featuring interviews with Jones, lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and musician Herbie Hancock
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic K. Austin Collins
    
    Cover by Sean Phillips
    
    May 6, 2025

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. As an Amazon Associate HTF earns from qualifying purchases. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.

Amazon.com

 

[Robert Crawford]

I see no reason to double dip after Kino’s 2022 4K/UHD release.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I see no reason to double dip after Kino’s 2022 4K/UHD release.

Didn't the Kino version include a bonus blu-ray with They Call Me MISTER Tibbs and The Organization?

 

[dpippel]

Didn't the Kino version include a bonus blu-ray with They Call Me MISTER Tibbs and The Organization?

Yes.

 

[dana martin]

ok see others had the same thoughts about this, the question is how many of the MGM/UA library are going to see releases back and forth like this

2 and counting sofar this and Some Like It Hot

 

[Robert Crawford]

ok see others had the same thoughts about this, the question is how many of the MGM/UA library are going to see releases back and forth like this

2 and counting sofar this and Some Like It Hot

Consumers need to take charge and we know how that can happen.

 

[TheMovieDude]

ok see others had the same thoughts about this, the question is how many of the MGM/UA library are going to see releases back and forth like this

2 and counting sofar this and Some Like It Hot

This isn't business as usual. There was some sort of legal battle going on behind the scenes they can't comment on. But I guarantee Criterion will be releasing all 7 or 8 of the titles KL had eventually as it's cheaper and faster than doing a brand new 4k scan.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This isn't business as usual. There was some sort of legal battle going on behind the scenes they can't comment on. But I guarantee Criterion will be releasing all 7 or 8 of the titles KL had eventually as it's cheaper and faster than doing a brand new 4k scan.

They won’t get my money!

 

[Robert Harris]

This isn't business as usual. There was some sort of legal battle going on behind the scenes they can't comment on. But I guarantee Criterion will be releasing all 7 or 8 of the titles KL had eventually as it's cheaper and faster than doing a brand new 4k scan.

No scan is necessary.

 

[bobclampett]

No purchase is necessary.

 

[HDVizion]

ok see others had the same thoughts about this, the question is how many of the MGM/UA library are going to see releases back and forth like this

2 and counting sofar this and Some Like It Hot

There will be 10 in all

12 Angry Men
Dressed to Kill
Great Escape, The
In the Heat of the Night $11.99
Killer's Kiss
The Killing
The Manchurian Candidate
The Night of the Hunter
Paths of Glory
Some Like it Hot

 

[TravisR]

This isn't business as usual. There was some sort of legal battle going on behind the scenes they can't comment on.

I just assume that Kino only had the license for those titles for a relatively limited amount of time and then Criterion picked it up.

 

[Lord Dalek]

ok see others had the same thoughts about this, the question is how many of the MGM/UA library are going to see releases back and forth like this

2 and counting sofar this and Some Like It Hot

The Killing, Paths of Glory, The Manchurian Candidate, and The Great Escape are all OOP from Kino (and the former two are already confirmed).

No word yet on Silence of the Lambs.

 

[Robert Harris]

There are presumably enough Criterion completists, along with libraries and educational institutions to make these releases viable.

 

[Robert Crawford]

There are presumably enough Criterion completists, along with libraries and educational institutions to make these releases viable.

That’s too bad! Anyone that already has the Kino 4K/UHD that intends on buying the Criterion 4K/UHD is getting little value from purchasing it again on 4K/UHD.

 

[Robert Harris]

That’s too bad! Anyone that already has the Kino 4K/UHD that intends on buying the Criterion 4K/UHD is getting little value from purchasing it again on 4K/UHD.

Not for Criterion.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Not for Criterion.

I didn't know that Criterion purchased the Kino 4K/UHD release..

 

[battlebeast]

Criterion didn’t put these titles out on 4k at first. They must have declined the rights to do so, or not picked them up, so KINO did. When Criterion decided to start releasing 4k, they didn’t have these rights. When kino lost them, Criterion snapped them back up.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Criterion didn’t put these titles out on 4k at first. They must have declined the rights to do so, or not picked them up, so KINO did. When Criterion decided to start releasing 4k, they didn’t have these rights. When kino lost them, Criterion snapped them back up.

I think most of us already know that.