ADDITION: Kino 4K UHD (May 2022): Kino have released Norman Jewison's "In the Heat of the Night" to 4K UHD. Like Kino's The Apartment and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 4K UHD releases, this does not have HDR applied (no HDR10, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision.) It looks absolutely marvelous - with the colors supporting the 2018 Criterion Blu-ray (compared to other editions HERE).... only it's in the 3840 X 2160 resolution. This brings out more grain, detail and depth. Depending on your system this is a very impressive upgrade. It looks pristine with the layered contrast supporting the opening darker sequences extremely well. I've never seen In the Heat of the Night looks this fabulous on home theatre.

The Kino second disc Blu-ray includes the sequels to In the Heat of the Night - They Call Me Mister Tibbs! + The Organization that will be released as a double feature Blu-ray in July 2022. These were released individually by Kino in 2015 - we reviewed them HERE and HERE. Both have a slightly different (new) 1080P transfer - with marginally richer, deeper, colors and cooler flesh tones. Although minor, I would consider these an upgrade. This dual-layered disc also has extras (see below) not present on the 2015 Blu-rays - which only included trailers.

NOTE: 73 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: Jack Reacher (software uniformly simulated HDR), Death Wish II (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Apartment (no HDR), The Proposition (software uniformly simulated HDR), Nightmare Alley (2021) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Godfather (software uniformly simulated HDR), Le Crecle Rouge (software uniformly simulated HDR), An American Werewolf in London (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Hard Day's Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Piano (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Great Escape (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Red Shoes (software uniformly simulated HDR), Citizen Kane (software uniformly simulated HDR), Unbreakable (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mulholland Dr. (software uniformly simulated HDR), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Hills Have Eyes (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Servant (software uniformly simulated HDR), Anatomy of a Murder (software uniformly simulated HDR), Taxi Driver  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wolf Man (1941) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frankenstein (1931) (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Deep Red (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Misery (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Silence of the Lambs (software uniformly simulated HDR), John Carpenter's "The Thing" (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Cat' o'Nine Tails (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR),  Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Chernobyl  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie  (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsing (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot  (software uniformly simulated HDR),,  Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR),  A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

The 4K UHD disc's audio is offered with the option of a dual-mono track or a robust 5.1 surround bump - both in lossless DTS-HD Master. There is more inferred violence than actual violence in the film. But there are loud train sounds (twice), an echo-filled empty warehouse etc. although it is most notable for the Quincy Jones score (The Getaway, The Slender Thread, The Pawnbroker, The New Centurions, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs, A Dandy in Aspic) that encapsulates a southern charm with the film's rising tensions under the surface tightly expressed via the lossless transfer. All 4K UHD discs are Region 'Free' and this offers optional, bold, white, English (SDH) subtitles - see sample below. The included Blu-ray is region 'A'-locked.

There are two commentaries on the 4K UHD disc - the one from 2008 featuring Jewison, Grant, actor Rod Steiger, and cinematographer Haskell Wexler.  The second commentary is new - recorded in January 2022 - with Steve Mitchell, Nathaniel Thompson and Robert Mirisch (nephew of Walter Mirisch, and son of the Mirisch Company Founder Harold Mirisch.) They mention the passing of Poitier who we lost in January 2022 - just before this commentary was recorded. They discuss the history of The Mirisch Corporation - its relationship to United Artists, how the film evolved, bringing Jewison onboard, actor's fees etc. how In the Heat of the Night is a Hollywood production and a non-Hollywood film at the same time, the impactful 'slap heard around the world' inclusion insistence by Jewison and much more. Both commentaries have immense value and the additions are a strong part of the 4K UHD disc.

As mentioned above, there is a Blu-ray included , with They Call Me Mister Tibbs! + The Organization. We've compared samples below to Kino's 2015 editions. It offers supplements; Turning Up the Heat: Movie-Making in the ’60s, is a 21-minute 2008 program about the production of the film and its legacy, featuring Jewison, Wexler, producer Walter Mirisch, and filmmakers John Singleton and Reginald Hudlin. The Slap Heard Around the World is also from 2008 and was on the second MGM DVD and their own Blu-ray from 2014. It recounts the impactful scene, not in the book, where Tibbs and Gillespie visit Endicott (played by Larry Gates) to question him about the death of Phillip Colbert. Endicott slaps Tibbs, who quickly slaps him back. Jewison told 'People' magazine he wanted to make it very believable - meaning Poitier would have to actually slap his white costar aggressively. He remembered the moment Sidney Poitier struck Larry Gates as "such a shock" for both other actors in the scene. Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound is a 2008 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 and runs 13-minutes. There are also trailers for all three films; In the Heat of the Night, They Call Me Mister Tibbs! and The Organization.

Kino's package of Norman Jewison's "In the Heat of the Night" to 4K UHD is an extremely desirable release. The masterpiece film really only gains importance over time with magnificent performances and interplay evolution between calm, charismatic Tibbs (Poitier) and volatile, racist, Chief Bill Gillespie (Steiger) - plus support with the likes of Warren Oates, Lee Grant, Larry Gates, William Schallert etc. to formulate this intense, serious police-investigation thriller with essential exposed racial overtones. So timelessly righteous and brilliantly conceived with the who's who behind-the-scenes crew including the Silliphant screenplay, Wexler DoP, Hal Ashby editing, Quincy Jones score etc.. I love "In the Heat of the Night" each and every time I see it. The inclusion of the 4K UHD disc commentaries and sequel films on Blu-ray add immense value. This has our absolute highest recommendation. 

Gary Tooze