In the Heat of the Night

"Just once in my life, I'm gonna own my temper. I'm telling you that you're gonna stay here. You're gonna stay here if I have to go inside and call your chief of police and have him remind you of what he told you to do. But I don't think I have to do that, you see? No, because you're so damn smart. You're smarter than any white man. You're just gonna stay here and show us all. You've got such a big head that you could never live with yourself unless you could put us all to shame. You wanna know something, Virgil? I don't think that you could let an opportunity like that pass by."

Released: August 2, 1967

Directed by: Norman Jewison

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Description: A black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case. 

Review: My next Best Picture winner movie was In the Heat of the Night, starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger.  I wanted to see this as a tribute to Sidney Poitier and because of Black History Month. So much of this movie is still relevant today and seeing how Virgil (Sidney Poitier) was treated in this movie really shows that not a whole lot has changed in terms of the mentality of southerners and how black people are treated. Virgil not only has to deal with these southerners trying to attack him, but also Rod Steiger's character not believing him about he investigation at the beginning. 

I love the moment when they go and talk to this man who may be connected to the murder investigation and Virgil questions him and the man slaps him and Virgil, without missing a beat, slaps him back. We don't see that done often. The black character usually stands there and takes it, but not Virgil. He isn't having it. And that's why Sidney Poitier was so influential to the black community. He was the only man at the time who portrayed these characters in a way that was fighting back against the oppression that they endured. As smart, strong people who bring joy can make a difference. He was the man during a time when there were hardly any black actors in lead roles. And he took roles that weren't typical for black actors. Lead roles in general weren't. Roles in westerns or police officers and romantic leads. He made that all possible for every black actor who came after him. 

I understand why this movie won Best Picture. Because it addressed what was happening during that time and still, unfortunately is happening today. It challenged the norms. He challenged the norms. And of course we can't forget his famous line, when he is being called "boy" and he says, "They call me Mr. Tibbs!" He is a police detective and they need him for this investigation because he has expertise in murders and indentifying how a person died and figuring it out through that. And he doesn't waver, no matter how badly he's treated, but he also doesn't take any crap. Those white guys are trying to attack him and he has a weapon too, he's not going to just let them beat him up and I love that about him. It's part of what makes the movie so memorable all these years later. 

Rod Steiger gave a great performance also as Chief Gillespe who Virgil worked with on the investigation. He was prejudiced too, but he learned to respect Virgil and even have a bit of a friendship with him. More of a mutual respect, than a friendship, but his journey in changing is a great part of the film too. 

Best Picture Winners: Midnight Cowboy

"The two basic items necessary to sustain life, are sunshine and coconut milk... didya know that?"

Well, here it is. Another movie checked off the Best Picture Winner list. Going into this, I wasn't sure how much I would actually like this movie because it is very mature as many of the movies of the late 1960s and 1970s are. People told me I may not like or it might not be for me and stuff like that, but I decided to give it a shot. While it isn't the type of movie I would watch often, it still has some important messages about how low people will go on the streets and about friendship. Joe and Ratso's friendship was a big part of the film because Ratso knew what it was like on the streets and Joe was coming from Texas trying to make it in New York. He was naive and vunerable about the way of life in New York compared to what he came from. The performances by Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight were amazing and this movie is what established Dustin Hoffman as the character actor that he is.

The lengths they would go were hard to watch at times and a little bizarre, but what I like about these movies is that it captured the realism of the time. The way the films were shot, the coloring, the grittiness, it all just fit with how it felt. It was almost done like a documentary instead of a movie and I think that is why it won Best Picture. It was unique. Real. Vunerable. Yeah there were things that were difficult to watch, but overall it was an important movie and I am glad that I watched it. It gets 3 and a half stars from me. 

Best Picture Winners: Driving Miss Daisy

When we think of an unlikely pairing, what comes to mind? I don't think a 72 year old Jewish woman and a 60 year old colored man, would be our first thought. Well, that is the pairing in this movie, which won Best Picture of 1989. 

The name is Driving Miss Daisy and it stars Jessica Tandy as Daisy, Morgan Freeman as her kind chauffeur Hoke and Dan Aykroyd as her son Boolie. 

Daisy is very stubborn and when she isn't able to drive anymore, her son hires a driver, Hoke and during this time, the 1950s, blacks did this kind of work. So Hoke tries to help out around the house, but Daisy won't have it, but eventually she lets him drive her to where she needs to go. The film spans about a 20 year period from 1948 to about 1967 or 68, so we see how their friendship grows and changes through the years. 

What I like most about the movie was the fact that this woman didn't really treat Hoke the best at first, but he was always gracious and kind and he never gave up and I think if more people were like that, this world would be a better place. In a time, when race relations were a big issue and blacks weren't that excepted, this shows that you can find friendship and kindness in just about anyone. I think this was deserving of the Best Picture award and I would give the movie a 4 out of 5. :)

The Sound of Music 50th Anniversary

So in keeping with my Best Picture movie reviews, I thought that I would write about my favorite movie of all time, that won Best Picture for 1965, The Sound of Music. It isn't really so much a review, as it is a post about how great of a movie it is and why it is my favorite.

For those that don't know, The Sound of Music is about a real family called the Von Trapps who escaped their home to find freedom during the war. This movie is based off the book that the real Maria von Trapp wrote in 1949 titled, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. First there was a stage musical, then came the movie, which is considered by many to the greatest musical ever made. It helped save 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy and it was the most successful Rodgers and Hammerstein musical as well.

The reason that I think it has lasted as long as it has is because of the message that it sends. Perseverance in times of turmoil and hope for freedom and survival. That if you just face your problems and live the life you were born to live, you will find your dream.

The reason it is my favorite movie is for a lot of those same reasons, but also because no matter how bad of a day i've had, it always makes me feel better. Also just the message that it sends, you have to live your life, face your problems and find your destiny. Plus, the music, scenery, adventure and romance make it amazing too. So many things were done right with this movie, Robert Wise definitely knew what he was doing. Mistakes that he left in that ended up making it more realistic and how Christopher Plummer played Captain von Trapp. Everything just worked out perfectly. It really has everything you would want in a film. I've seen a lot of musicals, but to me, none will compare with this one.

Best Picture Winners: Lawrence of Arabia

T.E. Lawrence was just a Major in the British Army, and his job was mapmaking. But he wanted to get inside those lines, and was given leave to investigate the progress of the Arab revolt against the Turks during World War I. 

The movie is Lawrence of Arabia and while it is a long movie, it's understandable because it has a lot to tell. For one thing, Lawrence was able to blend into the landscape and being a mapmaker that is kind of symbolic because of what he does for them and he really becomes part of it all even though he wants anonymity when he comes back.

To me the best parts of the film were when they wrecked the train, that was pretty spectacular for the time and now that would all just be done with computers. I also loved the cinematography and I am not surprised that was one of the 7 oscars it won, the director, David Lean captured the scenery so beautifully you felt like you were experiencing it with the characters. The music score was also perfect for the film and used at just the right moments. Sometimes just having an instrumental score is what works well for the film to play in just the right scenes. Then of course, one of Peter O'Toole's best scenes in the movie is when he comes back to England and is telling the General that he killed a man and he kind of enjoyed it. When he turned and looked at the two men, it was so amazing.

One of the things that I also loved and noticed about the film was how relevant it is to a lot of the issues facing the Middle East today. The war and the hate and everything that has been going on, I really felt like this film is something that a lot of people need to see (even they haven't already) it is about unity and working together and I think that's important with all the hate and oppression in our world today.

The downsides to me were mainly that it was just really long and it's hard to sit and watch something for that long of time. I understand that they had a lot to tell and epics to tend to be quite long, but maybe shortening it just a little bit would have been better. That's really the only downside I have.

Overall, I really enjoyed the movie and I feel like everyone gave amazing performances, especially Peter O'Toole since it was his first starring role. It deserved all the oscars that it won. Even though some considered T.E. Lawrence to be rather flamboyant and not very worthy of anything, he truly did make history.