In der Hitze der Nacht

Ein guter Film, der mir eher als Drama über einen "schwarzen"-Polizisten in einem rassistisch gestimmten Südstaat, denn als eine Krimistory gefallen hätte. Manchmal vergisst man hier nämlich das Detektiv-Level nahezu und Oberhand gewinnen die wirklich gut gefilmten Szenen, in denen sich Drama und rassistische Animositäten unter der Oberfläche von Wörtern verstecken (daher ist es notwendig, sich den Film in der Originalversion anzusehen). Sowohl Poitier als auch Steiger sind vollends brillant, ihre langsam aufkeimende Freundschaft hat sämtliche positiven Eigenschaften hervorragend geschriebener und gut gespielter Charaktere. Ja selbst die Optik des Films wird nicht schwarzweiß korrekt dargeboten und überführt den dunkelhäutigen Charakter desselben verbitterten Hasses. Die hervorragende Musik legt die schläfrige Atmosphäre dar, unter welcher alte Dogmen hervorsprudeln. Die Regie Norman Jewisons ist unerwartet modern, der Schnitt und auch die Kameraführung bleiben hinsichtlich der Dynamik zeitgenössischen Krimigeschichten nichts schuldig. (22.02.2008)

I have heard some people say that this could have been a perfect crime story if Jewison hadn't wasted so much energy on the racial issue. The trouble is that the core of the director's interest lay precisely in the problem of racism; after all, it was written in the 60s, and the film can be considered as a current political contribution to the passionate debate about this issue. The film was clearly intended to function as a social drama, where the crime plot serves only as a background or starting point for engaged social criticism. With the passage of time, the film works excellently, exactly as Jewison intended - and it serves as a testimony to a time when racism had an incomparably greater influence on American society than it does today. Add to that two top-notch character actors who seized the opportunity, and you have a film to which I do not hesitate to give the maximum number of stars. Overall impression: 90%. (04.10.2015)

Sidney Poitier is in his proven position as an unwelcome, annoyingly smart black man, while the traditionally very convincing and scene-chewing Rod Steiger (Pacino must have watched the film a few times) is probably the most likeable and fair racist ever to appear in a Democratic American film. And their confrontation is all the more interesting because it takes place against the backdrop of a good period crime drama, where the killer successfully hides his face until the final minutes. That said, it needed a little more decisiveness whether to focus on the strained relationship between two stubborn police officers or on the detective plot. In this way, the second component in particular looks a bit unfinished and cheap – but only a little, really. 4* and a bit. :) (20.03.2014)

I enjoyed this film, and under different circumstances, I would have rated it with four stars because, among other things, I really enjoyed Roy Scheider's performance, but I did go one lower because, paradoxically, it was the stereotypical puppet-like portrayal of Chief Bill Gillespie's character that spoiled the overall impression for me. / Lesson learned: Always ask for the detained person's ID. (16.04.2023)

A great movie where there is such incredible chemistry of hatred between the two main characters, which can, based on circumstances, turn into something that could be called a very fragile hint of friendship in the end, that you simply have to appreciate the screenplay, but especially the acting performances. Not nominating Sidney Poitier for an Oscar is a crime. (04.06.2015)

I expected a redneck show, I got a redneck show. There's no disputing that the "race issue" is accentuated here to the point where it overshadows the investigation itself and it’s really only half a police procedural. That's not a criticism at all, on the contrary the whole narrative ultimately feels quite authentic and combines genre crime fiction with period social drama/thriller in an interesting way. [80%] (15.02.2022)