Starring AFI Life Achievement Award honoree Sidney Poitier and appearing on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest movies of all time, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967) is counted as one the art form’s most inspiring narratives, with Poitier’s Virgil Tibbs included among AFI’s greatest screen heroes, one whose defiant declaration – “They call me Mr. Tibbs!” – appeared on AFI’s list of cinema’s most memorable film quotes. For their contributions to the art form, both Norman Jewison and Haskell Wexler – the film’s director and cinematographer, respectively – have earned honorary degrees from the American Film Institute, and Poitier himself had a passion for film that included recognition of the art form’s power to educate and inspire, such that when the American Film Institute was founded in 1967 – the same year as IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT — he helped to inform AFI’s mission as Founding Vice Chair.
Visit the AFI Catalog to learn more about IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT.
