Passing through Sparta, Mississippi, detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) becomes embroiled in a murder case. He forms an uneasy alliance with the bigoted local police chief to catch the killer. Jewison splices incisive social commentary into this thrilling police procedural with the help of Quincy Jones’s eclectic score, and a career-defining performance from Poitier. This is one of the most enduring Hollywood films of the civil rights era.—The Criterion Collection