RIP Norman Jewison, the filmmaker who made this movie. He just passed away a couple of weeks ago. Sad to see a great generation pass away with Poitier and Jewison.
One of the true classics of the American Cinema.And the theme song is also a classic in it's own Right. R.I.P. Ray Charles and Rod Steiger the original Chief Gillespie.
I'd say it does, especially the version from the tv series is pretty popular. It's definitely a beloved song whether sung by Ray Charles or Bill Champlain. The song is masterful!
Did you notice when Gillespie is chewing his gum (he feels in control). When you see him STOP Chewing all of a sudden ... it is because he has just learned something new from Virgil Tibbs that he did not see coming! The film is full of great little moments like that.
One of my favourite films! Ray Charles sets the films mood immediately, as a Gulf Mobile and Ohio Rairoad EMD-built E7 locomotive headlight breaks the darkness of night and rolls under the camera.The Academy level acting performances by Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier are outstanding! I must have watched this film 15 or 20 times. It's on my top 10 list for sure.
@@RailPreserver2K The GM&O E7 is gone and likely the old Station too. The GM&O line was i think somewhere near Dolton, IL where The UP (ex-C&EI) is and where the Freight train scene was shot with the Bridge above
@@WilliamHBaird-eq2hp after doing some research apparently the station in Sparta where they did most of the filming for the train scenes still exists as an art museum
At the film's beginning, it is made to look like the train is passing through a rural area in the deep south. If what I am told is correct, it is actually pulling out of St. Louis. It was an overnight mail/passenger train that ran to Chicago. Sparta is actually a relatively short distance from this site and is in Illinois. Even though it was Midwestern, it had enough of a southern feel and appearance to pass off as a Mississippi town.
There are plenty areas in the heartland of Pennsylvania I am told that are very Southern. The southernmost reaches of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio are just the South over the border. Practically, there are inner city areas all over the East, Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest that are as Southern in texture as red beans and rice and fried chicken.
Great tune and I never tire of watching this movie. TCM just showed it again and it's a feast of excellent acting including from the supporting cast. Plus folks like Norman Jewison, Haskell Wexler, and Hal Ashby were involved in the making of this film. Truly a top shelf production all around.
Classic opening credits with the iconic Ray Charles killing it! Hard to choose between this version and Bill Champlin's version from the tv series. Both are so damn good and soulful though Ray's is the OG and does have more of a churchy feel with the organ which I like but Bill's has a bit more power in the vocals, especially in the last "IN THE HEEEEEEATTT OF THE NIIIIIIIGHT!"
Ummmmm, no comparison between Ray and Champlin. Ray fugging killed it. Champlin was a mere pretender. I know it's all opinion, but my vote is a thousand times for Ray. Bruh was fiyah!
@@thegodblogger3812 Pretender's a little harsh don't you think? No need to disrespect the man. Champlain did a very good job following Ray better than anyone else would've. That said I agree that Ray was pure fiyah and definitely killed this song in that Ray Charles way.
American had problems in the 1960’s (that’s a serious understatement), but it’s incredible that at that time everything was more powerful and high quality. A best picture winner was a movie that actually had incredible acting and talent rather than a vapid art film no one has seen and black excellence meant good acting and a moving story rather than some rappers twerking and whining about their lives.
I agree with you. There are many moments like that in the film that you catch after viewing the movie a few times. Like Did you notice when Gillespie is chewing his gum (he feels in control). When you see him STOP all of a sudden ... it is because he has just learned something new that he did not see coming!
This is the version of the song used for the movie title sequence. There's another version - with a blistering sax intro. - on the first record I ever bought, which was a compilation of Ray Charles's Greatest Hits. Compare it here (I prefer it!): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gUulr8w3FPY.html
"You don't think Sparta would let them film there?" No offense playah but there is no Sparta Mississippi. Fictional town. Was filmed in Sparta, Illinois
