tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post4739625349115548909..comments2024-03-28T08:40:52.180-07:00Comments on Bitter Tea and Mystery: In the Heat of the Night (film)TracyKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-5749128388920169992014-04-18T22:15:30.512-07:002014-04-18T22:15:30.512-07:00It is a wonderful and important and meaningful mov...It is a wonderful and important and meaningful movie, Yvette. I lived through those times too, but I don't remember a lot about it. I guess I was a teenager and thinking about myself and not realizing the realities all around me.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-75383557610318641662014-04-18T15:09:43.022-07:002014-04-18T15:09:43.022-07:00I love this movie, Tracy. It's one of my all t...I love this movie, Tracy. It's one of my all time favorites. I watch it again every couple of years just because it never really grows old for me. I lived through those troubled times though I lived in NYC - everyday it seemed, there was some awful headline in the papers. Ugly photos. Rough times. I think it was Rod Steiger who won the Oscar and Poitier won for Lilies of the Field or something like that. Thanks for writing about this and also for reminding me it's time to line up the movie again. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-78098342031796937252014-04-12T15:08:49.168-07:002014-04-12T15:08:49.168-07:00Sergio, in some ways I had the same reaction as yo...Sergio, in some ways I had the same reaction as you to the book. In some ways it was flatter and the characterization of Virgil Tibbs wasn't as developed. But in the end, I appreciated each for their different approaches.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-70464618747394038682014-04-12T15:07:03.641-07:002014-04-12T15:07:03.641-07:00I remember your post on Lawrence in Arabia. It mad...I remember your post on Lawrence in Arabia. It made me want to read the book, and I am sure I will do that some day. I definitely want to know more about that time period.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-10057408718801104402014-04-12T09:48:13.775-07:002014-04-12T09:48:13.775-07:00What a great review idea book vs this great film...What a great review idea book vs this great film! I enjoyed your comments and insight while comparing both media. I read "Lawrence in Arabia" and watched the film Lawrence of Arabia with Peter O' Toole afterwards. I understood the politics of the movie only after reading the book. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-6154723330647922132014-04-10T23:41:09.624-07:002014-04-10T23:41:09.624-07:00Excellent addition to the challenge TracyK - I saw...Excellent addition to the challenge TracyK - I saw the movie first and then read the book and at the time found it lacking in comparison but you have really made me want to go back and re-read it - thanks. Sergio (Tipping My Fedora)http://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-21626991483185095612014-04-10T13:14:26.037-07:002014-04-10T13:14:26.037-07:00Kathy, thanks for the reminder to read Sycamore Ro...Kathy, thanks for the reminder to read Sycamore Row. I have only read one Grisham but I want to try more.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-10761965423222880732014-04-09T21:57:59.211-07:002014-04-09T21:57:59.211-07:00It must have been quite an experience to read the ...It must have been quite an experience to read the Sokol book. I can't understand the behavior of many white Southerners.<br /><br />As a friend has pointed out to me, when we see video footage of white crowds yelling and spitting at African-American children walking into school, some quite young, we wonder how can people feel such hatred. What kind of people are these? Have they no humanity? No human feelings? No empathy? It's very hard to take this.<br /><br />I could plug John Grisham's new book "Sycamore Row" here, as he deals with an aspect of Mississippi's awful history.<br /><br />I read Sidney Poitier's memoir, and was so shocked at the racism he encountered in the South when he was a young man. I want to read Harry Belafonte's memoir when I can.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-33346910645938707132014-04-09T20:07:11.971-07:002014-04-09T20:07:11.971-07:00Mississippi and Alabama have a lot of things in th...Mississippi and Alabama have a lot of things in their history to be ashamed of, Kathy. It is so hard to believe that human beings would deny access to medical care just because of race. I remember being ashamed when George Wallace stood barring the door to the University of Alabama.<br /><br />A few years ago, I read the book There Goes My Everything: White Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights, 1945-1975 (by Jason Sokol). It was very painful to read about the south in those years. I did not enjoy reading the book at all, but I read it all the way through. My cousin from Mississippi was quoted in the book; he is a small town newspaper publisher and his father published the paper before him.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-15442203781396416692014-04-09T19:57:08.319-07:002014-04-09T19:57:08.319-07:00Thanks, Moira. I knew some of the items in that ar...Thanks, Moira. I knew some of the items in that article already, but others were new to me, and all were interesting.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-71032511481217377612014-04-09T19:56:04.726-07:002014-04-09T19:56:04.726-07:00Margot, it is good to know that racial bias and mi...Margot, it is good to know that racial bias and mistreatment of blacks is less now, but it never completely goes away. Reading books and watching movies about the subject is sobering.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-63171164203949100292014-04-09T19:53:48.831-07:002014-04-09T19:53:48.831-07:00Col, I think you will like the movie. I hope you l...Col, I think you will like the movie. I hope you let us know what you think of it.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-73424049983831590162014-04-09T19:51:35.473-07:002014-04-09T19:51:35.473-07:00Bernadette, the book is very good also. A quieter ...Bernadette, the book is very good also. A quieter take on the story, but they are both very effective. You get more of a feel of how the white people reacted to Tibbs in the book, in my opinion. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-36562743219381488452014-04-09T17:22:22.678-07:002014-04-09T17:22:22.678-07:00I think this is an excellent movie. However, I ha...I think this is an excellent movie. However, I have not read the book, but it sounds good.<br />A reason that Sidney Poitier did not want to film in Mississippi could be that not only he faced problems there, but Civil Rights leader, Medgar Evers, had been killed in that state in 1963. <br /><br />After he had been shot, he was taken to a hospital in Jackson, Miss., and denied admission because he was African-American. He was finally admitted, but died.<br /><br />And in 1964, Civil Rights workers, James Cheney, Mickey Schwerner and Andrew Goodman were killed in Philadelphia, Miss. They were part of Freedom Summer, and were all young and enthusiastic about helping the Civil Rights Movement. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-37550396146818542052014-04-09T13:20:09.183-07:002014-04-09T13:20:09.183-07:00I've always loved that film, nice to be remind...I've always loved that film, nice to be reminded of it. You did a good review, and I enjoyed reading the article you linked to.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-13486089845510883012014-04-09T07:32:52.357-07:002014-04-09T07:32:52.357-07:00Oh, Tracy, this is an absolutely classic film! I l...Oh, Tracy, this is an absolutely classic film! I love Poitier in the role of Virgil TIbbs. I didn't know about his reluctance to film in Mississippi, although I am not surprised, knowing that he'd had problems there. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-71103716245088868072014-04-09T05:58:30.004-07:002014-04-09T05:58:30.004-07:00I'm only skimming this as I have ordered the f...I'm only skimming this as I have ordered the film up in the past day or so. Never seen it before, so I'm looking forward to it.col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-56659013511418475772014-04-09T00:16:09.843-07:002014-04-09T00:16:09.843-07:00I must have watched this film a dozen times over t...I must have watched this film a dozen times over the years - it was one of my mum's favourites and so became one of mine - but I don't think I've ever read the book - certainly not in my memory anyway. You have prompted me to seek it out...thanksBernadettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07641617609801125707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-64055752714014895812014-04-08T22:26:33.121-07:002014-04-08T22:26:33.121-07:00Yes, when Poitier won his Best Actor Oscar, it was...Yes, when Poitier won his Best Actor Oscar, it was the first for an African-American. Hattie McDaniel had won best Supporting Actress earlier. I also saw the movie before I read the book, and I was surprised that the book was more low key. They both had their good points though.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-60735424656131222052014-04-08T22:00:19.434-07:002014-04-08T22:00:19.434-07:00Nicely reviewed, Tracy. Your observation on the at...Nicely reviewed, Tracy. Your observation on the attitude of the police and the people towards Virgil Tibbs in the movie and the book is spot-on. Tibbs appears unfazed throughout the movie but you can see he is affected by their racist behaviour. I can't help thinking the movie ovrshadows the novel for it's the kind of story that is visually more appealing. I watched it before I read the book. I think Sidney Poitier's Oscar for Best Actor, as you mentioned, was the first ever won by an African-American but I could be wrong.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.com