They call him Mr. Tibbs, and he's celebrating his 40th anniversary.

MGM Home Entertainment revisits one of the most respected and critically acclaimed films of the 1960s when In The Heat Of The Night: 40th Anniversary Edition makes its case on DVD January 15. Part of the United Artists catalog, the anniversary edition of In The Heat Of The Night is being released as part of the larger United Artists 90th Anniversary campaign, an 18-month global celebration leading up to the 90th anniversary of the studio in 2009.

Directed by Norman Jewison (Fiddler on the Roof, Moonstruck) and starring Academy Award winners Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, In The Heat Of The Night won five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor (Steiger) for its intense examination of race relations in the fictional town of Sparta, Mississippi and its effect on two very different men. The film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress in 2002 and selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.

Synopsis

While traveling in the Deep South, Virgil Tibbs (Poitier), a black Philadelphia homicide detective, becomes unwittingly embroiled in the murder investigationof a prominent businessman when he is first accused of the crime and then asked to solve it! Finding the killer proves to be difficult, however, especially when his efforts are constantly thwarted by the bigoted town sheriff (Steiger). But neither man can solve this case alone. Putting aside their differences and prejudices, they join forces in a desperate race against time to discover the shocking truth.

Special Features

- Commentary by Norman Jewison, Lee Grant, Rod Steiger and Haskell Wexler

- Theatrical Trailer/TV Spots

- Turning Up the Heat: Movie Making in the Turbulent 60s featurette

- The Slap Heard Around the World featurette

- Quincy Jones: In the Heat of the Music featurette

The special edition is priced at $19.98 SRP.