ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

HotToastyRag Of the films starring the immortal character Virgil Tibbs, The Organization is the third and final installment. Don't worry, though; Sidney Poitier made a lot of movies where he played an agent or a detective, so you can keep watching him save the day. It's not necessary, but you'll probably want to watch In the Heat of the Night first, and depending on how much you liked it, They Call Me Mister Tibbs. In this one, Sidney is drawn into a radical group who want to expose and destroy "the organization". It doesn't really feel like the first two films, though. It feels a little more like a mediocre detective movie with the normal amount of violence, law-breaking, explosions, and gun-waving.Believe it or not, my main criticism with the film is one others might not even notice. When Barbara McNair asks her husband what's going on, since she's concerned for his safety after the violence and death threats in the beginning of the film, Sidney's response is to say, "Honey, make me a sandwich," and wink at her. As handsome as he is, if I were his wife, I wouldn't have been happy at his answer. She's married to a famous detective who's been featured in two other films, he's constantly the target of violent groups and criminals, and even if he weren't famous, he's chosen a dangerous profession. It's not unreasonable for her to worry, or for her to ask for more information! When Sidney blew her off, I lost a little respect for him and a little interest in the film as a whole.

moonspinner55 Sidney Poitier walks through role as San Francisco police lieutenant Virgil Tibbs in this second sequel to 1968's "In the Heat of the Night", following "They Call Me Mister Tibbs!" from the previous year. Plot, however, is engrossing and complicated as a multi-racial, anti-drug revolutionary group summons Tibbs to their hideout, hoping to take him into their confidence. They've just pulled off the elaborate robbery of four millions dollars' worth of heroin from the vault of a furniture-making company--unfortunately, they had to kidnap one of the top executives to get the vault open and, after they left, he was murdered. What the revolutionaries were planning to do with the heroin isn't really clear (if it's a shakedown of the drug syndicate they wanted, they'll need a lot more members!). Still, they manage to disrupt everyone involved in the acquisition of the smack, from the suit-and-tie organization in their skyscraper headquarters to their goons on the street to the furniture company's night watchman, who gets shot on his way to the station with Tibbs for questioning. Tibbs agrees to work with the group, which forces him to conceal his knowledge of information from his department as well as from the highly defensive chief of narcotics, whose superior just committed suicide. Poitier isn't convincing interacting with the vigilantes, nor with his superiors, nor with wife Barbara McNair and their two kids; it's a dud performance. The colorful supporting cast of character actors (Raul Julia, Allen Garfield, Bernie Hamilton, Billy "Green" Bush, Dan Travanty, Sheree North, Ron O'Neal, Maxwell Gail Jr.) nearly makes up for the star's lethargy, and the San Francisco locations are an asset. Director Don Medford keeps the scenario busy, but it's activity without a lot of gripping action, the chases and shoot-outs coming right off an assembly-line. ** from ****

Falkenberg2006 I lived in San Francisco from 1964-1980 and got to see a LOT of movies filmed there. I watched them film the sections in Bart ( being built back then and one of the film's chase scenes goes on in the tunnel) and Muni and saw this and the 2 previous Virgil Tibbs films in San Francisco theatres.It is fun to look at this movie after 30+ years and see what is still there and what has changed over the years. The 70's seems like a million years ago. The Phillips gas station on Beach Street has had about 10 different brands over the years. The hofbrau on Turk Street ( Iate there every night, it was cheap) and Lew Lehr's steak house disappeared in the 80s.Hare Krishna's on Market Street across from the Sheraton Palace.I feel this movie is better than the previous Tibbs film, but my opinion is, of course, subjective. Even a bad detective movie has some merits. Of course, the premise of this film, that 6 people could bring down "the organization" ( mafia?) by stealing 4 million dollars worth of heroin is kind of silly. And the organization is having a hard time coming up with cash to buy back the drugs? Come on guys....As for the 70s music, well, Lalo Schiffrin and others composed a lot of movie music back then and times change. I liked the music myself.The 70s saw a lot of movies filmed in the city by the bay. Bullitt, The Laughing Policeman, The Dirty Harry Films, The Monk ( TV film, not the recent TV show, this was with George Maharis and Janet Leigh), The Towering Inferno,and the Streets of San Francisco TV show. I worked as an extra in films in those days and miss that era of cheap food, cheap rent, and cheap Giants tickets...A great site I just found shows probably every movie filmed in San Francisco.http://www.MisterSF.comclick on cinematic sf !George Senda Concord, Ca

The_Movie_Cat Perhaps the least-known Poitier work, certainly of the period; at date of writing only nine IMDb members had voted on this film. This is just over 1% of the votes attained by it's initial prequel, the superb "In The Heat of the Night". Between the two is the awful-yet-lovable "They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!" which took the Virgil Tibbs franchise on a downward slope.Those that do get to see this movie on it's rare t.v. rescreenings and decide to give it a go after the disappointing "Tibbs" will be justly rewarded. Essentially, the production team is the same as the previous film, though Gil Melle provides a jazz-orientated score instead of Quincy Jone's adequate but inappropriate themes. The domesticity is also played down, with Alan R.Trustman absent as co-writer and James R. Webb taking full control of the screenplay. Most importantly, though, is Don Medford as the well above average director. Apart from a rather crude edit where a car accident occurs in the second half of the picture, the scenes are melded together seamlessly and flow together exceptionally well.Poitier reprises the role of Tibbs, an arrogant, aloof, bad-tempered, authoritarian, bigoted Lieutenant. As a result, this is probably the most appealing of all Sidney's characters, and he slips back into the role effortlessly. With no star names to support him, such as Rod Steiger or Martin Landau (though Raul Julia did become a star later in life), Sidney stands way above his peers. His ability to project a bad atmosphere every time he walks into a room is flawless. This time he is not let down by the plot, either, which sees Tibbs caught between the Police Department and a vigilante gang that seeks to expose a wide net of heroin dealers. The plot takes on many shifts in loyalty and focus, keeping the attention, while a chase through underground tunnels lends the requisite chase an extra air of tension. The racial motif is again absent, though a rival black cop played by Bernie Hamilton gives off a frisson of resentment.While predictably not of the calibre of "In Heat of the Night", The Organization stands as the greatest of Sidney's seventies vehicles.Post-Script, March 2016: Over 16 years since I wrote this review (where does the time go?) I realise that I was too soft on what is quite a shaky film. Continuity and editing are not great, and the tone is frequently dirge-like. It's OKAY, but the concluding line that it's the best of Sidney's 70s movies was clearly written by a man who hadn't then seen The Wilby Conspiracy or Brother John. It's what's known as a "take a chance" point of view, and in this case it was wide of the mark.