Blu Ray Review: Lilies of the Field (1963)

Kino Lorber has released Lilies of the Field on blu ray, an entertaining and important American film from the 1960s.

Sidney Poitier built upon his star making performance as a juvenile delinquent in The Blackboard Jungle (even though he was in his mid 20s at the time) and dealt with race relations from different perspectives in films like Edge of the City, The Defiant Ones, and A Raisin in the Sun. Lilies of the Field decided to present Poitier’s good looks, eloquence and natural charisma to overcome any racial barriers that still existed in Hollywood films as America inched its way toward Civil Rights legislation. Poitier was so pleased with the script, and the role, that he took less pay in exchange for a cut of the profits. It resulted in his winning the Academy Award for Best Actor, the first black man to do so, and only the second black performer (after Hattie McDaniel for Best Supporting Actress nearly a quarter century earlier).

Poitier plays Homer Smith, an itinerant handyman who, while traveling through the desert, happens upon a group of nuns from East Germany who are trying to build a chapel. He stops to do some handy work, and ends up building them a chapel. The role is a tour de force for Poitier, who is compelling, dramatically sound, and consistently amusing, bringing the character to life with depth and substance. Lilia Skala received an Oscar nomination as Mother Maria, in charge of the nuns, struggling to communicate in English.

The gospel standard Amen is arranged by Jester Hairston, whose career as an actor included such diverse projects as Sullivan’s Travels, the Amos N Andy series, and the TV show Amen before his death at age 98. Hairston provided the voice when Poitier sang in the film (Sidney is tone deaf). The song Amen was so impactful in the movie, the soul group The Impressions recorded the song and had a hit with it in 1964.

Lilies of the Field was critically acclaimed in its time and named to the National Film Registry in 2020. While Sidney Poitier would later define his career with films like In The Heat of the Night, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, and To Sir With Love (which, remarkably, all came out the same year, 1967). However, in Lilies of the Field, he turns in one of his finest and most nuanced performances, playing one of his greatest roles.

Kino Lorber’s blu ray includes interesting, enlightening commentary by film historian David Del Valle.

A film that belongs in any library, research center, or private collection that hopes to be comprehensive, the blu ray is available at this link: LILIES OF THE FIELD