A phenomenal actor and legend in theater Sidney Poitier passed away on January 6, but he left a legacy and impeccable catalog of movies that many will be watching for years to come. Here are some of my Top 5 favorite movies of the legend Sidney Poitier.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner- This movie highlighted interracial dating when it was taboo and not as popular as it is now. The movie was released years before I was born, but I remember watching it and seeing how it could be such an impactful movie. The movie was based on a couple (Sidney Poitier) and (Katharine Hepburn). The movie inspired a remake in 2005 where the roles were reversed and starred Ashton Kutcher and Zoe Saldana.

In the Heat of The Night- This movie inspired a series later on starring Henry Rollins and Carroll O' Conner (Archie Bunker) from 'All In The Family' and followed a Black man from Philadephia, PA moving to southern Mississippi. In the '60s once again this wasn't the norm and there were several who were not fond of having a Black man in that particular position. The movie was a great indication of life in the south and showed the world what many of us in the south had to deal with.

Uptown Saturday Night- This movie shifted the culture of what many would call Blaploxtation films and starred Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby. This would start a trilogy of movies between the two. It is also a moment where Sidney not only starred in but also directed the movie as well. After coming off a successful 'Buck and The Preacher', and 'A Warm December'. There is also talk of a remake that at one time had celebrities like Denzel Washington and Will Smith connected to. Later there was talk of Kevin Hart and Chadwick Boseman who were in line. The idea for a remake is still out there, we can only hope that it makes it and will be released soon.

Let's Do It Again- This was the second collaboration between Sidney and Bill and was also another major smash in the theaters. The one thing I loved about their connections was the fact that they really worked off of one another. While Sidney mostly played the straight-laced guy, Bill Cosby was always the character that would get things started up.

Little Nikita- This was Sidney Poiter beginning his working relationship with young actor River Pheonix. The movie didn't really spark major box office numbers but their on-screen relationship was something that got me intrigued with seeing them together. They appeared again in a movie called 'Sneakers' almost 4 years later.

 

 

Sidney Poitier wins Best Actor Awards and does speech:

 

 

 

 

LOOK: A history of Black representation in movies

More From Power 92.1