Malcolm X
"**** Smashing. An event Movie That Lives Up To The Event." - Mike Clark, USA Today
Filmmaker Spike Lee, actor Denzel Washington and other top talents vividly portray the life and times of Malcolm X. "Here's a man who rose up from the dregs of society, spent time in jail, reeducated himself and, through spiritual enlightenment, rose to the top," Lee says. Academy Award winner Washington was an Oscar nominee and the New York, Boston and Chicago Film Critics choice as 1992's Best Actor.
Member Reviews
Wonderful retelling - Pumon
This is a portrait of a very controversial leader in American history. While Martin Luther King Jr became the poster boy for the civil rights movement I was always more fascinated with the controverisal figure of Malcom X. I found that denzel washingtons acting was superb and the movie kept me interested thorughoutA fantastic story - filmbufz
Malcolm x had an interesting life and lived in an interesting time. Take an interesting story, full of passion and conviction, and add Spike Lee's talents with Denzel Washington's talent and you have a movie that will mesmerize you. I watched this right around the time of Obama's election, and this movie was a terrific reminder of how far we've come since the 60's and 70's. This is one of those films that everyone ought to see.Portrait of a Controversial Leader... - cathyottawa
... and Malcolm X was certainly controversial.
I was surprised by just how much I disliked him in his early years. He was a common crook, interested only in making a fast buck. It's hard to believe, watching the first third of the film, that this man will go on to be such a powerful orator.
Ironically, it was going to prison that saved Malcolm X's life. Here he finds a mentor, who teaches him about the Muslim faith, and the Church of Islam. Malcolm becomes a true believer.
Here, I was again surprised by X's stand on race relations. He was taught, and teaches that ALL white men are evil, "white devils", and complete racial segregation was the answer. He calls Martin Luther King an "uncle Tom black leader", and JFK's assassination karmic justice.
But a life changing trip to Mecca in the last third of the film changes X's views, and he comes to denounce his own racist thinking, and accept that there are good and bad people of every colour.
Denzel Washington is pretty phenomenal as X. He absolutely embodies the role. With how much the Academy likes a good biopic portrayal (Ray, The Queen, Walk the Line, Coal Minor's Daughter...), it's surprising he didn't win the Oscar he was nominated for. It was a tight year though, with Clint Eastwood for Unforgiven, Robert Downey Jr. for Chaplin, and Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman (who won).
This film runs longer than necessary, with several bloated scenes, particularly in the first third, and I would have preferred more on X's later years, and less on his early ones. Also, the ending montage tribute to X, complete with Nelson Mandella, was a bit over the top for me, but this is certainly a complete portrait of a passionate, inspirational black leader.
Member Reviews
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Wonderful retelling - Pumon
This is a portrait of a very controversial leader in American history. While Martin Luther King Jr became the poster boy for the civil rights movement I was always more fascinated with the controverisal figure of Malcom X. I found that denzel washingtons ...A fantastic story - filmbufz
Malcolm x had an interesting life and lived in an interesting time. Take an interesting story, full of passion and conviction, and add Spike Lee's talents with Denzel Washington's talent and you have a movie that will mesmerize you. I watched this right around ...Portrait of a Controversial Leader... - cathyottawa
... and Malcolm X was certainly controversial.
I was surprised by just how much I disliked him in his early years. He was a common crook, interested only in making a fast buck. It's hard to believe, watching the first third of the film, that this ...