Malcolm X (film)

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Malcolm X
Directed by	Spike Lee
Produced by	Marvin Worth Spike Lee
Written by	Alex Haley Spike Lee
Starring	Denzel Washington Angela Bassett Al Freeman, Jr. Albert Hall Delroy Lindo Spike Lee Lizbeth MacKay
Music by	Terence Blanchard
Cinematography	Ernest R. Dickerson
Editing by	Barry Alexander Brown
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	November 18 1992
Running time	202 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	ca. US$34,000,000
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Malcolm X is a 1992 biographical film directed by Spike Lee about the African-American activist and black nationalist Malcolm X. The story is based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley. Denzel Washington was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Malcolm X. Malcolm X is often regarded as Lee's finest film (with the possible exception of Do the Right Thing).

Delroy Lindo and Denzel Washington in Malcolm X

[edit] Plot summary

The Malcolm X film breaks the life and times of the famous African-American activist Malcolm X into three sections. The first section deals with the troubled childhood of Malcolm Little, whose father, a preacher, was murdered by the Black Legion and whose mother was institutionalized for insanity. Malcolm grows up and gets a job as a Pullman porter, calling himself Detroit Red. Getting involved with a Harlem gangster named West Indian Archie with whom he has a falling out, Malcolm flees back to Boston and decides to become a common thief. He and his best friend, Shorty (played by Spike Lee) are arrested by the police and Malcolm is sentenced to a 10 year prison term. The second section follows his life in prison, where a fellow inmate, Baines, introduces him to the teachings of the Nation of Islam.

The third section follows Malcolm's religious conversion as a messianic disciple of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. During this fervent immersion into the Nation of Islam, he becomes an incendiary speaker for the movement and marries Betty Shabazz. Malcolm X preaches a doctrine of separation from white society. However, a pilgrimage to Mecca softens his beliefs, teaching him that Muslims come from all races, even whites, and he endeavors to break free of the strict dogma of the Nation of Islam, with tragic results. He is assassinated on February 21, 1965 in Harlem, New York City.

[edit] Themes

The most prominent theme that dominates the story is that of a self-made leader who makes a successful life for himself after experiencing abject poverty, prejudice, and racism as a youth and prison as a young man. The film also confronts the racial prejudice, discrimination, and violence experienced by many black people in America during that time period.

[edit] Controversy

Spike Lee sought to make the film controversial even before the project received a greenlight from Warner Brothers. Initially, Warner Studios wanted Norman Jewison to direct the film. Lee was quite vocal in his opposition to the choice of Jewison, a white filmmaker. Lee felt that X's story had to be told by a black director. Jewison eventually agreed and stepped aside. However, Lee already had a reputation of being a fiercely independent director and his critics didn't hesitate in reiterating his longstanding disdain for Hollywood convention and his surly public nature. Lee also encountered immense difficulty in securing the budget he felt was needed. Lee felt that a budget allowance of US$33 million was reasonable; however, Warners balked at the sum and refused to approve any more than US$20 million and a running length of 135 minutes. Lee took the battle public and several prominent African-American entertainers responded by donating US$11 million more to the project. Lee was then free to complete the film the way he wanted and increase the running length to 195 minutes. Warners did allow for more funds after positive reaction from a viewing of a rough version of the film.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Quotes

[edit] Trivia

Malcolm X DVD cover

• Although Denzel Washington's two Oscars were awarded for other films (Glory and Training Day), his portrayal of

Malcolm X in this film is widely regarded as the greatest performance of his career.

• Tracy Chapman, Bill Cosby, Janet Jackson, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Prince, Oprah Winfrey, and Peggy Cooper Cafritz (co-founder of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C.) collectively donated approximately US$11 million to ensure the completion of the film. Most of these individuals (excluding Prince and Winfrey) are pictured briefly toward the end of the closing credits.

• This film is only one of two directed by Spike Lee to earn a PG-13 rating in the USA, the other is 1994's Crooklyn.

[edit] Other Depictions

• In the 1979 TV miniseries Roots: The Next Generations, Malcolm was portrayed by Al Freeman, Jr. He portrays Elijah Muhammad in Malcolm X.
• In two separate TV movies about the life of Muhammad Ali which aired in 2000, Malcolm was portrayed by Gary Dourdan (King of the World) and Joe Morton (Ali: An American Hero).
• Jeff Stetson's 1987 one-act play The Meeting depicts an account of a fictional, clandestine encounter between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, shortly before Malcolm's assassination. In a 1989 American Playhouse production of the play, Jason Bernard portrays Dr. King and Dick Anthony Williams portrays Malcolm.
• Angela Bassett reprises her role as Betty Shabazz in the 1995 film "Panther", which was directed by Mario Van Peebles. Coincidentally, Van Peebles would go on to play Malcolm X in the 2001 bio-pic "Ali".

[edit] Sources And Omissions

• The eulogy that Ossie Davis delivers over the documentary footage of Malcolm X's life near the end of the film[1] is excerpted from the one that he wrote and delivered himself at Malcolm's actual funeral in 1965.
• The book The Autobiography of Malcolm X details how most Nation of Islam ministers turned against Malcolm at Elijah Muhammad's behest. Among them was Louis X, who is today known as Louis Farrakhan. Some have suggested that Farrakhan was complicit in Malcolm's assassination. But Lee avoids this subject entirely, and Farrakhan is conspicuously absent from the film.
• The late Dr. Betty Shabazz was this film's project consultant.
• Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, a member of the Nation of Islam in the early to mid-1960s, was a personal friend of Malcolm. However, he also shunned Malcolm after his expulsion from the Nation. These events are also absent from the movie, but director Michael Mann depicts them in the 2001 film Ali, with Will Smith as Ali and Mario Van Peebles as Malcolm.
• Baines, portrayed by Albert Hall, is a fictional character. His primary role in the film — to introduce prison inmate Malcolm Little to the Nation of Islam -- was filled in real life by Malcolm's siblings, and by a fellow inmate named Bimbi.

[edit] Technical Trivia

• The title credits of this film include footage of the beating of Rodney King.
• The names of the three assassins charged with Malcolm X's murder are listed in the final credits of the film.
• After the assassination scene, all footage of Malcolm X is of the real man, most of it in black and white.
• The last song played during the closing credits is "Revolution" by Arrested Development. The song was the only contemporary song included on the film's soundtrack.
• The scenes of the JFK assassination are taken from Oliver Stone's JFK (1991). In this film, Vincent D'Onofrio is credited as playing Bill Newman (a witness to the Kennedy shooting), the same character he played in Stone's film.

In the film's final scene, South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela — recently released after 27 years of political imprisonment -- appears as a schoolteacher in a classroom in Soweto. He recites a portion of one of Malcolm X's most famous speeches, including:

The final phrase, “by any means necessary”, was omitted from the end at the request of Mandela who felt he could not utter this phrase on camera, believing the South African government would somehow use it against him politically. Instead, actual footage of Malcolm X speaking the words "by any means necessary" in the last few seconds of the film.

[edit] Cameos

• Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale and civil rights activist Al Sharpton make cameo appearances as street preachers.
• Left-leaning attorney William Kunstler appears as a judge.
• Civil rights activist Wyatt Tee Walker appears as a hospital spokesman.
• One of Malcolm's daughters, Ilyasah Shabazz, appears as a follower at Temple #7.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Malcolm X (film)

• Malcolm X at the Internet Movie Database
• Malcolm X at Rotten Tomatoes

• Malcolm X Reloaded: Who Really Assassianted Malcolm X