Customer Reviews
Awesome Movie 
2008-01-22
This is one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen. I love it. Spike Lee did a fabulous job in putting Malcolm X's autobiography into film. I also highly recommend the book. It's got WAY more information in it (obviously) and is an excellent read.
The Complex Life of an Iconic Figure 2007-12-29
This bio-pic of the one-time Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X is over three hours of richly textured history enlivened by a virtuoso performance by Denzel Washington. From Malcolm's earliest days as the son of an outspoken preacher to his assassination in front of his wife and children, the film traces the evolving philosophies of one of the most influential men of the civil rights movement. When Malcolm legally changes his surname to X, we understand why. When he declares that blacks and whites should be completely segregated, we know where he is coming from. When he renounces his ties with the Nation of Islam and creates his own Islamic organization, we see why this was so necessary, despite the danger. Director Spike Lee carefully constructs the story of a fallible, intelligent, and driven man that disputes much of the media package presented to white America at the time.
You definitely need a comfortable chair for this marathon of a film. Although it probably could have been edited down to less than three hours by condensing some of the earlier scenes, such omissions would have lessened the impact of Malcolm's early days as a man in search of pleasure and easy money, values that directly conflicted with his later, righteous persona. Based on the "autobiography" written with Alex Haley, the screenplay manages to humanize a man who was often publicly demonized.
I can't find fault with any of the performances - all were excellent - but Angela Bassett as Malcolm's wife stands out. The cinematography is sweeping, with a sepia palette for Malcolm's pre-Islamic days, and conveys in gorgeous, riveting images the power of the man and his cause. The special features, though worth watching, would be best left for another sitting, since the film demands introspection afterward. Interestingly, Washington does such a fantastic job at channeling Malcolm that viewers will be amazed when watching actual footage.
This is a must-see film for anyone with a serious interest in cinema, civil rights, and/or biopics.
A Film for the Ages 2007-12-15
No matter how many times I watch this film, "Malcolm X" -- I saw it several times at the theaters when it came out in Japan around 1993 and now again, on this two-disc DVD special edition -- I still come to the same conclusion: This film is, for me, by far the best and most important movie that has ever come out of Hollywood.
It is the story of one man's journey through life, but it is much more than that: It is the story of a family, a society, a nation -- indeed the world in which we all live. As its foundation, the story of Malcolm X is as American as apple pie and the U.S. flag, but it crosses cultures and transcends national boundaries to speak to the strength of the human spirit as a whole.
I would like to thank director Spike Lee and all those persons who invested their time, energy and resources to see this film to completion. The original struggle to make this film only makes it that much more meaningful and appreciated these many years later. The heart and soul that the filmmakers and financial backers gave to this film shine through after all this time like the sun. Though essentially snubbed by the reigning Hollywood masters of imagery, this film is truly one for the ages and it will pass the test of time where most other Hollywood productions fail. To Spike and the "Malcolm X" filmmaking family: Thank you for creating this film and presenting it to the world.
To those who are thinking of buying this two-disc special edition of "Malcolm X": First, pick up a copy at a bookstore or a library of the book "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" written by the real Malcolm X and Alex Haley, and read it through. Then, buy this DVD. And after that, if you've got a mind to, go out and make history by changing the world around you in a positive way. That is the way to keep the spirit of Malcolm X alive forever.
"By any means necessary!"---Malcolm X 
2007-10-20
****(*)
MALCOLM X is Spike Lee's masterwork film, his most generally accessible work, and a biopic and homage to the oft-misunderstood Malcolm, here portrayed brilliantly by Denzel Washington.
Although Spike Lee occasionally falls into careless stylism (choppy, non-linear scenes and art school cinematographic indulgences mar the film in spots), the overwhelming tenor and drive of MALCOLM X reduces these flashes to dismissable annoyances.
Far better is the story, first of a young Malcolm Little, who from the day of his birth was forced to face institutionalized and endemic racism. The viewer's heart both breaks and flames as the ten year old Malcolm protests, "I get the best grades in class," only to be answered by the smarmy, smug white schoolmaster, "Yes, but you're a ni**er. And a lawyer is no proper job for a ni**er. Why don't you become a carpenter? Jesus was a carpenter, you know."
It is little wonder that the light-skinned red-haired Malcolm (whose mother was a Grenadine, and three-quarters white), turned his frustrated brilliance toward a sordid life of crime and drugs, making his mark in Harlem as "Detroit Red," a successful scam artist and pimp. A term in jail turned Malcolm around, converting him into a Black Muslim. Denzel Washington plays the ever-changing Malcolm with passion.
At first totally hypnotized by the Nation of Islam message that all devils are white and all whites are devils, Malcolm became a firebrand leader and spokesman for the African-American community, calling for their liberation "By any means necessary!" at exactly the moment that his contemporary, Dr. Martin Luther King called for black liberation through nonviolence. Although the two men seem to be opposites, they are far more alike than circumstance paints them. King figures only passingly in the film, but King's philosophical evolution was mirrored by Malcolm's, who likewise began moving toward a muscular nonviolence as he moved away from the parochial and exclusivist position of the NOI, and adopted a more global and cosmopolitan worldview of Islam as a unifying and all-inclusive force in the world.
His assassination (by extremists) in 1965 robbed the world of a man who was about to become a spokesperson for universal human dignity. Spike Lee's film is both a record of and a memorial to, Malcolm X, who he was, and who he was becoming. What he might have become . . . we will never really know.
FOUR STARS FOR THE FILM
FIVE STARS FOR THE MESSAGE
Malcom X 2007-07-13
Built around a commanding performance by Denzel Washington, Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" is the writer-director's most ambitious, impassioned film to date, as it presents a turbulent and eventful life filled with self- transformation. The Oscar-nominated Washington never lets you forget his hero's fiery charisma, the emotional impact and candor of his speeches, or the resentment he faced from both sides of the racial divide. With a top-notch cast, and Ernest Dickerson's fluid camerawork creating immediacy, "Malcolm X" bristles with energy and impact.
very good Malcom x movie 2008-06-18
Its the best movie I have ever watched. very clear and easy to shift through.will encourage any potential buyer to go for it.
Flawed masterpiece 
2008-05-26
I am a huge fan of the book, but the movie has so many flaws that it left me hungry for a better film. The good: The acting by Denzel Washington is great. He brings life to a man that most of us knew only as an angry man. His smile and spirit (and almost dead on physical similarity to Malcolm) brought so much to humanize him. Spike Lee couldn't have cast the main role any better and he was responsible for writing a great likable living Malcolm. It was also nice to see Ernest Thomas aka Roger from the TV show "What's Happening" ('hey hey hey Raj!"). The bad is that several of the other actors were not nearly as good. Al Freeman Jr. was terrible as Elijah Muhammad and it bordered on comical how clunky. Nothing was clunkier than the music that was chosen for the movie. It really pulled you out of the scene, especially the music during the Mecca visit. It sounds like a song from a 1970s bad documentary. The scene with Malcolm and his wife discussing their personal lives was destroyed by the terrible music.
One highlight was Lee's choice to use Ozzie Davis' voice for the eulogy. Since he wrote and delivered it at the actual funeral, it was a brilliant move to have it recreated by him for the film.
I am not a huge fan of Spike Lee's work, but this movie is epic and he did an amazing job of condensing a great book. The life of Malcolm X was perfect for a movie. It really is a life in 3 acts, and the third act has the rewards of his life before, but also the penalty of his previous life, which he can't escape. Sadly there were parts that were missing including the debt he owed his Aunt. She was pivotal in the book, and even one scene with her would have helped explain where he got the money to go to Mecca.
The picture of the DVD is great, but the sound is just average with some of the dialog mixed very low. The 2 disk set has a great deal of extras that make it worth it. The deleted scenes were wisely left out of the original movie. Nice to see them (love DVDs for this!) but Lee was very smart to not include most of them. The hunger scene was great, but didn't fit in the movie. I do wished he would have included the scene about the white girl who wanted to help, but was not given the opportunity. Lee filmed a follow up scene that redeemed Malcolm, but for some reason didn't include it. The omission of this one scene left me frustrated because it really showed how his humanity had changed after his trip to Mecca. He finally embraced a new self and Denzel played it so well. Luckily it is one of the deleted scenes so enjoy it.
Overall, I wish he had spent another 20 dollars on the soundtrack. He might have gotten something that wasn't so distracting and it would have made the movie much stronger. The music fights the moods so many times it really reminds you that you are watching a movie. Much of it sounds like temp music that he just slapped in there regardless of how it affected the emotion of the scene.
Read The Book!!! 2008-05-06
I love Malcolm, I love Spike, I love Denzel...I grew up on the street Malcolm was born on, in North Omaha, Pinkney Street, BUT...the movie is lacking...Read The Book!!! It is a revelation.
Malcolm X 2008-04-16
It was great and it showed how Malcolm X evolved as a person. I loved it.
Still germane 2008-03-31
Epic films about influential martyrs who die young, whether the subject is Lincoln, JFK, or Malcolm, rarely attract my attention or hold my interest. The best one can hope for is that a point of view stops short of propaganda, that it doesn't fall prey to a white-washing, or black-washing, of a story that has already taken on the stuff that mythic dreams are made of. Lee's movie and Washington's performance are both so powerful that one can easily forgive many of the broad strokes, enjoy the film, and evaluate the sum effect--which at least has the potential to bring about a fuller understanding of race and religion than the daily political-media noise to which most of us are otherwise continually exposed.
Malcolm comes across as a practicing idealist, a man of the highest integrity and most rigorous discipline capable of realizing his vision of a brotherhood whose awareness of its lineage will bring forth the very best moral intentions and practices. Although the problematic divisions of Islam into Sunni (Malcolm's alignment) and Shia, along with the distinctions between Islam and the Nation of Islam, are merely suggested and the break with Elijah Muhammad due to the latter's "woman problem" is glossed over, in the end the movie's importance rises above attention to such details. Malcolm is a hero, a role model and, most importantly, the inspiration for a meaningful, potentially constructive, mythic legacy that, like similar narratives centered on Lincoln or JFK, cannot outsize its human source beyond the point of credibility.
If one accepts the current tendency of the population to bifurcate its citizenry into black and white, the hope has to be that those who see themselves as black will see in Malcolm's separatism not segregation and exclusionary practices but a rallying cry to accept one's identity as a full-fledged member of a human race empowered to pursue and achieve excellence regardless of (not because of) color. What Malcolm perceived as a flaw (his white genes transmitted by rape through his mother) became, after all, his strength. As for those members of the audience who identify themselves as white, the hope has to be that the uneasy feelings provoked by Malcolm's stance of separatism will bring about self-recognition of the assault to personal worth brought about not simply by exclusionary practices or the publicized statements of a "social radical," but by generations of whites practicing "Biblically sanctioned," legislatively licensed segregation.
At its best, cinema has the potential to be a reflective screen, a mirror of our social and private lives, exposing the best and worst in us all. Individually, few figures in America's history have so effectively mirrored "white America" to itself as Malcolm X. Together, the two--film and Malcolm--make for a potent mix, a powerful chemistry that, we can only hope, will continue to exert its clarifying powers on the diversely colored stage that is being set for the coming year's test of a nation's ability to practice the democracy that it professes to prize above all else.
