Visually and dramatically, Lee pulls out all the stops, but it's Washington's performance that really energizes the film, and he's an exhilarating presence throughout.
Malcolm X (1992)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:44
Fresh:41
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.5/10
Runtime: 3 hrs 21 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Spike Lee brings the life of African-American leader Malcolm X (an intense Denzel Washington in an Oscar-nominated performance) to the big screen in this sprawling, epic biographical drama. Born... Spike Lee brings the life of African-American leader Malcolm X (an intense Denzel Washington in an Oscar-nominated performance) to the big screen in this sprawling, epic biographical drama. Born Malcolm Little, son of a Nebraska preacher, on May 19, 1925, he became one of the most militant leaders and charismatic spokesmen of the black liberation movement before his assassination at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City on February 21, 1965. The film sweeps through his early life as a small-time hustler and thief with his friend Shorty (Lee), his conversion to Islam in jail, and his subsequent life as a controversial spiritual leader and husband of Betty Shabazz (Angela Bassett). Malcolm's tragic assassination is presented as a conspiracy of Nation of Islam leaders; the film shows how his philosophy has been realized in the lives of others who have been moved by his words. Filmed with great visual flair by Lee, the film is a work of entertainment as much as it is a historical artifact. Washington captures the spiritual conversion of the hero with a sincerity that is entirely as believable and ultimately moving as it was in the book that inspired the film, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X. [More]
Starring: Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Al Freeman, Delroy Lindo
Starring: Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Al Freeman, Delroy Lindo, Albert Hall, Theresa Randle, Kate Vernon, Angela Bassett, Brendan Kelly, David Patrick Kelly
Director: Spike Lee
Director: Spike Lee
Reviews for Malcolm X
It plays surprisingly safe as a solidly crafted trawl through the didactic/hagiographic conventions of the mainstream biopic.
Lee sketches Malcolm's life colorfully, if by the numbers. But he falls victim to the danger of movie biography: he elevates Malcolm's importance until the vital historical context is obscured.
Lamoclm X may seem conventional by Spike Lee's standards, but as a biopic of a controversial historical figure, it's superior to the nobility of spirit of a movie like Gandhi, for example, and Attenborough's high-mindedness.
a thoughtful and insightful rendering that promises to educate generations about the real Malcolm X
In the leading man category, Denzel Washington in Malcolm X managed to deliver the best performance of the decade.
Malcolm X owes its success to a combination of things, not the least of which is Washington's performance.
Finds Lee’s tendencies towards gadflyish social outrage folded into the fabric of the typically reactionary biopic genre.
Latest News for Malcolm X
April 05, 2005:
Spike & Denzel to Team Up for a Fourth Flick
Blackfilm.com snagged an interesting quote from controversial filmmaker Spike Lee. The director was attending an after-party for Denzel Washington's Broadway opening of... More...
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