Malcolm X [Criterion Collection] [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray]

Overview

Spike Lee's comprehensive film biography of the slain civil rights leader Malcolm X is much more than the depiction of a great man's life. It is a film that shows, through the powerful story of one man, a person's ability to reinvent himself and change his life. It is fueled by a towering, charismatic performance by Denzel Washington as Malcolm X (Washington had previously played Malcolm in the early 1980s in an off-Broadway play, When the Chickens Come Home To Roost). The film breaks Malcolm X's life down into three acts. The first deals with the troubled childhood of Malcolm Little, whose father is murdered by the Ku Klux Klan and whose mother is institutionalized for insanity. Malcolm grows up and gets a job as a Pullman porter, calling himself Detroit Red. Getting involved with Harlem gangster West Indian Archie (Delroy Lindo), Malcolm finds himself in prison. The second section follows his life in prison, where a fellow inmate, Baines (Albert Hall), 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 Mohammed (Al Freeman Jr.). During this fervent immersion into the Nation of Islam, he becomes an incendiary speaker for the movement and marries Betty Shabazz (Angela Bassett). Malcolm X preaches a doctrine of hate against the white man, but a pilgrimage to Mecca softens his beliefs and he endeavors to break free of the strict dogma of the Nation of Islam, with tragic results.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/22/2022
UPC:	0715515279215
Original Release:	1992
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Criterion Collection
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	3:21:00
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	3,568

Editorial Reviews

Spike Lee asserted his preeminence among black filmmakers by virtually insisting that he direct Malcolm X, a Warner Bros. project that Lee wrested away from white director Norman Jewison. Based on Malcolm X's autobiography (as told to Alex Haley), Malcolm X stars Denzel Washington as the eponymous freedom fighter, and through an exceedingly deft use of flashbacks, it tells the whole story of the man's life. We see his salad days as a street hustler, his imprisonment for burglary, his conversion to Islam, his work as a disciple of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (Al Freeman Jr.), and finally his assassination in 1965. Washington is extraordinary in the lead, effortlessly reproducing the charisma that served Malcolm X so well, whether in the service of crime or politics. A superb supporting cast includes Angela Bassett as Malcolm X's wife, Betty Shabazz, and Lee himself as one of Malcolm X's early partners in crime. Beautifully photographed by Lee's longtime cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, Malcolm X has an evocative period ambience and an epic sweep. Lee pulls precious few punches here, bringing the great man's frequently confrontational politics directly to the screen. The result is a film that angered many, touched many more, and is perhaps the most important film ever made about the black experience in America.

Barnes & Noble - Gregory Baird

Malcolm X is an epic in the truest sense, conveying the life and times of one of the most remarkable men of his era and making clear why he continues to matter. The screenplay (credited to Spike Lee and Arnold Perl) telescopes a tremendous amount of information into 3 hours and 25 minutes without seeming either overstuffed or excessively detailed. Lee's potent and eloquent visual style is used to superb effect, with the invaluable assistance of cinematographer Ernest Dickerson and production designer Wynn P. Thomas. While Lee's sympathies are easy to detect, the film presents Malcolm as a three-dimensional human being whose message was powerful and necessary but often flawed. As the story spans the four decades of Malcolm's life, Denzel Washington captures with equal conviction and accuracy the sullen teenager, the hardened criminal, the fiery activist, and the mature martyr. Terence Blanchard's score, combined with a stack of vintage music from Big Joe Turner and Louis Jordan to Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, is the perfect emotional match for this material. Never afraid to present controversial opinions or take chances, Malcolm X is also a deeply moving biopic that puts a human face on an often misunderstood man.

All Movie Guide - Mark Deming