Malcolm X (1992)

it escapes from each desired verdicts. or definitions. not only for the admirable performance of Denzel Washington but for the inspiration of Spike Lee to explore, with grace and precision, a not real comfortable way of a symbol of American XX century history. and the result is great. for the nuances and for the science to give a realistic portrait of society more than of man. for the admirable courage to not build a statue to a hero but to show the evolution of a honest, vulnerable man. for give the picture of an American society for who the radical positions are result of a huge pressure. and to use the shadows for a clear image of a leader and his powerful convictions.

First hour was just unnecessary long. Could have been concluded in 10 to 15 min. The transitional period in prison was where the film kicked in and never let go. As Muslim I was also provided by an unexpected message. Religious sects and parties are susceptible to corruption of its members and initial message which would normally be built upon some truth to reach the masses. At the end its not God whom they serve but their own goals and interests. Malcoom X was among the few who realized this corruption and broke free from it but everything comes at a price! May Allah reward him for what he's done. This is also true and would apply to other religious communities.

No disrespect to Malcolm X, I admire him so I watched this movie and I didn't like it. After watching this I decided that I don't like Spike Lee's movies, he's a bad director. I haven't liked one of his movies yet. What's with the long dancing scenes at the beginning of the movie? The end is so melodramatic, I'm pretty sure it's Spike Lee's voice saying why you should respect Malcolm X... nobody cares what your vision of life is, rather tell me a story and then you can catch my attention , but the voice over spoils it. It's also ridiculously long and it's unnecessary. Sorry Spike, you had to stay more centered to tell a good story, you couldn't shape your admiration for this man into a fine movie.

Malcolm X serves as great companion to the original text. The autobiography provides an extremely detailed overview of Malcolm's life but lacks any feeling. The film corrects this by injecting emotion into the story. Spike Lee creates a narrative that is easier for the viewer to follow and relate with Malcolm. However, the film had to sacrifice a lot of information provided in the autobiography. Many parts that I thought were important, such as Malcolm's family, were left out in the interest of time. Even then the film is around 3 hours long and feels more like two films in one. This might have been done by Lee to emphasize the change in Malcolm's life before and after prison. In the first part of the film, Lee applies a soft focus to the camera. The soft focus clouds the screen and might have been a representation of Malcolm's unclear thoughts about life before he went to prison. Another example of Lee's cinematography is when Malcolm submits to Islam while in prison. Malcolm is completely covered by shadows with a light piercing through the cell bars. This could represent the moment Malcolm ridded himself of his sinful identity (shadows) and embraced Allah (light). The acting in the film was phenomenal, especially Denzel Washington's performance as Malcolm X. Washington not only looked the part but seemed to fully portray the essence of Malcolm. When I read the novel, Washington was exactly how I imagined Malcolm X to look and act. My only other issue with the movie was the final scene with the schoolchildren and Nelson Mandela. While it was interesting, it felt disjointed from the rest of movie and was distracting. In all the film was great and can definitely stand on its own but I feel the best experience is to pair reading the novel and watching the film.