Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Denzel Washington | ... | ||
Angela Bassett | ... | ||
Albert Hall | ... | ||
Al Freeman Jr. | ... | ||
Delroy Lindo | ... | ||
Spike Lee | ... | ||
Theresa Randle | ... | ||
Kate Vernon | ... | ||
Lonette McKee | ... | ||
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Tommy Hollis | ... | |
James McDaniel | ... | ||
Ernest Thomas | ... |
Sidney
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Jean-Claude La Marre | ... |
Benjamin 2X
(as Jean LaMarre)
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O.L. Duke | ... |
Pete
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Larry McCoy | ... |
Sammy
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Biograpical epic of Malcolm X, the legendary African American leader. Born Malcolm Little, his father (a Garveyite Baptist minister) was killed by the Ku Klux Klan. Malcolm became a gangster, and while in jail discovered the Nation of Islam writings of Elijah Muhammad. He preaches the teachings when let out of jail, but later on goes on a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca, there he converts to the original Islamic religion and becomes a Sunni Muslim and changes his name to El-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz. He is assassinated on February 21, 1965 and dies a Muslim martyr. Written by Anonymous
I was only familiar with the history and influence of Malcolm X before I saw the film so I can't really judge it's faithfulness or accuracy. But as a film, I thought it was great. I really like Spike Lee; he keeps things fast-paced and interesting with his camera angles and colours/lighting. For awhile after Malcolm first begins his activism with the nation of Islam, you find yourself conflicted, both respecting the man and often disagreeing with him. Lee handles it well without condemning or supporting really, just showing Malcolm's gradual transition in his beliefs. The inserted documentary footage, especially at the end, shows how Malcolm's words still relate today. Someone commented that they only watched an hour of the movie and Lee doesn't know how to tell a story but maybe if they would be slightly more open-minded, realize it's not a literal adaptation of the autobiography, and actually finish the film, they could understand that Lee does not just want to tell the story of one man but rather wants it to reflect the struggle of a race. I really enjoyed the film; it was long but never slow and definitely worth watching.