Spike Lee should've won best director for this film, and Denzel should've won an oscar, but Denzel lost the oscar to Al Pacino for Pacino's performance in Scent of A Woman (which, I believe, is inferior to Denzel's portrayal of Malcolm X, but that's just one man's opinion, innit?)

This motion picture is an experience that all Americans should partake in. The story dramatically demonstrates Malcolm's transformation from a street thug, to a leader of the black nation. Denzel Washington was masterful in his performance of the much maligned leader of the Nation of Islam. Washington's performance demonstrates why he should be considered one of the greatest actors of our time. The movie was effective at attracting viewers that maybe would not want to see the movie otherwise-- it has entertainment value. The scenes at the barbershop and the dance are humorous and light and well performed. Washington's delivery of Malcolm's various speeches are also well done. Malcolm X was a brilliant orator, and Washington was able to capture that skill. The film is a must see.

I first saw Malcolm X in high school, when it came out, and what a rush to have gone to see it in the theaters! Denzel nailed his performance, and Spike remained faithful to the autobiography (which the movie is based). I was particularly glad that Spike examined the ways in which Malcolm changed his philosophy slightly, after his trip to Mecca. That was an important reminder of how both Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and other leaders were all converging on a similar, anti-racist (without being racist) philosophy of struggle. Martin was becoming less moderate, and Malcolm was moderating his excesses in his struggle for justice.

The DVD's quality is great. Dolby Digital sound which really booms in selected points, and the movie is crisp and sharp. The documentaries are an added plus.

This remains one of my favorite films. I highly recommend it.

"Malcolm X" (Denzel Washington) was the very charismatic Civil Rights leader of the '50s and '60s. In youth he lead a life of crime until, while in prison, he meets Bains (Albert Hall). Bains teaches Malcolm about being proud of being a black man, and how, through Allah's, and Eiljah Muhammad's (Al Freeman), good graces, he can be a passionate leader in the black movment to completely segregate themselves from the oppressive 'white devil'. well you know who the man was, and you know his politics, so you have a pretty good idea of what the movie is about. All the performances are perfectly done, and Washington strikes an uncanny similerarity to the real Malcolm X. While the real circumstances about Malcomm's murder are still guessed at, Spike Lee entertains the notion that other black leaders killed him because he threatened their power (and money) base. Spike Lee is not my favorite director, sometimes he goes off subject a little (or a lot; i.e. "Summer of Sam"), but here he stays focused, and the film seems to move brikly, even thoug it is 3 and a half hours long. "Malcolm X" a great way to learn about a very important man in American Histoy.

As far as movies go, this one was a load of crap. The Nation of Islam and its founder, Elijah Mohammed were nothing more than hypocritical racists hiding behind their religion. The first half of this movie seemed more like a propaganda piece for the Nation of Islam, than a biography.
The second half of the movie began focusing on Malcolm noticing all of the holes in the Nation's philosophy and structure. He begins to realize that he's been hustled by the organization, who wanted to use his intelligence and charisma for their own means. It also focuses on their attempts to undermine Malcolm's position in the organization, when his own popularity begins to rise, culminating in their first attempt to have him killed. This is when he realizes his own potential, leaves the organization, and rediscovers himself. He also abandons the Nation of Islam's racist beliefs.
Apparently Michael Jordan wearing an "X" hat is something we all must see to understand Malcolm. This movie deserves to be redone, and if its done right, could be phenomenal.

While the movie itself is excellent, this is one of those DVDs that makes a great film even greater.

Much has been said about the 1992 film, so I'll concentrate on the extras. First of all, the widescreen is not so wide that it makes you squint to see it. It's at a good porportion. But the edited scenes are really interesting. We see previously unseen footage of Denzel as Malcolm courting Angela Bassett as Betty Shabazz (in a rather touching way). We see Denzel/Malcolm putting an initiate through the rigors in an amusing fashion, we see him studying and feeding his hunger for books while in jail, and we see some interesting scenes of Denzel/Malcolm making anti-racist and pro-brotherhood statements near the end of his life to a young white girl and an Arab he meets in Mecca. A lot of people who miss the point about Malcolm's transformation should see those scenes (which actually appear in the original book).

(Slight complaint, the stuff about the Sphinx's black nose being shot off by Napoleon is a bunch of BS that didn't happen, even Molefi Asante admitted this on 60 minutes a few years ago. So it's just as well that that scene was not included in the original film).

Also, "Baines" was actually John Bembry, aka Bimbi, who encouraged Malcolm to read in prison. It was actually Malcolm's real life brothers who really introduced him to the Nation of Islam teachings. Not a complaint, just a clarification.

There is also an excellent documentary about the making of this film. A real Horatio Alger type story of how Spike beat the odds through dogged determination to raise the money to make the film the way he felt it needed to be made. It was sad to realize that the film was not as popular as hoped among young people upon it's intitial release and the "Malcolmania" of the early 90s turned out to be a fad, but at least this DVD will give people the opportunity to learn from Malcolm's story.

Then there is the uncut 1972 documentary "Malcolm X. The raw, uncut REAL Malcolm talking strong and taking numbers! This is a brilliantly edited collection of chronological clips of Macolm, Elijham Muhammad, the young Louis Farrakhan, and all the other major players into an excellent biography without additional narration. It lets the viewer decide in an excellet fashion.

So see the 1992 movie, then the "making of" documentary, then the deleted scenes, and THEN the 1972 documentary and you'll get the next best thing to reading all there is to know about Malcolm X thought. Enjoy it, I did. College and high school teachers will REALLY want this for their history classes.