Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night) was originally attached to direct this adaptation of Arthur Hailey’s biography, but when Spike Lee suggested in the media that a Black director should do it, Jewison and his producers took a meeting with the Do the Right Thing sensation and became convinced he was right. Denzel Washington — who had played Malcolm on stage ten years before and who had just made Mo Better Blues with Lee — was the ideal choice for the title role, and paints not only a precise portrait of the charismatic leader familiar from newsreels, but a layered, compassionate, conflicted man who finds the strength in Islam to transcend his demons and confront the inequity and racism in America. Lee insisted on an epic canvas and sought to emulate the scope he admired in the films of David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia; The Bridge on the River Kwai). He even hit up Black celebrities (Oprah, Prince, Michael Jordan) for donations when the budget ran out. His efforts and their faith were more than justified. The film stands as a powerful testament to the man and his times.
One of the great American films not only of the decade but the century… Spike Lee poured everything he had learned about cinema, politics, behavior and culture into one 201-minute Molotov cocktail of epic filmmaking. An eloquent and intimate character study as well as a sweeping portrait of America in the second half of the 20th century.
Jim Hemphill, Indiewire
Spike Lee’s Malcolm X is one of the great screen biographies, celebrating the whole sweep of an American life that began in sorrow and bottomed out on the streets and in prison before its hero reinvented himself. Watching the film, I understood more clearly how we do have the power to change our own lives, how fate doesn’t deal all of the cards. The film is inspirational and educational – and it is also entertaining.
Roger Ebert
Media Partner
Spike Lee
Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Angela Bassett
USA
1992
English
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Credits
Producer
Marvin Worth, Spike Lee
Screenwriter
Arnold Perl, Spike Lee
Cinematography
Ernest Dickerson
Editor
Barry Alexander Brown
Original Music
Terence Blanchard
Production Design
Wynn Thomas
Art Director
Tom Warren
90s, Baby!
Ten years. 11 weeks. 90 films from the 1990s. This summer, 90’s Baby! takes a deep dive into a defining decade of cinema.
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
A bona fide classic and arguably the greatest Canadian film of the 90s, Girard's dazzling deconstruction of the biopic gives us the mercurial pianist Glenn Gould as Picasso might have rendered him, a cubist portrait combining multimedia vignettes.
Dazed and Confused
The last day of high school in May, 1976: seniors debate party politics while next term's freshmen run the gauntlet of brutal initiation rites, barely comforted by the knowledge that they'll wield the stick one day.
Short Cuts
Altman's adaptation of Raymond Carver short stories, Short Cuts weaves between 8 or 9 overlapping storylines and 22 characters. it's a teeming, caustic and compassionate human comedy; a singularly astringent, often cynical view of America and Americana.
Three Colours: Blue
The first of Kieslowski's acclaimed Three Colours Trilogy, inspired by the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity and the French flag, the Tricolour. Blue stars Juliette Binoche as a young woman grieving her husband and child.
Schindler's List
One of the most acclaimed films of the 90s, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Thomas Keneally's Schindler's Ark is the story of a German industrialist whose conscience is stirred to save his Jewish workers from the camps.
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Three Colours: Red
Irène Jacob plays Valentine, a runway model living in Geneva, who crosses paths with a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who's a bit of an eavesdropper. Initially repelled, she becomes intrigued by this man, as do we... Kieslowski's sublime adieu.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings begins with an onslaught of fucks. It's the first signal that this rom-com will break from tradition, despite the ritualized structural conceit described in the title. The witty screenplay is by Richard Curtis — it's still his best.
The Lion King
With its beautifully drawn East African setting, its humour, pathos, and engaging characters, as well as its stirring songs, The Lion King stands as the pinnacle of traditional Disney family entertainment.
Image: © Disney, 1994
To Die For
Buck Henry (The Graduate) wrote this acidic black comedy about a ruthless weather girl on the make (Nicole Kidman in her breakout role). A young Joaquin Phoenix is the dim teen she seduces on her way to achieving stardom.
Casino
Revisiting the wise guy milieu for the third (but not the final) time, Scorsese tells the story of Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro (Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci), two New York hoodlums who become major players in the history of Las Vegas.
Andrea Superstein Sings Burt Bacharach + Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery Film Screening
Local hero and Anglophile Mike Myers scored a massive comedy hit with this spot-on spoof of James Bond and his many imitators. Before the yucks, Andrea Superstein treats us to a set of timeless Burt Bacharach tunes.