Malcolm X (1972)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Arnold Perl

Writers:

Alex Haley (book)
Arnold Perl (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot Keywords:

Nation Of Islam | Islam | African American | Based On Autobiography | Civil Rights

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

James Earl Jones	...	Biographical Narration (voice)
Ossie Davis	...	Eulogy (voice) (also archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Ali	...	Himself (archive footage)
Muhammad Ali	...	Himself (with Malcolm X) (archive footage)
Leon Ameer	...	Himself (archive footage)
Vida Blue	...	Himself (archive footage)
H. Rap Brown	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Rap Brown)
John Carlos	...	Himself (archive footage)
Stokely Carmichael	...	Himself (archive footage)
Eldridge Cleaver	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ella Collins	...	Herself (remarks after death of Malcolm X) (archive footage)
Angela Davis	...	Herself (archive footage)
Lee Evans	...	Himself (at 1968 Olympics) (archive footage) (as L. Evans)
Charles Evers	...	Himself (archive footage)
James Farmer	...	Himself (remarks after death of Malcolm X) (archive footage)
Louis Farrakhan	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Minister Farrakhan)
Ronald Freeman	...	Himself (at 1968 Olympics) (archive footage) (as R. Freeman)
Edwin Gardner	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Rev. Gardner)
Charles Garry	...	Himself (archive footage)
Marcus Garvey	...	Himself (in car) (archive footage)
Kenneth Gibson	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Mayor Kenneth Gibson)
Arthur Goldberg	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jesse Jackson	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Rev. Jesse Jackson)
G. Lawrence James	...	Himself (at 1968 Olympics) (archive footage) (as L. James)
King Faisal I	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Prince Faisal)
Martin Luther King	...	Himself (remarks after death of Malcolm X) (archive footage) (as Rev. Martin Luther King)
William Kunstler	...	Himself (archive footage)
Sonny Liston	...	Himself (fights Cassius Clay) (archive footage)
Louis Lomax	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ruchell Magee	...	Himself (archive footage)
Elijah Muhammad	...	Himself (archive footage)
Huey P. Newton	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Huey Newton)
Bayard Rustin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Betty Shabazz	...	Herself (archive footage)
Raymond Sharrieff	...	Himself (archive footage)
Percy Sutton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Harry Taylor	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Police Inspector Taylor)
Mister Walsh	...	Himself (as Chief Detective Walsh)
James X	...	Himself (archive footage)
Malcolm X	...	Himself (speeches, lies in state) (archive footage)
Philbert X	...	Himself (brother of Malcolm X) (archive footage)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Movie Connections:

Features The Littlest Rebel (1935)

Excellent portrait of a great, but complex man

Malcolm X, a 1972 documentary, is like the man himself great, extraordinary, tragic, and in the end triumphant. This documentary is excellent reference material for anyone who has read his autobiography or has seen Spike Lee's 1992 film of the same name. I often compare this documentary to another gem Martin Luther King: From Montgomery To Memphis (1970).The producers of Malcolm X allows the man through a montage of footage of his speeches, voice overs, and occasional narration by James Earl Jones and an appearance by Louis Farrakhan formerly known as Louis X to speak for himself. The producers of this film knew not to include people whom would give many opinions of Malcolm X, therefore compromising an understandable portrait of the man. This style of documenting ones life is rarely seen today, but needs to return. The viewer is left with a sympathetic, but proud feeling of having had such an intelligent, brilliant, but often flawed man on earth, even just for a little while. I rate this movie **** excellent. Check it out, it is on video.