Spike Lee’s bio-pic
of the controversial and influential African American leader, Malcolm
X.
CRITIQUE
Malcolm X,
although a bit overlong, is a wonderfully well crafted film. All the
performances in the film are top notch, especially Denzel Washington’s
fantastic portrayal of X. Through his performance, the viewer is given
the opportunity to see the ups and downs in the life of one of this
century’s most provocative and influential public figures.
The film follows
Malcolm from his youth as a hoodlum and his arrest, through his rise
as a public figure and his disillusionment and rediscovery of his
faith. We are given the ability to agree, disagree, and sympathize
with Malcolm and understand why he made many of the decisions that he
made. Malcolm X is a fantastic film and worth checking out by
anyone and everyone.
THE VIDEO
The video transfer
is really good; there is no noticeable grain at all. The colors are
rich and the black levels are consistent. There is no digital
artifacting (at least, not that I could tell.) It’s a nice looking
presentation. As a side note, the film is spread over two discs as is
the accompanying commentary.
THE AUDIO
The film is
presented in Dolby Surround 5.1 in English and the 1972 documentary is
presented in Mono. The sound mix is pretty good, especially in the
crowd scenes. The dialogue is clear, and is never buried underneath
the soundtrack. A very good mix.
THE EXTRAS
Commentary by Spike
Lee, Director of Photography Ernest Dickerson, Editor Barry Alexander
Brown, and Costume Designer Ruth Carter:
The feature length commentary track is a very good look into the
production of the film, although it doesn’t go into the problems with
making the film as much as the making of featurette does.
Disc One:
Deleted Scenes:
A few scenes cut from the film, most of which are really interesting
to watch, but are thankfully not in the film.
By Any Means
Necessary: The Making of Malcolm X: A wonderful in depth
retrospective making of featurette which looks at all the challenges
that went into making this film.
Disc Two:
Malcolm X:
This 1972 Oscar-Nominated Documentary is the perfect companion piece
to the film. Using footage from various interviews and speeches, we
are given the opportunity to see Malcolm X as he was and compare
Denzel’s performance.
OVERALL
This is an
excellent DVD. The film is powerful and the addition of the 1972 Malcolm X
documentary brings so much more to the film.
