Poster from TMDB
OverviewAI-generated
Malcolm X is a 1992 American biographical drama film directed by Spike Lee. The cast includes Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, and Al Freeman Jr. Based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X, the screenplay was written by Spike Lee, Arnold Perl, and James Baldwin. Production was handled by 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, with Spike Lee, Marvin Worth, and Monty Ross serving as producers. Ernest Dickerson was the director of photography, Barry Alexander Brown the film editor, and Terence Blanchard the composer. Ruth E. Carter designed the costumes.
The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment and Netflix. It has a runtime of 202 minutes and is presented in black-and-white. The narrative is set in New York City and Harlem, while filming took place in Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, and Egypt. The original language is English. The film received a PG-13 rating and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Costume Design. It also received the National Board of Review: Top Ten Films award.
Synthesized by Vinony from 47 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, IMDb, OMDb, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film · TMDB
7.6A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.
Cast
- Denzel Washington as Malcolm X
- Angela Bassett as Betty Shabazz
- Albert Hall as Baines
- Al Freeman Jr. as Elijah Muhammad
- Delroy Lindo as West Indian Archie
- Spike Lee as Shorty
Themes
- prison
- new york city
- police brutality
- beach
- assassination
- muslim
- police
- ku klux klan
- prison cell
- koran
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Ratings
IMDb
7.7/10
110,202 votes
Rotten Tomatoes
89%
Metacritic
73/100
- Year
- 1992
- Runtime
- 202 min
- Genres
- Biography, Drama, History
- Rated
- PG-13
- Awards
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. 19 wins & 24 nominations total
via OMDb · IMDb
Key facts
- Directed by
- Spike Lee
- Screenplay by
- Arnold Perl Spike Lee
- Based on
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X , by Malcolm X with Alex Haley
- Produced by
- Marvin Worth Spike Lee
- Starring
- Denzel Washington Angela Bassett Albert Hall Al Freeman Jr. Delroy Lindo Spike Lee
- Cinematography
- Ernest Dickerson
- Edited by
- Barry Alexander Brown
- Music by
- Terence Blanchard
- Production company
- 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
- Distributed by
- Warner Bros. (United States) Largo International (International)
- Release date
- November 18, 1992 ( 1992-11-18 )
- Running time
- 202 minutes
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Budget
- $35 million
- Box office
- $73 million
via Wikipedia infobox
~26 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Malcolm X is a 1992 American epic biographical drama film about the African-American activist Malcolm X. Directed and co-written by Spike Lee, the film stars Denzel Washington in the title role, alongside Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman Jr., and Delroy Lindo. Lee has a supporting role, while Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and future South African president Nelson Mandela make cameo appearances.
The screenplay, co-credited to Lee and Arnold Perl, is based largely on Alex Haley's 1965 book The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Haley had collaborated with Malcolm X on the book beginning in 1963 and completed it after Malcolm X's death. The film follows key events in Malcolm X's life: his criminal career, his incarceration, his conversion to Islam, his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his later falling out with the organization, his marriage to Betty X, his pilgrimage to Mecca and reevaluation of his views concerning whites, and his assassination in 1965. Defining childhood incidents, including his father's death, his mother's mental illness, and his experiences with racism are shown in flashbacks.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Malcolm X” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.