Malcolm X is a
1992The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films :source: - Awards :Academy Awards:*Article 99B...
biographical filmA biographical motion picture—often shortened to biopic—is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most...
directed by
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...
about the
African-AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
activist and black nationalist
Malcolm XMalcolm X , also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist. To his admirers, he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against...
. The story is based on
The Autobiography of Malcolm XThe Autobiography of Malcolm X was written by Alex Haley between 1964 and 1965, as told to him through conversations with Malcolm conducted shortly before Malcolm X's death , and published in 1965...
as told to
Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and The Autobiography of Malcolm X ....
.
Denzel WashingtonDenzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B...
was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for his role as Malcolm X.
Malcolm X divides the life of the African-American activist Malcolm X into three sections. The first section deals with the troubled childhood of Malcolm Little, whose father, a preacher, was murdered by the
Black LegionThe Black Legion was an additional organization within the Ku Klux Klan and operated in the United States in the 1930s. The organization was founded by William Shepard in east central Ohio...
and whose mother was institutionalized for insanity.
Malcolm X is a
1992The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films :source: - Awards :Academy Awards:*Article 99B...
biographical filmA biographical motion picture—often shortened to biopic—is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most...
directed by
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...
about the
African-AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
activist and black nationalist
Malcolm XMalcolm X , also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist. To his admirers, he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against...
. The story is based on
The Autobiography of Malcolm XThe Autobiography of Malcolm X was written by Alex Haley between 1964 and 1965, as told to him through conversations with Malcolm conducted shortly before Malcolm X's death , and published in 1965...
as told to
Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and The Autobiography of Malcolm X ....
.
Denzel WashingtonDenzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B...
was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for his role as Malcolm X.
Plot
Malcolm X divides the life of the African-American activist Malcolm X into three sections. The first section deals with the troubled childhood of Malcolm Little, whose father, a preacher, was murdered by the
Black LegionThe Black Legion was an additional organization within the Ku Klux Klan and operated in the United States in the 1930s. The organization was founded by William Shepard in east central Ohio...
and whose mother was institutionalized for insanity. Malcolm grows up and gets a job as a Pullman porter, calling himself Detroit Red. Getting involved with a Harlem gangster named West Indian Archie with whom he has a falling out, Malcolm flees to Boston and decides to become a burglar. He and his best friend, Shorty (played by
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...
) are arrested by the police and are both sentenced to a ten-year prison term.
The second section follows Malcolm's life in prison, where a fellow inmate, Baines (a
composite characterA composite character is a character in a fictional work or non-fictional work that is composed of two or more individuals.In fictional works the composite character may be real historical or biographical figures used as models for an original piece of fiction, or they may be fictional themselves...
), introduces him to the teachings of the
Nation of IslamThe Nation of Islam is a religious organization founded in Detroit, Michigan, United States by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930, with the self-proclaimed goal of resurrecting the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of the black men and women of America. The N.O.I. also promotes...
.
The third section follows Malcolm's religious conversion as a disciple of
Elijah MuhammadElijah Muhammad led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975.-Early life:...
. During this fervent immersion into the Nation of Islam, he becomes an incendiary speaker for the movement and marries
Betty XBetty Shabazz , also known as Betty X, was the wife of Malcolm X.-Early years:...
. Malcolm X preaches a doctrine of separation from white society. However, a pilgrimage to
MeccaMecca , sometimes spelled Makkah is the holiest meeting site of the Islamic religion. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and whilst being closed to non-Muslims is nonetheless ethnically diverse.Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants...
greatly softens his beliefs, teaching him that Muslims come from all races, even whites, and he endeavors to break free of the strict dogma of the Nation of Islam, with tragic results. Malcolm and his family receive death threats and their house is firebombed. Malcolm drives to the
Audubon BallroomThe Audubon Ballroom was a theatre and ballroom located on Broadway at 165th Street in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, north of Harlem in New York. It is best-known as the site of Malcolm X's assassination on February 21, 1965....
for his upcoming rally. He is assassinated in front of his wife and young daughters as he is about to deliver a speech, on February 21, 1965. After the assassination scene, the film cuts to black and white news footage of Malcolm X being carried out of the Audubon Ballroom on a stretcher, at the hospital, a man states that Malcolm X is dead.
The film closes with actual footage of Malcolm X himself while
Ossie DavisOssie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:Davis was born Raiford Chatman Davis in Cogdell, Clinch County, Georgia....
rereads the eulogy he delivered at Malcolm's funeral. The final footage in the film is from the present day, with numerous children of African descent, both in the United States and Africa, declaring "I am Malcolm X." The final scene takes place in a classroom in
SowetoSoweto is an urban area of the City of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the north. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships. Formerly a separate municipality, it is now united with the city of Johannesburg. The population has...
township in
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
, with anti-apartheid activist and future South African President
Nelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election, who held office from 1994–99. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of the African National Congress's armed wing Umkhonto...
quoting one of Malcolm X's speeches.
Cast
- Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B...
as Malcolm XMalcolm X , also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist. To his admirers, he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against...
- Angela Bassett
Angela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. She has become well-known for her biographical film roles portraying real life women in African American culture, perhaps most prominently as singer Tina Turner in the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It, as well as her portrayal of Michael...
as Betty ShabazzBetty Shabazz , also known as Betty X, was the wife of Malcolm X.-Early years:...
- Albert Hall as Baines
- Al Freeman, Jr.
Albert Cornelius "Al" Freeman, Jr. is an African-American actor and director.Freeman has made appearances in many films, such as My Sweet Charlie, Finian's Rainbow, and Malcolm X, and television series such as The Cosby Show, Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street and The Edge of Night...
as Elijah MuhammadElijah Muhammad led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975.-Early life:...
- Delroy Lindo
Delroy Lindo is a British-born American actor. Lindo has been nominated for the Tony and Screen Actors Guild awards, and has won a Satellite Award...
as West Indian Archie
- Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...
as Shorty
- Theresa Randle
Theresa E. Randle is an American stage, film and television actress.Randle was born in Los Angeles, California. She began her performing career by studying dance and comedy. She entered Beverly Hills College with a special program for the exceptionally gifted...
as Laura
- Kate Vernon
Kate Vernon is a Canadian-born film and television actress. She is best known for her role as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS soap opera Falcon Crest from , and for her role as the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film Pretty in Pink .Vernon was briefly a regular on Who's the Boss? in...
as Sophia
- Lonette McKee
Lonette McKee is an American film and television actress, music composer/producer/songwriter, screenwriter and director.-Biography:McKee was born in Detroit, Michigan the daughter of Dorothy and Lonnie McKee...
as Louise Little
- Tommy Hollis
Tommy Hollis was an American actor. A native of Jacksonville, Texas, he starred as Earl Little in the Spike Lee-directed movie Malcolm X . He died in New York City of a heart attack.-External links:...
as Earl Little
- James McDaniel
James McDaniel is an Emmy Award-winning American stage, film and television actor. He is best known for playing Lt. Arthur Fancy on the television show NYPD Blue...
as Brother Earl
- Ernest Lee Thomas
Ernest Lee Thomas is an American actor. He was born in Gary, Indiana. He is most famous for his role as aspiring writer Roger "Raj" Thomas on the 1970s ABC sitcom What's Happening!!, and its 1980s syndicated sequel, What's Happening Now!!-Early career and What's Happening!!:Thomas began his...
as Sidney
- Jean-Claude La Marre
Jean-Claude La Marre is a Haitian-American writer, born in Haiti of Haitian parents, director and film and television actor. His film credits include Malcolm X, Dead Presidents, and Go For Broke. On television, he has guest-starred on New York Undercover, Law & Order, and NYPD Blue.On his Myspace...
as Benjamin 2X
- Bobby Seale
Robert George "Bobby" Seale , is an American civil rights activist, and revolutionary, who along with Huey P. Newton, co-founded the Black Panther Party For Self Defense on October 15, 1966....
as Street Preacher
- Al Sharpton
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
as Street Preacher
- Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer, CC is a Canadian theater, film and television actor. In a career that spans over five decades and includes substantial roles in film, television, and theater, Plummer is perhaps best known for the role of Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music...
as Chaplain Gill
- Karen Allen
Karen Jane Allen is an American actress, best known for her role as Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark...
as Miss Dunne
- Peter Boyle
Peter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
as Captain Green
- William Kunstler
William Moses Kunstler was an American self-described "radical lawyer" and civil rights activist, known for his controversial clients...
as The Judge
- Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election, who held office from 1994–99. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of the African National Congress's armed wing Umkhonto...
as Soweto Teacher
- Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:Davis was born Raiford Chatman Davis in Cogdell, Clinch County, Georgia....
as Eulogy Performer
- David Patrick Kelly
David Patrick Kelly is an American actor and musician who has appeared in numerous films, including some major roles.-Biography:...
as Mr. Ostrowski
Production
| "It's such a great story, a great American story, and it reflects our society in so many ways. Here's a guy who essentially led so many lives. He pulled himself out of the gutter. He went from country boy to hipster and semi-hoodlum. From there he went to prison, where he became a Muslim. Then he was a spiritual leader who evolved into a humanitarian." |
| — Producer Marvin Worth on his 25 year effort to make a film about the life of Malcolm X |
Producer
Marvin WorthMarvin Worth was an American film producer, screenwriter and actor perhaps best known for his efforts to bring the biography of Malcolm X to the big screen. His efforts spanned from 1967, when he purchased the rights to The Autobiography of Malcolm X that led to the production of the 1972...
acquired the rights to the autobiography in 1967 and then struggled for 25 years before it was finally made and released. Worth had met Malcolm X, then called Detroit Red, when the future icon was a teenager hustling drugs on 52d Street in New York. Worth was 15 at the time, and spending time around jazz clubs in the area. As Worth remembers: "He was selling grass. He was 16 or 17 but looked older. He was very witty, a funny guy, and he had this extraordinary charisma. A great dancer and a great dresser. He was very good-looking, very, very tall. Girls always noticed him. He was quite a special guy."
Early on, the production had difficulties telling the entire story, in part due to unresolved questions about Malcolm X's killing. In 1971, Worth made a well-received documentary,
Malcolm XMalcolm X is a 1972 documentary film directed by Arnold Perl. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature....
, which received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Documentary Feature. The project continued to suffer and over the years became known as one of Hollywood's most famous unproduced movies. Several major names were involved at different periods of time, including
Richard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III was an American comedian, actor, and writer. Pryor was known for his unflinching examinations of racism and customs in modern life, and was renowned for his frequent use of colorful, vulgar, and profane language and racial epithets...
,
Eddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American actor, voice actor, film director, producer, comedian and singer. He is the second-highest grossing actor in motion picture history. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian...
, and director
Sidney LumetSidney Lumet is an American film director, with over 50 films to his name, including 12 Angry Men , Serpico , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict , all of which, except for Serpico , earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director.According to The Encyclopedia of Hollywood,...
.
Screenplay
In 1968, Worth commissioned a screenplay from novelist
James BaldwinJames Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, writer, playwright, poet, essayist and civil rights activist.Most of Baldwin's work deals with racial and sexual issues in the mid-20th century in the United States...
, who was later joined by Arnold Perl, a screenwriter who had been
blacklistedThe Hollywood blacklist—more precisely the entertainment industry blacklist, into which it expanded—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political...
in the
McCarthy EraMcCarthyism is the politically motivated practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence...
. The screenplay took longer to develop than anticipated, and Perl died in 1971.
Baldwin developed his work on the screenplay into the book
One Day, When I Was Lost: A Scenario Based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X, published in 1972; he died in 1987. Several authors attempted drafts, including white playwright
David MametDavid Alan Mamet is an American author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and film director. His works are known for their clever, terse, sometimes vulgar dialogue and arcane stylized phrasing, as well as for their exploration of masculinity...
, black novelist
David BradleyDavid H. Bradley is an associate professor of creative writing at the University of Oregon and author of South Street and the The Chaneysville Incident, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1982....
, black author
Charles FullerCharles H. Fuller, Jr. is an American playwright, best known for his play, A Soldier's Play for which he received the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.-Early years:...
and noted screenwriter
Calder WillinghamCalder Baynard Willingham, Jr. was an American novelist and screenwriter. He cowrote several notable screenplays, including Paths of Glory and One-Eyed Jacks ....
. Once Spike Lee took over as director, he revised the Baldwin-Perl script. Due to the revisions, the Baldwin family asked the producer to take his name off the credits. Thus
Malcolm X credits Perl and Lee as the writers and Malcolm X and Alex Haley as the authors of
The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Production difficulties
The production was controversial for years before it was released, most of it involving race and the legacy of Malcolm X.
Many issues stemmed from a rise in the importance of Malcolm X as a symbol of the black struggle: after what were viewed as setbacks for the African-American community during the Presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, there was a rise in interest in his message, particularly among the African-American community and ranging from the
rap communityHip hop's "golden age" is a name given to a period in mainstream hip hop—usually cited as late 1980s—said to be characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence. There were strong themes of Afrocentricity and political militancy, while the music was experimental and the sampling,...
to academia. In the three years before the movie's release, sales of
The Autobiography of Malcolm X had increased 300 percent, and four of his books saw a ninefold increase in sales between 1986 and 1991.
The race of the director
Once
Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. (also known as Warner Bros. Pictures, or simply Warner Bros.—the shortened form of the former official, sometimes still used, formal corporate name: Warner Brothers
agreed to greenlightTo greenlight a project is to give permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project. In the context of the movie and TV businesses, to greenlight something is to formally approve its production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to pre-production...
the project, they wanted Academy Award-winning CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
film directorA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
Norman JewisonNorman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre.-Early life:...
to direct the film. Jewison, director of the classic civil rights film In the Heat of the Night, was able to bring in Denzel Washington into the project to play Malcolm (the two would later work on The HurricaneThe Hurricane is a American biographical film directed by Norman Jewison, and starring Denzel Washington. The script was adapted by Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon from the books Lazarus and the Hurricane by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton and The 16th Round by Rubin "Hurricane" Carter...
). Soon a protest erupted over the fact that a white director, Jewison, was slated to make the film. Spike Lee was one of the main voices; since college, he had considered a film adaption of The Autobiography Of Malcolm X to be his dream project. Lee and others felt that Malcolm's story had to be told by a black director.
After the public outcry against Jewison, Worth came to the conclusion that "it needed a black director at this point. It was insurmountable the other way ... There's a grave responsibility here." Jewison left the project, though he noted he gave up the movie not because of the protest, but because he could not solve the riddle of Malcolm X's private life and that he was never satisfied with the script by Fuller; Lee confirmed Jewison's position, stating "If Norman actually thought he could do it, he would have really fought me. But he bowed out gracefully." Lee was soon named the director, and he made a substantial rewrite to the script, stating: "I'm directing this movie and I rewrote the script, and I'm an artist and there's just no two ways around it: this film about Malcolm X is going to be my vision of Malcolm X. But it's not like I'm sitting atop a mountain saying, 'Screw everyone, this is the Malcolm I see.' I've done the research, I've talked to the people who were there."
Concerns over Lee's portrayal of Malcolm X
From right after Lee was announced as the director and before its release, the film received criticism by black nationalists and members of the United Front to Preserve the Legacy of Malcolm X, led by poet and playwright Amiri BarakaAmiri Baraka, formerly known as Leroi Jones, is a controversial American writer of poetry, drama, essays, and music criticism.-Early life:...
, who were worried about how Lee would portray Malcolm X.
One protest in Harlem drew over 200 people. Some based their opinion on dislike of Lee's previous films; others were concerned that he would focus on the more flamboyant, crime-plagued phase of Malcolm X's life instead of on his life as a Muslim leader. Baraka accused Lee of being a Buppie, stating "We will not let Malcolm X's life be trashed to make middle-class Negroes sleep easier", compelling others to write the director and warn him "not to mess up Malcolm's life." Some, including Lee himself, noted the irony of the arguments against Lee after his own arguments against Jewison.
Looking back on the experience of making the film and the pressure he faced to "get it right," Lee jokingly said on the DVD commentary that when the film was released, he and Washington had their passports handy in case they needed to flee the country.
Concerns over Washington's role as Malcolm X
Washington signed onto the movie while Jewison was at the helm; still, Lee stated he never envisioned any actor other than Washington in the role. Lee, who had worked with him on Mo' Better BluesMo' Better Blues is a 1990 drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also directed. It follows a period in the life of a fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam as a series of bad decisions result in his jeopardizing both his relationships and his playing career...
, cited Washington's performance as Malcolm X in an Off Broadway play as superb. However, some purists noted that Washington, who is about 6 feet tall and "the color of mocha", bore little resemblance to the "reddish-brown (skinned), 6-foot-4-inch" Malcolm X. Some worried that Washington's looks and sex appeal, which had landed him on the cover of PeoplePeople is a weekly American magazine of celebrity and human-interest stories, published by Time Inc. As of 2006, it has a circulation of 3.75 million and revenue expected to top $1.5 billion. It was named "Magazine of the Year" by Advertising Age in October 2005, for excellence in editorial,...
magazine as "one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world", were not right for the part of such an influential figure.
Budget issues
Lee encountered difficulty in securing the budget he felt was needed. Facing off against the studio and the bond companyIn finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
, Lee felt that a budget allowance of over $30 million was reasonable; the studio disagreed and offered a lower amount. Following advice from fellow director Francis Ford CoppolaFrancis Ford Coppola is an Italian-American film director, producer and screenwriter. Away from showbusiness, Coppola is also a vintner, magazine publisher and hotelier. He is a graduate of Hofstra University where he studied theatre. He earned an M.F.A. in film directing from the UCLA Film School...
, Lee got "the movie company pregnant": taking the movie far enough along into actual production to try and force the studio to move forward with an expanding budget that met his requirements. The film, initially budgeted at $28 million, climbed to nearly $33 million. Lee used $2 million of his own $3 million salary on the project. Completion Bond Company, which assumed financial control in January 1992, refused to approve any more expenditures; in addition, the studio and bond company instructed Lee that the film could be no longer than 2 hours and 15 minutes. The resulting conflict caused the project to be shut down in post-production.
The film was saved by the financial intervention of prominent blacks, some of whom appear in the film's final photo montage during the closing creditsClosing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture or television program to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the background or a...
, including Bill CosbyWilliam Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, The Bill Cosby Show,...
, Oprah WinfreyOprah Gail Winfrey is an American media personality, actress, television producer, literary critic and magazine publisher, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history...
, Michael JordanMichael Jeffrey Jordan is a retired American professional basketball player and active businessman. His biography on the National Basketball Association website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed...
, Magic JohnsonEarvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
, Janet JacksonJanet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, California, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians...
, PrincePrince Rogers Nelson is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He performs under the mononym Prince but has also been known by various other names, most notably the unpronounceable symbol which he used as his stage name between 1993 and 2000...
, and Peggy Cooper Cafritz, founder of the Duke Ellington School of the ArtsThe Duke Ellington School of the Arts is a high school located in Washington, D.C. dedicated to arts education. One of the high schools of the District of Columbia Public School system, it is named for the American jazz bandleader and composer Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington , himself a native of...
. Their contributions were made as donations; as Lee noted: "This is not a loan. They are not investing in the film. These are black folks with some money who came to the rescue of the movie. As a result, this film will be my version. Not the bond company's version, not Warner Brothers'. I will do the film the way it ought to be, and it will be over three hours." The actions of such prominent members of the African American community spurred the bond company and Warner Bros. to continue with the project.
Request for black interviewers
| "I'm doing what every other person in Hollywood does: they dictate who they want to do interviews with. Tom Cruise, Robert Redford, whoever. People throw their weight around. Well, I get many requests now for interviews, and I would like African-Americans to interview me. [. . .] Spike Lee has never said he only wants black journalists to interview him. What I'm doing is using whatever clout I have to get qualified African-Americans assignments. The real crime is white publications don't have black writers, that's the crime." |
| — Spike Lee explaining his request for black interviewers |
A month before the film was released, Lee noted that he preferred that media outlets send black journalists to interview him. The request proved controversial in the media; while it was common practice for celebrities to pick interviewers who were known to be sympathetic, it was the first time race had been used as a qualification. Lee clarified that he was not barring white interviewers from interviewing him, but that he felt, given the subject matter of the film, that black writers have "more insight about Malcolm than white writers."
The request was turned down by the Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California since 1881. It is distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States...
, but several others agreed including PremierePremiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there....
magazine, VogueVogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine published in 16 countries + Latin America by Condé Nast Publications. Each month, Vogue publishes a magazine addressing topics of fashion, life and design.-Style and influence:...
, InterviewInterview is a magazine founded by artist Andy Warhol and Gerard Malanga in 1969. Dedicated to the cult of celebrity which fascinated Warhol, it featured cutting-edge graphics and interviews of celebrities. These interviews were usually unedited or edited in the eccentric fashion of Warhol's books...
and Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
. The Los Angeles Times explained they did not give writer approval. The editor of Premiere noted that the request created internal discussions that resulted in changes at the magazine: "Had we had a history of putting a lot of black writers on stories about the movie industry we'd be in a stronger position. But we didn't. It was an interesting challenge he laid down. It caused some personnel changes. We've hired a black writer and a black editor."
Filming
Betty Shabazz served as a consultant to the film. The Fruit of IslamThe Fruit of Islam , or "Fruit" for short, is the male-only paramilitary wing of the Nation of Islam . The Fruit of Islam wear distinctive blue or white uniforms and caps and have units at nearly all NOI temples. Louis Farrakhan, as head of the Nation of Islam, is commander-in-chief of the Fruit of...
, the defense corps of the Nation of IslamThe Nation of Islam is a religious organization founded in Detroit, Michigan, United States by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930, with the self-proclaimed goal of resurrecting the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of the black men and women of America. The N.O.I. also promotes...
, provided security for the movie.
Washington had portrayed Malcolm X eleven years earlier in the Off Broadway play, "When the Chickens Come Home to Roost", which dealt with the relationship between Malcolm and his mentor, Elijah Muhammad. Washington noted that he did not know much about the character, or read his autobiography, when he took the role. To prepare for the stage role, he read books and articles by and about Malcolm X and went over hours of tape and film footage of speeches. The play opened in 1981 and earned Washington a warm review by Frank RichFrank Rich is a center-left New York Times columnist who focuses on American politics and popular culture. His column ran on the front page of the Sunday Arts & Leisure section from 2003 to 2005; it now appears in the expanded Sunday Week in Review section.-Early career:Rich graduated from Harvard...
, who was at the time the chief theater critic of The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
. Upon being cast in the film, he interviewed people who knew Malcolm X, among them Betty Shabazz and two of his brothers. Although they had different upbringings, Washington tried to focus on what he had in common with his character: Washington was close to Malcolm X's age when Malcolm X was assassinated; both men had large families; both of their fathers were ministers; both were raised primarily by their mothers.
Malcolm X is the first non-documentary, and the first American-produced film, to be given permission to film in MeccaMecca , sometimes spelled Makkah is the holiest meeting site of the Islamic religion. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and whilst being closed to non-Muslims is nonetheless ethnically diverse.Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants...
(or within the Haram SharifAl-Masjid al-Ḥarām , is the largest mosque in the world. Located in the city of Mecca, it surrounds the Kaaba, the place which Muslims turn towards while offering daily prayers and is considered the holiest place on Earth by Muslims...
). A second film crew was hired to film in Mecca because non-Muslims are not allowed inside the city.
The film's opening scene depicts BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
in the 1940s. This scene was actually shot in Ridgewood, QueensRidgewood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, that borders the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale, as well as the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Historically, the neighborhood straddled the Queens-Brooklyn boundary...
, New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. The elevated cars are the NYC D-Type TriplexThe D-Type, commonly known as the Triplex, is a retired New York City Subway car with four units built as a prototype in 1925 and the production units built during 1927 and 1928....
and are owned by the New York Transit MuseumThe New York Transit Museum is a museum which displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway and bus systems; it is located in the unused Court Street subway station in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York City...
.
In addition to Nelson Mandela, the film featured cameos by Christopher PlummerChristopher Plummer, CC is a Canadian theater, film and television actor. In a career that spans over five decades and includes substantial roles in film, television, and theater, Plummer is perhaps best known for the role of Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music...
and Peter BoylePeter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
, civil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted government action and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression....
activists Al SharptonAlfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
, William KunstlerWilliam Moses Kunstler was an American self-described "radical lawyer" and civil rights activist, known for his controversial clients...
as well as Black Panther PartyThe Black Panther Party was an African-American revolutionary organization established to promote Black Power, and by extension self-defense for blacks. It was active in the United States from the mid-1960s into the 1970s...
co-founder Bobby SealeRobert George "Bobby" Seale , is an American civil rights activist, and revolutionary, who along with Huey P. Newton, co-founded the Black Panther Party For Self Defense on October 15, 1966....
. Ossie DavisOssie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:Davis was born Raiford Chatman Davis in Cogdell, Clinch County, Georgia....
read part of the eulogyA eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services, however some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
he gave at Malcolm X's funeral in a voice over at the end of the film, praising him as "our own black shining prince."
The film was made in the years immediately after Mandela's 1990 release from prison and during the negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa. Lee explained that he made "the connection between Soweto and Harlem, Nelson and Malcolm, and what Malcolm talked about -- pan-AfricanismPan-Africanism is a sociopolitical world view, philosophy, and movement which seeks to unify native Africans and members of the African diaspora into a "global African community"...
, trying to build these bridges between people of color. He is alive in children in classrooms in Harlem, in classrooms in Soweto."
Reception
Malcolm X was released in North America on November 18, 1992. Home Alone 2: Lost in New YorkHome Alone 2: Lost in New York is the 1992 sequel to the 1990 film Home Alone, and the second film in the Home Alone series. Home Alone 2 was written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. It stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern...
, the sequel to the highly successful family comedyHome Alone is a 1990 Christmas film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. The film features Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy who is mistakenly left behind when his family flies to Paris for their Christmas vacation. While initially relishing...
, also opened on the same weekend. The film did better than its producers expected, grossing $9,871,125 on its opening weekend and finishing third after Home Alone 2 ($30m) and Bram Stoker's Dracula ($15m). According to Box Office Mojo, the film ended its run with a gross of $48,169,610.