Malcolm X

#69 on Glenn's Top 100 Movie List

Spike Lee is one of my favorite filmmakers in all of history. Definitely top ten. Malcolm X is probably his best movie, but I'm putting it ahead of some other movies of his on this list because I thought of some things to say that I might forget. First, there was a month when I was a freshman in college right after I bought this on tape that I watched it five times. In a month. And this movie is like three hours long. I've only ever done that with Dawn of the Dead and 2001, and those are my two favorite movies of all time. But Malcolm X isn't breaking the top ten in my countdown partly because I think I wore it out, and mainly because the tape switch really messes up the movie. The first half of the movie is kind of a petty thief criminal movie, and then he gets arrested. Then you switch tapes, and it enters more definitely into the political realm and character evolution part of the movie. It creates a great overall project. But having to physically change tapes really emphasized the difference in tone between the two halves, and after a while I would just watch the first half of this movie for Delroy Lindo. So that's why this movie doesn't break my top ten. Eventually when I get it on DVD I guess this problem will work itself out. So maybe it will move up the list a bit. Also, does anybody from the south remember those fucking "You wear your 'X,' I'll wear mine" shirts with the confederate flag on them? That is the key argument in demonstrating that the confederate flag is definitely about hate, not heritage.

RATING: 88%