Malcom X (1972)

Malcolm X (1972)
Directed by: Arnold Perl

A collection of footage depicting the life and times of Malcolm X during his rise to popularity amongst African Americans in the United States.

The documentary focuses initially on the controversial aspects of X's life, working as a jigsaw that splices together his most thought provoking and relevant oratory with dangerous controversy bordering on what some called racism. The huge impact that his life had on the African American people is examined through interviews and speeches by the individuals that wither new him personally or who had adopted a special space for him in their hearts.

Malcolm X was a fantastic public speaker, which meant that the most famous of his quotations and speeches were often documented visually. Perl makes the most of this footage as he takes the audience on a journey through the subtle alterations that X made to his politics when new experiences unravelled new arguments. X's journey to Mecca and his fresh take on 'race' is perhaps the most dominant of these political alterations and the filmmaker deals with these changes most appropriately in relation to the pace of the film.


The film inevitably concludes with X's assassination and the impact that it had on people all over the world. Once again, Perl tactfully weaves between the opinionated mourners across America who are deeply saddened by the death of one of America's most controversial public figures and are quick to point the finger as to is to blame for his death.