Malcolm X

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Malcolm X

PG-13

1992

3h 21m

Biography

History

Drama

Crime

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

84 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

A 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.

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Critics Consensus

Anchored by a powerful performance from Denzel Washington, Spike Lee's biopic of legendary civil rights leader Malcolm X brings his autobiography to life with an epic sweep and a nuanced message.

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Lynden Barber

Sydney Morning Herald

12/14/2023

Unusually rich, absorbing and often brilliant film-making, an epic deserving of the description. But that doesn't stop it from being worryingly ambiguous.

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Neil Jillett

The Age (Australia)

12/14/2023

The film has no psychological depth and not much sense of history. It takes a purely surface view of people and events.

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Bob Longino

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

10/09/2023

A-

The movie is long -- 202 minutes -- but Lee earns every tick of the clock, illuminating the many developmental moments in Malcolm X’s personality.

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Joe Flockhart

Loud and Clear Reviews

Mar 2

4.5/5

30 years on, Spike Lee’s ambitious biographical epic Malcolm X still has not lost its educational, entertaining and emotional power.

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Clotilde Chinnici

The People's Movies

Aug 19

4/5

Ultimately, it is safe to say that Malcolm X is one of Spike Lee’s best films, one that has established him as one of the greatest American directors working today.

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Julian Singleton

Cinapse

07/12/2025

Malcolm X deftly [navigates] that wide gulf between personal identity and public image, providing illumination, criticism, and commemoration in equal measure.

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Don Boom

May 20

An excellent look into the life of an Afro-American legend of civil rights.

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laura

02/27/2025

every preconception i had about this movie was that it was a masterpiece, and still i ended up walking out of the theater astounded and lost for words.

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Scott M

@RT75128960 Jul 4

The acting by Denzel carries the film. The hatred towards whites throughout the movie is somewhat racist. I don't believe Malcolm X hated white people. I think he hated what they did. Overall the movie is a letdown because Spike preaches too much.

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Mickey B.

@Mickerdoo Jun 11

A shame that even then Afro Americans couldn’t find common ground . Definitely a problem to raise up a faulted human prophet in Elijah.

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S. O

@Col._Angus Jun 5

Words alomost escape me, other than to say an amazing, powerful, biographical film. If you aren't familiar with Malcolm X or the journey his life took, I can't recommend this enough. Spoiler alert: The Nation of Islam murdered Malcolm X

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Ryan C.

@djrmc24 May 27

Malcom X is Spike Lee’s best film to date and probably his most important one. Features a career defying moment for Denzel Washington, who is an absolute powerhouse here as our lead, Malcom X. Those that don’t know the history of Malcom X will get a lesson here. The movie wastes no time covering his early life all the way until he was a revolutionary leader, who came from a life of poverty, family disruption, and criminal activity and rises to a prominent leader for the civil rights movement. This movie features beautiful and natural cinematography with a beautiful score. To this day the ending of this film gives me goosebumps with how powerful and how far Malcom’s reach was. The movie is very lengthy at 3 hours and 22 minutes but feels like it moves at a fast pace. Spike Lee and Angela Bassett also give great performances here. Malcom X is a classic and is very worthy of the criterion status. Malcom X gets a perfect 5 stars out of 5.

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Spike Lee

Director

Denzel Washington

Malcolm X

Angela Bassett

Betty Shabazz

Albert Hall

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Al Freeman Jr.

Elijah Muhammad

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Synopsis

A 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.

Director: Spike Lee
Producer: Marvin Worth
Screenwriter: Alex Haley, Malcolm X, Arnold Perl, James Baldwin
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: JVC Entertainment, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Largo International N.V.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Biography, History, Drama, Crime
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 18, 1992, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 25, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $47.1M
Runtime: 3h 21m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)