Post by klep on Feb 18, 2019 7:49:46 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/18: Malcolm X
Note: I went to re-run the NPS podcast essay like I normally do when such a film becomes MotW, forgetting that I hadn't written it. So here's the guest essay which ran last September.
I might be the wrong person to write this. I may be the right one for the same reasons. I hate the idea of celebrating people. The idea of making people seem more than human, bigger than life, while noble takes away the humanity of these people. It seems to make what they do seem unobtainable to the average person.
Malcolm X is a film that seems to war with this concept.
Don't get me wrong, I believe it's an absolute Masterpiece but it makes Malcolm look like a movie character and not a real person. It makes me wonder how people a hundred years from now will watch this film.
X is a film that tells the story of Malcolm Little's transformation to Red to the Activist Malcolm X. I refuse to call him a "Political" Activist because being able to be black shouldn't be considered a political stance.
Spike Lee, rarely shy in displaying his agendas in his films, wanted to make an epic of Malcom's life and did. Twenty-six years later, it's still the biggest film of is career. The scope is comparable to The Godfather or Scarface in a way feels like Homer's the Odyssey. Especially the first third of the film which I believe Spike shoots like Casablanca or any of the big Old Hollywood films. Denzel channels his inner Bogart to portray Malcolm as Red, this angry, self hating criminal. He walks with a swagger and a confidence only those with nothing to lose carry themselves with. Spike's choices in this first third are interesting, to say the least though I don't think it was only his choice.
I came to find out that this script is rewritten from a "scenario" by James Baldwin. I believe this is the reason of its blackness. This film is unapologetic about its views and its portrayal, though I think it can sometimes lay the message on thick. The movie tends to leave a lot of actors in the one-dimensional phase. The most developed side characters are Elijah Muhammed and possibly West Indian Archie as a numbers runner with an elephant's memory. Elijah Muhammed changes from a prophet chosen by Allah himself to a jealous man that allows the nation to kill Malcolm, something that feels pulled directly from The Godfather. West Indian Archie succumbs to either drugs or some type of mental illness and shows remorse for trying to kill Malcolm over a forgotten number. There is also Malcolm,s church girl girlfriend that slowly becomes victims of the "White man's world" which feels like a forced story that takes a bit away from Malcolm's story so Spike can scream "Wake-Up" as he tends to do in all of his films.
Let's not confuse the lack of fully developed characters for a not compelling story overall, this is Denzel's film. Denzel has great scene partners and is one of the few people that's able to carry an almost three and a half hour movie. Denzel takes Malcolm from the angry arrogance of Red conking (A hair straightener solution made of potatoes, lye and an egg) his hair to look "White, right?", to the calm confidence of Malcolm X at the height of the civil rights movement, to his paranoia of when he broke out from under Elijah Muhammed after Muhammed became jealous of his notoriety. Denzel does all with the charm and screen presence comparable to any actor of any generation. His humility when he meets Elijah Muhammad is that of a changed soul, walking with his head down and tears in his eyes at the sight of his assumed prophet. There is a shot inspired obviously by Bogart in Casablanca where Denzel is confronted by West Indian Archie where you see Spike's intent to make this a tale of epic proportions over telling Malcolm's Story as authentically as possible.
This is my one concern with the film, Malcolm's truth wars with Spike Lee's agenda. The film opens with a speech from Denzel as Malcolm condemning with white man over footage of the Rodney King beating of 1992. These words are a stance of Malcolm before his pilgrimage to Mecca where he saw people of all color worshipping Allah together, drinking from the same cups in contrast to what he was used to in 1960s United States. The cinematography of the first third of the film is very old Hollywood, as close to technicolor as possible and in a way feels as though it glorifies Malcolm's criminal life. It was stated that Malcolm X loved Casablanca and I find it jarring that this real story was shot like a work of fiction. This can also be attributed to the lifestyle of Malcolm Little, zoot suit wearing thief and number runner.
My one fear is that these very human people, when filmed this way, will not be seen a real. They will appear more larger than live than something completely obtainable. Ava DuVernay's intent in Selma was to humanize Martin Luther King Jr., his larger than life image with the very real difficulty of trying to bring hundreds together for the nonviolent march on Selma. There is a scene of King in Selma enjoying breakfast at a friend's home in preparation for the day. In doing so she showed that the average man is capable of great things. I feel in a hundred years people will see this film as a fictional epic and see Malcolm as a myth and not a man with fears and true insecurities. They won't believe that this is something they can do if ever some type of injustice plagues them.
This film is a true epic, one of the few films that shows an almost entire life of an individual and is extremely compelling from beginning to end. Denzel gives arguably the performance of his career. He should've won an Oscar but that doesn't matter truly as many Oscar winners are forgotten - Crash anyone? This is how Spike directs an Epic film in the vein of Gone with the Wind or Lawrence of Arabia and it's is one of the best films ever and is one I hope will stand the tests of time as it has these last twenty-six years.
Note: I went to re-run the NPS podcast essay like I normally do when such a film becomes MotW, forgetting that I hadn't written it. So here's the guest essay which ran last September.
I might be the wrong person to write this. I may be the right one for the same reasons. I hate the idea of celebrating people. The idea of making people seem more than human, bigger than life, while noble takes away the humanity of these people. It seems to make what they do seem unobtainable to the average person.
Malcolm X is a film that seems to war with this concept.
Don't get me wrong, I believe it's an absolute Masterpiece but it makes Malcolm look like a movie character and not a real person. It makes me wonder how people a hundred years from now will watch this film.
X is a film that tells the story of Malcolm Little's transformation to Red to the Activist Malcolm X. I refuse to call him a "Political" Activist because being able to be black shouldn't be considered a political stance.
Spike Lee, rarely shy in displaying his agendas in his films, wanted to make an epic of Malcom's life and did. Twenty-six years later, it's still the biggest film of is career. The scope is comparable to The Godfather or Scarface in a way feels like Homer's the Odyssey. Especially the first third of the film which I believe Spike shoots like Casablanca or any of the big Old Hollywood films. Denzel channels his inner Bogart to portray Malcolm as Red, this angry, self hating criminal. He walks with a swagger and a confidence only those with nothing to lose carry themselves with. Spike's choices in this first third are interesting, to say the least though I don't think it was only his choice.
I came to find out that this script is rewritten from a "scenario" by James Baldwin. I believe this is the reason of its blackness. This film is unapologetic about its views and its portrayal, though I think it can sometimes lay the message on thick. The movie tends to leave a lot of actors in the one-dimensional phase. The most developed side characters are Elijah Muhammed and possibly West Indian Archie as a numbers runner with an elephant's memory. Elijah Muhammed changes from a prophet chosen by Allah himself to a jealous man that allows the nation to kill Malcolm, something that feels pulled directly from The Godfather. West Indian Archie succumbs to either drugs or some type of mental illness and shows remorse for trying to kill Malcolm over a forgotten number. There is also Malcolm,s church girl girlfriend that slowly becomes victims of the "White man's world" which feels like a forced story that takes a bit away from Malcolm's story so Spike can scream "Wake-Up" as he tends to do in all of his films.
Let's not confuse the lack of fully developed characters for a not compelling story overall, this is Denzel's film. Denzel has great scene partners and is one of the few people that's able to carry an almost three and a half hour movie. Denzel takes Malcolm from the angry arrogance of Red conking (A hair straightener solution made of potatoes, lye and an egg) his hair to look "White, right?", to the calm confidence of Malcolm X at the height of the civil rights movement, to his paranoia of when he broke out from under Elijah Muhammed after Muhammed became jealous of his notoriety. Denzel does all with the charm and screen presence comparable to any actor of any generation. His humility when he meets Elijah Muhammad is that of a changed soul, walking with his head down and tears in his eyes at the sight of his assumed prophet. There is a shot inspired obviously by Bogart in Casablanca where Denzel is confronted by West Indian Archie where you see Spike's intent to make this a tale of epic proportions over telling Malcolm's Story as authentically as possible.
This is my one concern with the film, Malcolm's truth wars with Spike Lee's agenda. The film opens with a speech from Denzel as Malcolm condemning with white man over footage of the Rodney King beating of 1992. These words are a stance of Malcolm before his pilgrimage to Mecca where he saw people of all color worshipping Allah together, drinking from the same cups in contrast to what he was used to in 1960s United States. The cinematography of the first third of the film is very old Hollywood, as close to technicolor as possible and in a way feels as though it glorifies Malcolm's criminal life. It was stated that Malcolm X loved Casablanca and I find it jarring that this real story was shot like a work of fiction. This can also be attributed to the lifestyle of Malcolm Little, zoot suit wearing thief and number runner.
My one fear is that these very human people, when filmed this way, will not be seen a real. They will appear more larger than live than something completely obtainable. Ava DuVernay's intent in Selma was to humanize Martin Luther King Jr., his larger than life image with the very real difficulty of trying to bring hundreds together for the nonviolent march on Selma. There is a scene of King in Selma enjoying breakfast at a friend's home in preparation for the day. In doing so she showed that the average man is capable of great things. I feel in a hundred years people will see this film as a fictional epic and see Malcolm as a myth and not a man with fears and true insecurities. They won't believe that this is something they can do if ever some type of injustice plagues them.
This film is a true epic, one of the few films that shows an almost entire life of an individual and is extremely compelling from beginning to end. Denzel gives arguably the performance of his career. He should've won an Oscar but that doesn't matter truly as many Oscar winners are forgotten - Crash anyone? This is how Spike directs an Epic film in the vein of Gone with the Wind or Lawrence of Arabia and it's is one of the best films ever and is one I hope will stand the tests of time as it has these last twenty-six years.
I do agree with Spike Lee that this film should’ve only been directed by someone black, man or woman. I think sometimes the necessity to force racism into movies can take away from my enjoyment of films. You can include culture but to include discrimination can sometimes make me think enough is enough. Not every film with a black lead has to include racism, but this is part of Malcolm’s identity. I don’t think the same kind of story could’ve been told from someone that hasn’t experienced racial discrimination personally. Movies like Ray and Ali feel a bit sanitized in their portrayals of African American’s before and during the civil rights movement. The only real way to talk and move forward from racism is to acknowledge it exists, to see racial identity and culture, and to confront discrimination head on. Ignoring it in movies about people that would’ve been discriminated against it easily a missed chance at changing the world.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/25: Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Decades before Disney told a tale as old as time, Jean Cocteau crafted the first cinematic version of the fairy tale. Join us next week as we watch Beauty and the Beast. This film is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members. It is also available on Kanopy.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 2/19: A Bucket Of Blood
In its next pairing, the podcast takes aim at films about the art world with Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood and the new Velvet Buzzsaw. Join us on Wednesday for a discussion of the older film. A Bucket of Blood is available for rent on Amazon Video, where it is free for Prime members. It's also available on Kanopy and YouTube, where it is apparently in better quality than the shitty VHS rip Amazon has.
Decades before Disney told a tale as old as time, Jean Cocteau crafted the first cinematic version of the fairy tale. Join us next week as we watch Beauty and the Beast. This film is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members. It is also available on Kanopy.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 2/19: A Bucket Of Blood
In its next pairing, the podcast takes aim at films about the art world with Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood and the new Velvet Buzzsaw. Join us on Wednesday for a discussion of the older film. A Bucket of Blood is available for rent on Amazon Video, where it is free for Prime members. It's also available on Kanopy and YouTube, where it is apparently in better quality than the shitty VHS rip Amazon has.