Malcolm X

this should be revered even higher than it is as an all time great among film and art as a whole. it is so amazing in every single facet imaginable. it had this grandiose of something like the godfather, but still held true to spike lee's unique and beautiful style. you can feel his presence through the lens. but it still transcends any work i've seen from him up till now. spike mentions in an interview with gq that he and ernest dickerson "wanted to make malcolm x in the spirit of the great epic films of david lean". and while i have yet to see lean's most revered films such as lawrence of arabia, the bridge on the river kwai, and doctor zhivago, i can see how this film pulls from something seen as so grand in scale and substance. how is denzel washington not the greatest? this is insane what he does here. bro was in like every scene and transformed as the film and malcolm's life progressed so well that everyone who didn't vote for him in anything ever should be arrested and jailed. even though i already knew what was gonna happen at the end of this film, i felt more tension than during any thriller where i had no idea what was to come. this is not only because of the great direction, editing, and acting of malcolm's post prison life but also because of the great first third of the movie. this is so key to the progression of the story. it almost took me off guard when we get into his life once he joined the nation of islam because of how greatly built the time we spent in boston was. it makes you forget about what you know is to come, or at least makes it latent in your mind. i only specifically mentioned denzel but everyone in here had tremendous acting. idk i just really can't think right now also, even though i love a lot of his films, i am annoyed for two seconds whenever i see spike lee in his own film even though he's in most of them. he’s usually funny but clearly not on the level of the other actors but it isn’t a big deal or concern. it just lingers in the back of my head. however, i didn’t even think about it past those two seconds in this film. i'm not sure if his acting was any better or if it because his direction was just on another tier here. oh well rewatch down the road may reveal this.