Malcolm Semper Malcolm
This morning I woke up fairly early and just rambled through my DVD collection looking for something to entertain as well as edify my early morning mind. I took out the DVD of Spike Lee's epic "Malcolm X'. I first watched the 1972 documentary done by Marvin Worth, also entitled "Malcolm X" which is an extra on Disc 2 of the Spike Lee DVD package. I had never watched it before and was sorry that I had not watched it previously. Worth's documentary was nominated for an Oscar and it contains footage of Malcolm and the civil rights era that I was not entirely familiar with. It is a crowning companion piece for those who have read The Autobiography of Malcolm X and watched Spike Lee's film. At the end of watching the Worth documentary, I was left wondering as I have often wondered---what did America, Black America, and the world truly lose with the assassination of Malcolm X? He was killed at such a crucial point in his trajectory after the pilgrimage to Mecca and his embracing of universal brotherhood.
I also watched the second half of Spike's film with the audio commentary turned on. The audio commentary features, Spike Lee, Ernest Dickerson (cinematographer), Ruth Carter (costume design), and Barry Alexander Brown (editor) . I own almost the entire Spike Lee film collection on DVD and one of the hallmarks of each one is Spike's serious dedication to the director's commentary. Spike elucidates how scenes were shot, what went into making the particular movie, as well as enlightening anecdotes surrounding the film. The commentary on "Malcolm X" does not disappoint. Ernest Dickerson is particularly poignant in his discussion of the role of lighting in this film and in general.
Needless to say I woke up this morning in a different frame of mind after watching that disc. I was inspired by Malcolm's story again and truly amazed at the potential his work represented. I was also brought back to what a great filmmaker Spike Lee is.
