Malcolm X

When a movie opens with a montage of Rodney King footage juxtaposed with a burning American flag, it's easy to think that the film's sympathies lie with counterculturalists and polemicists, and will preach (and only preach) either to the converted or to no audience at all. But in the case of Malcolm X, that incendiary opening is a not-so-subtle introduction to the world that the crook-turned-cleric once known as Malcolm Little attempted -- and clearly failed -- to change.

Spike Lee's sixth "joint" as a director proved more than any of his films before or since that he is a major talent who can work both within and firmly outside the studio system. While it remains to be seen whether he will learn the lessons that Malcolm died to teach, his tribute resulted in a film that wasn't merely great but among the most important films ever made.

Prior to Malcolm X, Lee was regarded a "filmmaker of promise" -- a cultural oddity who told stories about black men and women that weren't predicated on violence, drugs, or ethnic stereotypes. At the time, this meant that his works were critically acclaimed, commercial disasters. With Malcolm X, Lee had much to prove. He was determined to make a movie celebrating the man's complexity in a way that he felt no other filmmaker could and he succeeded admirably.

The recently released two-disc special edition pays appropriate homage to both its subject and its director. The only criticism I can lobby against this release is that the film does not fit on one disc, whereas the previous edition did. That said, the extras more than make up for this minor inconvenience. Lee, along with cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, costume designer Ruth Carter, and editor Barry Alexander Brown provide an illuminating commentary track and a bonus featurette documenting the problems that plagued the production.

Additionally, the film's theatrical trailer and a collection of bonus scenes (introduced by Lee himself) adorn the first disc. The second disc features a full-length 1972 documentary about Malcolm and, suffice it to say, any disparities between truth and fiction are answered somewhere in these extra materials.

The release of Malcolm X was a watershed moment in the history of cinema, just as the man himself was in 1960s American culture. In both cases, a major force in counterculture challenged conventional wisdom and won. Not just because they challenged hypocrisy and confronted people with uncomfortable truths but because they forced the mainstream to take notice.

It's easy to look at those first powerful images, hear Malcolm's powerful words, and see only the power of his anger. But the triumph of Malcolm X is its transcendence of that anger and its belief that something even more powerful can exist: love. If you're not yet converted, this two-disc DVD is a great place to open your heart. After that, the real thing will come much easier. -- Todd Gilchrist