Oct 26, 2005
Malcolm X documentary
Forty years have passed since Malcolm X was shot down while speaking on stage at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City.
To mark that anniversary, "Brother Minister," which was released in theaters in 1995, is available for the first time on DVD.
Directed by Jack Baxter, this makes good use of archival footage of Malcolm X interviews and rallies, as well as numerous written documents after they were declassified by the federal government.
Along with telling the basic "whodunit" story of the killing, the film also provides a concise primer on the history of the Nation of Islam and its controversial founder, Elijah Muhammad; a short look at the civil rights movement in the United States; and biographical context on Malcolm.
While it would have been easy to simply hint at a government conspiracy, something that assassination buffs love to embrace, Baxter puts forward all the facts without judgment. The conclusions as to the people responsible for Malcolm X's death do not come from the filmmakers but from the subjects interviewed -- such as famed defense attorney William Kunstler and historian John Henrik Clarke.
Also worth noting is the extremely unflattering picture painted of Louis Farrakhan, a former protégé of Malcolm's. One chilling portion comes from a videotape of Farrakhan speaking to a closed meeting of the Nation of Islam.
With great emotion, Farrakhan seemingly justifies Malcolm's assassination because he was "a traitor."
The film is almost two hours long....
To mark that anniversary, "Brother Minister," which was released in theaters in 1995, is available for the first time on DVD.
Directed by Jack Baxter, this makes good use of archival footage of Malcolm X interviews and rallies, as well as numerous written documents after they were declassified by the federal government.
Along with telling the basic "whodunit" story of the killing, the film also provides a concise primer on the history of the Nation of Islam and its controversial founder, Elijah Muhammad; a short look at the civil rights movement in the United States; and biographical context on Malcolm.
While it would have been easy to simply hint at a government conspiracy, something that assassination buffs love to embrace, Baxter puts forward all the facts without judgment. The conclusions as to the people responsible for Malcolm X's death do not come from the filmmakers but from the subjects interviewed -- such as famed defense attorney William Kunstler and historian John Henrik Clarke.
Also worth noting is the extremely unflattering picture painted of Louis Farrakhan, a former protégé of Malcolm's. One chilling portion comes from a videotape of Farrakhan speaking to a closed meeting of the Nation of Islam.
With great emotion, Farrakhan seemingly justifies Malcolm's assassination because he was "a traitor."
The film is almost two hours long....