Death of a Prophet

Well-intentioned, very deliberate docudrama (don't be scared by introductory remarks from real people, this is not another documentary, you just have to wait a little bit for the drama) recounting the hours and minutes from Malcom X arrival in New York till his assassination at the Audobon Ballroom.. A pall of foreboding hangs over the entire proceedings, as it did in real life. Malcom knew his life was threatened, just not exactly by who, and the muted action cuts back and forth between X worrying and his killers plotting as time ticks to the final conflagration

Everything is fairly and appropriately underplayed, maintaining the docu and resisting overplayed drama, which otherwise so often happens when directors can't resist the temptation to over-lionize the latter day legend more so than he was at the time of the actual events.

Not surprisingly Morgan Freeman as X is definitely on board with this. I don't think he's ever chewed a piece of scenery in his entire career. And all the lesser players follow suit.

If you're looking for big studio fireworks see Spike Lee's , which i HIGHLY recommend, but this one's for appreciation of the real, excruciating anticipation of facing the final abyss.

The DVD jacket says "Highlighted by newsreel footage and insightful interviews, Death of a Prophet is the tragic, truthful and awe-inspiring story of the last 24hours of Malcolm X." Now, wouldn't a reasonable person conclude this is a historically accurate account based on that description? I did, yet the cars are frequently from the 70's, "Malcolm" discuss the death of Dr. King with an elderly man, even though he died before Dr. King! I guess he really was a prophet! There are more examples, but you get the point.

This is really sloppy movie making. I'm surprised Morgan Freeman would associate himself with such a jumbled-up mess.

I'm sorry, but I guess you had to see it in 1981.

Part of the distaste here is that it doesn't really compare to Spike Lee's last good film.

And the other part is Morgan Freeman. It's really hard to see him as Malcolm X. That's not to say that he isn't a good actor, and it is not to say that Washington is a better actor.

Push comes to shove anyone will take Freeman over Washington for most roles...and Freeman does his best, but he just doesn't have it in his personality to capture Malcolm X. He's lacking the ominous intensity he's, well...

...it's honestly just really hard to see Freeman as anyone that's ever been militant.

It's not unlike his role in Glory, or Robin hood, you can see him as the teacher, the father figure of a group of soldiers...but the moment he picks up a rifle (or in Robin Hood a sword) and threatens to harm someone else...you lose that willing suspension of disbelief.

It may be easy to see him in the role of a Civil Rights leader...but not one as Militant as Malcolm X.

It may just be me, but I like Freeman because I get wise and peaceful father-figure vibe off him, or even just the teacher vibe...and that's only a small part of Malcolm X.

It just didn't sit right. The casting ruined the film for me. But like I said, it could be that I watched it in 2017, after the Spike Lee adaptation of his life, and not in 1981 before Freeman established himself as the teacher-father figure for the audience.

This movie tells of the last 24 hrs of X's life.. Morgan Freeman does this film justice.. A must see for any X fans.. Has real life X's daughter in it also.

Too bad there's not a zero star option . . . This movie deserves it.

Aside from. Terrible acting & cheezy production - even for '81 - the only other comment I will add is . . .

No wonder so many young people have skewed ideas about history . . . And the kids who viewed this in the 80s are now in their 40s, 50s, 60s - I wonder how many still have skewed narratives rattling around in their ideologies . . .