Spike Lee’s double Oscar nominated biographical epic, Malcolm X, is coming to the UK for the first time in stunning 4K from the 29th of July, courtesy of Icon.

 

The 4K Ultra HD special collector’s edition contains an exclusive, limited-edition poster and four art cards. The film will also be released as a standalone Blu-ray, with both editions including 21 minutes of deleted scenes and the film’s original trailer. Its a shame that there isn’t a full length commentary on the film as Malcolm X would have been a great film to go even further into the history by using special features such as commentaries, but with the films running time clocking in at nearly three and a half hours, plus the fact its a 4K UHD, then disc space will have been limited in order to maximise the picture and sound quality.  It will be great to see the scenes that weren’t included in the final cut though. The deleted scenes also have introductions by Spike Lee.

 

Academy Award winner Denzel Washington stars in a career-best performance as Malcolm X, one of the most charismatic and divisive political voices in American history. From poverty to prominence, from hustler to humanist, Malcolm X and his ideologies touched the lives of millions and continue to inspire and enlighten. Some people may be a little put off by the fact the film runs for 3 hours and 20 minutes, and I can say having seen the film twice over the years, it doesn’t feel like a 200 minute film. its wonderfully paced and doesn’t drag at all which isn’t an easy feat for a film this long. A film like Malcolm X needs this running time to tell the story it wants to tell. Whilst 3 hours films aren’t uncommon nowadays, back in the early 90s they were few and far between. The film was super ambitious in its production back them, and that’s how it needed to be. It succeeded. For its $33m budget, it made $73m and for those who think that wasn’t a box office hit. Here we are 30 years later, talking about the film and its 4K release.

 

The complex life of this endlessly fascinating civil rights leader is traced in great detail and doesn’t shy away from the less than favourable events in Malcolm’s life and I cant think of a director who was more suited to taking on this film than Spike Lee, who masterfully combines historical and contemporary perspectives to create one of the most ambitious, expansive, and acclaimed biographical dramas that’s been made.

 

Alongside Denzel Washington, the film also features such greats as Delroy Lindo as Archie, Theresa Randle as Laura, Angela Bassett as Betty Shabazz,, James McDaniel as Brother Earl, Wendell Pierce as Ben Thomas, Giancarlo Esposito as Thomas and David Patrick Kelly as Mr Ostrowski. I haven’t seen the movie since it arrived on VHS in the 1990s and it is a film that I have been meaning to revisit for a while now. Treating myself to this 4K bluray was a great idea and the 4K restoration is great. Its certainly a better picture quality and sound quality than the VHS I watched many moons ago.