Malcolm X

By Any Means Necessary:
The Making of Malcolm X

When filmmaker Spike Lee undertook to make the definitive screen biography of civil rights leader Malcolm X, he thought the project would be a huge challenge.

He had no idea.

This documentary, narrated by James Earl Jones and featuring interviews with Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, Ozzie Davis, Martin Scorsese and many others, follows the film as its budget spirals out of control, prompting the studio to pull the plug. Undaunted, Spike Lee approached leading figures in the African-American community, including Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby and Michael Jordan, to provide the funding to complete the film. Lee’s commitment and his single-minded vision are the beating heart of this documentary, as we watch him risk his career and his reputation to make a film worthy of the name, Malcolm X.