Rating: 8.3
Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X (1994)
X-ceptional Productions

Readers: 5/5 (1 vote)

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115 mins

Director
Jefri Aalmuhammed
Jack Baxter

Music
Richie Havens
Frank Herrero

Narrator/Host
Roscoe Lee Browne

Producer
Lewis Kesten

Movie data: IMDB

Description

Documentary about the life and death of Malcolm X.

Tags

Civil rights movement


Collected reviews and ratings

10 Amazon user reviews

Very educational for those interested in Malcolm and his effect on people.
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9.2 digitallyobsessed.com | Jon Danziger

Director Jack Baxter has tracked down archival footage, and has conducted interviews with many of those who new Malcolm best, in his last years especially, and his film is deeply evocative of Malcolm's life and times and influence.
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9.2 Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

Above all, the movie reminds us of the most haunting aspect of Malcolm X's murder: that on some level it was an act of cultural suicide — the soul of black America destroyed from within.
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8.1 DVD Verdict | Bill Gibron

Though its take on the time and the people involved can be occasionally mesmerizing, Brother Minister is missing a big chunk of the Malcolm X story. Not being able to understand what made him such a hated figure turns his killing from a social tragedy into a '60s statistic. This remarkable individual deserves better than such a slight. While this documentary deserves praise for the part it plays in illuminating the "who," it doesn't try and deliver the "why."
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8.0 Variety | Emanuel Levy

"Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X" is an interesting documentary that raises more than it answers provocative questions about the forces involved in the 1965 killing of the charismatic black leader.
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8.0 Washington Post | Alona Wartofsky

"Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X" does not advance the art of documentary filmmaking. Its production values are tacky, and at times it is confusing and hard to follow. Yet this film, which attempts to unravel the events that led to the black leader's shooting 30 years ago, is a riveting two hours; ultimately, it paints a deeply disturbing portrait of America.
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7.5 Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

There are times when Baxter offers so much evidence, often contradictory, that we are not sure exactly what point he is making. But the film offers an invaluable opportunity to hear the surviving witnesses, participants and experts speak in their own words, and eventually an overall picture emerges.
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6.0 DVD Talk | Eric D. Snider

Only the most ardent supporters of Malcolm X are liable to find much enjoyment in this undistinguished documentary.
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