Malcolm X

This biography of the slain civil rights leader Malcolm X is much more than the depiction of a great man's life. It is a film that shows, through the powerful story of one man, a person's ability to reinvent himself and change his life. The film tells of the troubled childhood of Malcolm Little, whose father is murdered by the Ku Klux Klan and whose mother is institutionalized for insanity. Malcolm gets involved with Harlem gangsters, and soon after finds himself in prison where he is introduced to the Islam. He becomes an incendiary speaker for the Islamic movement and he preaches a doctrine of hate against the white man. A pilgrimage to Mecca softens his beliefs and he endeavors to break free of the strict Islamic dogma, with tragic results.