Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Watch us on Youtube Join the Archive Mailing List Read our Blog

Malcolm X

Denzel Washington as Malcolm X outside the Apollo Theatre.
May 5, 2025 - 7:30 pm


Admission is free. No advance reservations. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The box office opens one hour before the event.

Malcolm X

U.S., 1992

Spike Lee’s Malcolm X is more than a biopic — it’s a cinematic reckoning, charting Malcolm X’s journey from street hustler to Black nationalist to a global human rights leader. Lee rewrote Arnold Perl’s script, originally adapted from James Baldwin’s take on the autobiography and later made into a documentary (see May 4 program). Denzel Washington embodies Malcolm X with fire and depth, while Angela Bassett delivers a steadying, luminous performance as Betty Shabazz. Both epic and intimate, Malcolm X remains one of Lee’s most powerful and enduring works.

35mm, color, 201 min. Director: Spike Lee. Screenwriters: Arnold Perl, Spike Lee. Based on the book The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley. With: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo, Albert Hall, Al Freeman, Jr.

Watch the trailer: