Caught Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" on HBO the other day. Hadn't seen it in ages. Easily Lee's best film, and Denzel Washington's finest performance. Is it me, or did Denzel get robbed by not getting the Best Actor Oscar for it? He was nominated, but lost to Al Pacino (for "Scent of a Woman"!). My conspiracy mind tells me that the Academy would never award someone for playing Malcolm X, no matter how great the portrayal (and Denzel was fucking great). And when they do give it to Denzel, it's for a performance where he plays a corrupt, murderous cop in an otherwise medicore film ("Training Day"). Hell, I'll extend that to Lee's film itself, which, had it been about a less "controversial" figure, would've probably won Best Picture, so sweeping is it in scope.
And when does the Academy award an African-American bio pic? "Ray," with Jamie Foxx. Now, I love Ray Charles, but one can easily see the difference between rewarding that film, and rewarding one where the main character calls for the US to be tried for crimes against its black population.
DP