Still, “Seven Songs” will sing mostly to role-model-hungry black men with the staged images of stoical Fruit-of-Islam types standing dolefully by the dead man’s body veering close to unreflective canonization. Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices (1996), and four opera libretti including, X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X. (Stewart Tabori & Chang)February All from 8. Now comes an extensively researched collection of photographs of Malcolm X, focusing on the years 1959 to 1965, when he was in the public eye. She has written scripts for lms, including Paid in Full (2002) and W. Already a cultural icon, Malcolm X is increasingly recognized as one of the towering leaders and thinkers in American history. Where film succeeds best is in its subtle evocation of the emotional hangover left by this complex figure’s spiritual transformations and untimely demise. Thulani Davis is the author of several novels and poetry books. Spike Lee, just releasing his “Malcolm X” at the time he was interviewed for this film, comes across as glib and disinterested, and Malcolm’s widow, Betty Shabazz, is represented by stunningly feeble utterances. Scholars will be able to glean some brief but probing quotes from (poorly identified) subjects, such as writers Thulani Davis and Greg Tate, as well as seldom-heard sources such as the leader’s brother, Wilfred Little.

Shuffling from arrestingly color-tinted b&w interviews to emblematic, elegantly static moments from Malcolm’s life, pic takes too long to find an engaging rhythm.

A more timely release would have helped this stylish docu, although X-followers will seek it out anyway.

Malcolm X by Thulani Davis