‘Real Malcolm X’ a Timely Companion to Film

The one-hour documentary “The Real Malcolm X: An Intimate Portrait of the Man,” produced by CBS News and hosted by CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather, started in the home video market and will then move to TV. Usually, videos go on the market a few months after being aired on TV.

In this case, though, the CBS Video tape, which sells for $20, has been out since last week. CBS will air it Thursday at 9 p.m.

“It wasn’t originally planned this way,” CBS-TV spokeswoman Donna Dees said. “The plan was to air this a long time ago. It was finished months ago, but it’s tough to get air time for a documentary.”

The video and TV show aren’t identical. “The TV show has some updated information that’s not on the video,” Dees said. “It also has more Dan Rather stand-ups.”

The video is an excellent companion to Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X,” helping answer questions about Malcolm’s life that the film raises.

CBS dug into its news archives to find never-before-seen footage of Malcolm X, mainly at speaking engagements and political functions. The documentary creates a personality profile through reminiscences of family members, friends and celebrities such as Quincy Jones, writer Maya Angelou and politician Andrew Young.

It documents Malcolm X’s transformation from pimp and prison inmate to black nationalist leader and explains his break with Muslim leader Elijah Muhammad.

The real stunners, though, are the footage of his assassination and funeral, and an old “60 Minutes” interview with one of the killers.