Lindy Hop Scene from Malcolm X

[trilobright]

Would a Boston nightclub in the 1940's have really been like this, or is this a deliberately campy wink at MGM musicals and Warner Brothers Censored 11 cartoons? I mean someone without their glasses on would be forgiven for mistaking this for an actual cartoon.

[babah77088]

ITS SHOWTIME

[HerrFridolf]

Gotta love it! Look also for Chazz Young and Ryan Francois.

[tommyt1971]

Saw Spike Lee speak at my college & he told us that Denzel learned how to jitterbug & did his own dancing in here. Pretty damn impressive!

[Aberforthette]

omg ive been llearning some of those moves

[funkstagazza]

Greatest dance scene in a film.

[apachefox2]

hey people which song is playing can someone inform me?? thx

[twinbreed]

Flying Home by Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra

[tommyt1971]

"Flying Home" by Lionel Hampton. The vers in the film was recorded for it, the orig vers is on the soundtrack album. Great disc, pick it up, worth the money!

[oklaherseygurl]

aww! I saw Frankie :/ i'm so sad he died :(

[Chazz00]

I remember being in the movie theater watching this part, and the crowd nearly went crazy. I only had to have been a pre-teen at the time, and it amazes now as much as it did back then.

[tommyt1971]

It was incredible on a big screen! The sound syst I saw it in was also a good one - the tune filled the theatre!

[tendarine1]

Does someone know how the song on the beginning of that movie is called? It goes "you are so beautiful, but you have to die someday"

[ThunderBunny3500]

Roll Em Pete, the most famous version is by Joe Williams with Count Basie.

[tendarine1]

Thanks a lot!

[bodang1234]

wicked :D

[dpkvwells]

this scene was absolutly fabulous.....the dancing alone should have gotten an oscar

[jazzybee1]

Say Roseland!

ROSELAND!

anybody remember that part?

[CobraLog]

who sing this song?because im fin to try to bring this lindy dancing and swing dancing back.

[joninho22]

dude its back, and believe me, its on the rise again. just about every major city has a decent scene nowadays, just google the city your in and you'll find something. its pretty much a sure bet.

[jazzybee1]

People looked like they had fun back then..besides techno music has the same elements as swing did, people just don't realize that nowadays.

[wizzfoot]

Techno having same elements? Very funny indeed! Savoy swing music and that of Lionel Hampton's 'Flying Home' (as featured in clip) has no off beat hi hat, drum kits of that era simply didn't have one.most music 4 dancing then was 8/4 time. To compare the most mind numbingly boring music on earth (techno) to a killer diller jazz/swing orchestra, is frankly inanity at it's most rampant! You wanna hear something of the hook from 1928, check "georgia grind' by state street ramblers

[jazzybee1]

I see your point, but I really meant the instrumental elements of it. Like mostly having no words.

[sonarman65]

Number is called "Flying Home", derived WW2

when GI's looked forward to flyin' home to the good old USA. Band is supposed to be

Lionel Hampton and baby Spike Lee has hit it dead on. What a great scene. Now tell me, does this swing? or DOES THIS SWING?

Lionel lives again, God bless 'em. The arrangement is scary its so perfect. Now boys and girls check out Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Chick Webb, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller,

Count Basie. Its better than sex.

Can you tell I love this stuff?

[jacklav1]

Not meaning to be a negative Norbert or anything but it don't swing for me. The song is breathtaking but the dancing is a bit hammy and there's no sort of bounce or jump or swing to the dancefloor. There. I said it.

[wizzfoot]

Tune was written before WW2,used as a battle song for end of night at Savoy,when jam/dance comp wld take place. for $10 dollar prize, cats wld save their best ariel moves (Flying) for this moment. G.I's were shipped and not flown,they adopted it as their 'ironic' anthem...One night in '38@ The Savoy, a young cat,listing to the song on the balcony ,high on viper(weed) thought he cld fly and jumped, broke both legs! count basie wrote '2nd Balcony jump' in his honour. Scene's a bit M.T.V. not real

[joninho22]

and if you want some really swingin stuff look into les brown, jimmy lunceford, and erskine hawkins.

[Chiswick2]

What is this song called and who is it by?

[MOBROOKS]

GREAT MOVIE! GREAT SCENE! they copied this scene in "mona lisa smile" and it wasn't nearly as good.

[ktrain115]

Spike's Lindy is no better or worse than anybody else's in this clip with the possible exception of Denzel's

[skaselecter]

spike lee does not suck!!!

[FruitTingle]

I ment to say his Lindy sucks, he as a person doesn't suck, but his Lindy does :)

[J5MARLON]

He's trying to excape from the big woman throughout the scene. That's part of the scene.

[totallybarefoot]

If Alex Haley really saw the serious and dignified Malcolm X stand do a little lindy hop in his kitchen as they were writing the autobiography, I would give anything to be able to have seen that.

[HI1CLASS]

THIS MOVIE IS GREAT

[FruitTingle]

spike lee sure sucks and lindy, but what FUN!

[remedave]

wish i was born in these days

[mastshke]

eh glitz and glamer along with segregation and murder these days may not be better but they are better than that...those times werent that good.

[Taajj23]

So kool...