American History X Back to Index

Imdb Rating: 8.5
Genre: Crime
Directed: David McKenna (written by)
Country: USA
Year: 1998
Duration: 119 min

Media: Hot stuff
Recommended by zMin

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Actors: Edward Norton (as Derek Vinyard), Edward Furlong (as Danny Vinyard), Beverly D'Angelo (as Doris Vinyard), Avery Brooks (as Dr. Bob Sweeney), Jennifer Lien (as Davina Vinyard), Ethan Suplee (as Seth Ryan), Stacy Keach (as Cameron Alexander), Fairuza Balk (as Stacey), Elliott Gould (as Murray), Guy Torry (as Lamont), William Russ (as Dennis Vinyard), Joseph Cortese (as Rasmussen (as Joe Cortese)), Jason Bose Smith (as Little Henry (as Jason Bose-Smith)), Antonio David Lyons (as Lawrence), Alex Sol (as Mitch McCormick)

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Description: "Some Legacies Must End."

A former neo-nazi skinhead (Norton) tries to prevent his younger brother (Furlong) from going down the same wrong path that he did.

Comment: A good friend of mine suggested this film, and I really didnt know what to expect going in, but after this film was over, I sat in stunned silence. I knew that racism was horrible, but I found through this film that it does not come without a terrible price..the loss of love, friends, family...and the realization that everything that you believed to be true isnt always the way things are. Edward Norton's performance takes the viewer through this journey, and its not a pretty one. He goes from an bright young man, to a vengeful bigot, to a remorseful excon with a brothers life in jeopardy, and you feel as though you are looking in on someones life in the course of 2 hrs. All of the acting in this film is first rate, and the ending wasnt quite as predictable as others might have you believe...it is quite shocking, as is much of the film. It causes quite a debate on the way people view others whos skin color is not the same. As Dr. King said, judge me not on the color of my skin, but on the content of my character. I live with racism, because I am a black man living in America...it exists, but if we educate ourselves like the main character in AHX, it wont stay around for much longer. Hopefully it wont be too late, as it was for him. Peace and Love, JB33 Rating 5 stars

IMDB TRIVIA FOR AMERICAN HISTORY X (1998):
- Edward Norton was said to have re-edited the film to lengthen his screen time. Director Tony Kaye then attempted to get his name removed but violated a Directors' Guild of America rule that states that directors that use pseudonyms (such as "Alan Smithee") must not talk about why they had their name removed - which Tony Kaye had done in ads in Variety. Kaye sued the DGA and New Line Cinema for $200 million stating that the DGA rule violated his first amendment rights.
- Seth wears a shirt during the basketball game featuring the number 88. This is a naziskin code for HH, or "Heil Hitler," H being the 8th letter of the alphabet. It also refers to a set of 88 precepts written by the neo-nazi leader David Lane. The 88 precepts are rules and concepts that all White Supremacists lived by.
- The punk band Anti-Heroes sued New Line Cinema over a character's tattoo featuring the band. The band did not want to be associated with Nazis, even fictional ones, in any way. The band went on to record a song called "NLC" that debases the film studio.
- Edward Norton gained 30 pounds of muscle for his role.
- According to the book Cinematic Century, Tony Kaye's lawsuit against the studio over the use of his name in the credits was for $275 million.
- This film uses the word "fuck" 205 times.
- The diner that Danny and Derek get breakfast before Danny goes to school in the morning is the same diner that is used in The Big Lebowski (1998).
- The quotation that concludes Danny's paper is from the closing words of Abraham Lincoln's first Inaugural Address in 1861.
- Director Tony Kaye wanted his credit to read "Humpty Dumpty" according to Entertainment Weekly.
- The café that Edward Norton and his brother eat at is on Wilshire and Fairfax in Los Angeles. The café is actually Johnny's, which is only open for filming.
- The character of Cameron Alexander is based on Tom Metzger, leader of the White Aryan Resistance (WAR), an extremist white supremacy group based in southern California.>>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<- SPOILER: The script's conclusion had Derek shaving his head in the bathroom of the school, transforming back into a naziskin after the death of his brother. However, this was never filmed and dropped from subsequent re-writes of the screenplay.

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