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Product Description: Edward Norton's Academy Award nominated role as a White Supremist who sees the error of his ways while jailed for murder. Unfortunately he leaves prison to find his brother (Edward Furlong) heading down the same path.Running Time: 119 min.System Requirements:Directed by Tony Kaye Writing credits David McKenna Cast overview first billed only: Edward Norton Edward Furlong Beverly D Angelo Jennifer Lien Ethan Suplee Fairuza Balk Avery Brooks Elliott Gould Stacy Keach William Russ Guy Torry Joseph Cortese Jason Bose Smith Antonio David Lyons Alex Sol ;Runtime: USA:117;Sound Mix: Dolby Digital / SDDSFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 794043473920 Amazon.com: Perhaps the highest compliment you can pay to Edward Norton is that his Oscar-nominated performance in American History X nearly convinces you that there is a shred of logic in the tenets of white supremacy. If that statement doesn't horrify you, it should; Norton is so fully immersed in his role as a neo-Nazi skinhead that his character's eloquent defense of racism is disturbingly persuasive--at least on the surface. Looking lean and mean with a swastika tattoo and a mind full of hate, Derek Vinyard (Norton) has inherited racism from his father, and that learning has been intensified through his service to Cameron (Stacy Keach), a grown-up thug playing tyrant and teacher to a growing band of disenfranchised teens from Venice Beach, California, all hungry for an ideology that fuels their brooding alienation. The film's basic message--that hate is learned and can be unlearned--is expressed through Derek's kid brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), whose sibling hero-worship increases after Derek is imprisoned (or, in Danny's mind, martyred) for the killing of two black men. Lacking Derek's gift of rebel rhetoric, Danny is easily swayed into the violent, hateful lifestyle that Derek disowns during his thoughtful time in prison. Once released, Derek struggles to save his brother from a violent fate, and American History X partially suffers from a mix of intense emotions, awkward sentiment, and predictably inevitable plotting. And yet British director Tony Kaye (who would later protest against Norton's creative intervention during post-production) manages to juggle these qualities--and a compelling clash of visual styles--to considerable effect. No matter how strained their collaboration may have been, both Kaye and Norton can be proud to have created a film that addresses the issue of racism with dramatically forceful impact. --Jeff Shannon Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-07-02
American History X
Gripping! Edward Norton and Edward Furlong are incredible actors. The movie is an eye opener about hatred, intolerance, and environmental effects on our behavior. The events in the story could be true to life makes it scary. Compelling story. Rating:
Date: 2008-07-02
American History X - Public perception of a masterpiece in retrospect
Vintage years for film seem to come in bunches - the late forties - the late nineties - being primary examples. In the thick - when the critics become the most confused - spoiled by the surfeit, we, the movie going masses seem to troop along. Such a year for film was 1998-1999. Most of us have had our differences with the judgments of The Academy of Arts and Sciences (if you're not smiling by now - don't read further). But none of the Academy's many shameful blunders compare to what went down on Oscar night 1998. Let me remind you. The nominees for best picture: Shakespeare In Love (winner), Elizabeth, Life is Beautiful (Best Foreign Language Film winner), Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line. O.K. I'll ask: Would any of you today, in your right mind, claim that any of these films (every one of them set in Europe, by the way), with the possible exception of Saving Private Ryan, held a candle to that enduring masterpiece, in the opinion of so many here, and elsewhere, one of the greatest and most important and moving films ever made, American History X?
Over time, the vox populi imparts justice of sorts. These days, when I inquire of my 20-something students if any of them have seen Shakespeare In Love, maybe a hand goes up. Perhaps, this handily-crafted piece of fluff (with its cavalier sense of history) made all the more delicious by the mellifluous, long-waisted presence of La Paltrow, goddess of the late dot com boom in the blush of young beauty, deserved a better fate. Perhaps not. Perhaps, the spectacle of Gwynnie dancing with Daddy (like Candy) at her Oscar coronation helped prepare T.V. audiences for the nepotistic profligacy of the coming Bush inauguration. Perhaps, nothing could have prepared them.
The response to American History X is, of course, quite different. A decade later, an entirely new generation of viewers again experiences the intensity and passion of this magisterial cinematic statement and responds in kind. My point is: there's no substitute for a film which has something crucial say and says it as well as it could be said.
We all know how much inconsequential junk is passed of as cinema every year. Like the audience, the film industry must eat to stay alive. Clichés, humorless as ever, abound. Ask Bruce Willis to say something on film. That's why I'm upset. When a great script gets made into a masterpiece, in Hollywood no less, even the best tend to shun or worse, pan it. Or misunderstand it. This film is about a lot more than misguided white racist supremacy. Please. And Derek's rhetoric is not that logically powerful or convincing to be obsessed over, as many critics have, at the expense of all the many more important things this film says.
Take the greatest screenwriting mentors: Robert McKee and Syd Field. McKee's masterpiece, Story, may be best book ever written on dramatic writing (roll over Aristotle), or writing narrative, period. Sine qua non for attempting to write for the cinema. What is the favorite script of these genius pedagogues? Chinatown. No doubt a great script - the textbook exemplar. And - in many senses a great film - made at a pivotal moment in the history of film - a moment it eulogized - the passing of film noir. Yeah. The ultimate corruption of the world, the masked and massive darkness we found our world on. The perversity of power we enshrine in our struggle for survival. But to tell you truly, American History X (to my knowledge wholly ignored by both Field and McKee in their writings and seminars) is the greater script (for all the principles it betrays) and the greater film. The proof is in the pudding: this film enunciates the essential conflict of our time, not another, or the fruit of that conflict, whichever way one wishes to see it. And I would go further. I would say, in the progressive cadences of its tragedy, in the somber measure of its gravity, this script ranks with the best of Aescylus and Sophocles. You mean Oedipus X? Yuh, that too. That grimy little block of Venice, CA takes on epic proportion by the film's end.
The night the Academy snubbed American History X has long since receded into the past. But that history which is ours, depicted here, is an event which we must claim as our own, a responsibility which none of us, as a humanity, can evade.
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Date: 2008-05-29
Cream of the Crop
Hands down, this is an amazing movie. There is very little to find wrong with this movie.
The acting is by far the highlight of this film. While not his breakout role, this is the first movie where Norton really showed he was a star. He goes from downright scary to completely likable through the movie. More importantly, its a transition you really believe.
Furlong, who bothers me a lot, mostly it's his voice, also puts in a good performance. The rest of the cast also adds a lot to the movie. I am a fan of Ethan Suplee, and this is role is one of the reasons. Also Fairuza Balk puts in a sold performance. And Avery Brooks, always a winner, really comes through. I think Brooks puts in the second best performance, next to Norton, of the whole film. In a movie with the caliber of acting, thats saying something.
The story itself is uplifting in it's own way, but still very dark. This is definitely a drama, so anyone looking for lighter fair should steer clear. Normally I am not a fan of flashbacks, but they are handled very well. The pacing is dead on, and the viewer is not left wondering how much time is left until the movie is over.
This is a quality flick, one of my all time favorites, and a must see for any moviegoer. Rating:
Date: 2008-05-18
A Lesson for Us All!
This movie rocked the nation when it came out. It's the film that put Edward Norton(Incredible Hulk, The 25th Hour, The Score) on the radar.
The movie is a statement about racism, family and hate. Anyone that has seen this movie, can relate in one way or another. It makes you think about what you've done, what you've said and where that hate comes from. Everyone can take something away from this film, some lesson, some meaning.
Ed Norton plays a racist, he goes to prison and when he gets out, his younger brother Edward Furlong (Terminator 2, Brainscan, Jimmy and Judy) is just like him. A racist full of unbridled hate for no good reason. Norton is healed, no longer a racist, matured and past that stage of his life, he tries to get his brother help and the movie escalates from there, twisting and turning, until the dramatic climax.
A classic, everyone should see this movie! Rating:
Date: 2008-04-14
Had me hooked...
I had heard of this movie and although I like Edward Norton, I was in no hurry to see it. I happen to catch it on cable one night as I was flipping through the channels, folding laundry. The laundry didn't get finished until much later. This movie was so powerful, it just sucked me right in. I loved the story, acting, writing, everything about it. I highly reccommend this to anyone who hasn't seen it. |
