Summary

Rating: 9/10 (1 December 2011)

American History X is a 1998 drama film directed by Tony Kaye, starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. The film tells the story of two brothers, Derek Vinyard and Daniel "Danny" Vinyard from Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California. They are both smart and charismatic boys. Their father, who was formally a firefighter, was murdered by a black drug dealer while trying to fight a fire in a South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, and Derek is drawn into this whole neo-Nazi movement. In the movie older brother Derek kills two black gang members who he catches in the act of breaking into the truck left to him by his father, and is sentenced to three years in prison for voluntary manslaughter. The story shows how Danny is influenced by his older brother's actions and mindset and how Derek, now suddenly changed by his experience in prison, which includes a violent rape scene by white inmates.
This is a very controversial film and is bound to spark up a ton of conversation. While watching this film it is best to have an open mind set so that feeling or cultural preferences don't interfere with the point that the movie is trying to make.