American History X
Tags: suspenseful, murder, dramatic, cult, violence, thought-provoking, flashback, clever, tragedy, brainwashing, revenge, sentimental

Plot synopsis:
In the opening scene, we see waves crashing over a beach which eventually changes to a car driving by various stores. We next see a young teen boy Danny (Edward Furlong) trying to sleep but can't due to his older brother Derek (Edward Norton) and his girlfriend Stacey (Fairuza Balk) having loud sex in the next bedroom. A car drives by with three black men inside. The car stops outside Danny and Derek's house. It then shows Derek is caressing Stacy's naked body, Danny is then slowing turning in his sleep. The three black men slowly get out of their car. One goes over to Derek's truck and the other by his house. The one black man then smashes Derek's truck window awaking Danny. Derek and Stacey are then seen in yet another sexual position, her moaning becoming faster. Danny slowly gets up and peers out from his bedroom window. He sees the man that broke Derek's truck window inside looking around. This startles Danny so he runs into his brother's room to find Stacey riding Derek in the cowgirl position. Danny tells Derek what he witnessed but this startles Stacey and Derek. Derek asks Danny how long the man has been there and if he is strapped, Danny says that he doesn't know. Derek takes a pistol out of a nightstand drawer. He then goes down to the middle of the stairs with Danny following him. Derek tells Danny to stay put. Derek then goes to the door and peers out of the peephole. He then kicks the door in and shoots the one black man twice. The man falls down. The other black man makes a run for it but Derek fires three shots from his gun hitting the man with two of them. The other is uninjured and takes off in Derek's truck. Derek fires multiple shots at the truck breaking the back window. Danny looks down and sees the black man injured from the gunshot wounds. Derek then stars to angrily walk toward him, his arm raised as if to gun whip him.In present time, we see Danny is now sitting in the principal's office, waiting to be summoned. As we move into the office, we hear and see Danny's history teacher, Mr. Murray (Elliot Gould), explaining to the principal, Dr. Robert Sweeney (Avery Brooks), that Danny wrote a book report on Mein Kampf, Hitler's autobiography that details his anti-Semitic beliefs. Murray tells Dr. Sweeney that he is offended by Danny's gesture and he wants to see him punished. Instead, Sweeney asks Murray to leave and asks Danny to step in. With an American flag toothpick hanging from his mouth, Danny steps into the office and sits down. Dr. Sweeney begins yelling at Danny, telling him that writing what he did is offensive and he only did it because his brother influenced him in that way. Danny argues of course but in the end Sweeney wins and tells him that he is now his new history teacher. The class is called "American History X" and the next assignment is due tomorrow morning; a paper on his brother, Derek (Edward Norton), who is currently incarcerated. The next scene opens in the school bathroom with three black boys beating up a white boy for telling the teacher that one of them cheated. Suddenly, Danny appears out of one of the stalls and demands that they stop. One boy, Henry, argues with him but Danny simply blows the smoke from his cigarette into his face. The boys leave, Danny helps the white kid from the ground and tells him that he needs to learn to stand up for himself and they leave. Soon we see Danny walking home from school through a park where some black men are playing basketball; one is Henry. We hear Danny begin to narrate the scene and we learn that before Derek went to jail the white kids in the neighborhood didn't have to be afraid of the black kids because Derek made the area safe.The next scenes are flashbacks explaining Derek's journey from a suburban white kid to a vengeance-seeking white supremacist. When Danny and Derek were younger, a black drug dealer shot their father, an LA firefighter, while he was doing his job. Soon after that, a middle-aged white supremacist, Cameron Alexander (Stacy Keach), sought out Derek, hoping to begin a new movement throughout the suburban white youth culture. Cameron convinced Derek that what happened to his father was an act of racism by the black man and it wasn't right and he, or any other white kid, shouldn't be scared. Derek, a natural leader and brilliant orator, began rounding up scared suburban white kids for his new gang and telling them that there was nothing to be afraid of anymore. This new craze became so popular among the kids of Venice Beach that Derek soon became an icon. His legacy started then and continued even throughout the time he spent in jail. The night Derek was arrested, three young Black men were trying to break into his car. Danny hears them and informs his brother. Derek rushed downstairs, gun in hand, and opened the door and began shooting the men. Killing two of the three, Derek then demanded the last man to put his upper teeth on the curb and not move. He then ruthlessly kills him by stomping on the back of his head. Almost immediately after, the police arrive and take Derek away, who submits to them without a fight. As he's handcuffed, Danny sees that Derek has a very telling smile on his face. Later, while Danny attempts to type Sweeney's assignment, he reflects on the fact that if he'd been called into court to testify against his brother, his brother would have been convicted of first degree murder and drawn a much harsher sentence.In jail, Derek tries to find a group of people to hang out with as protection from the Hispanic and black prisoners. Not too long after arriving, he finds a group of white supremacists that accept him. As time went by, Derek noticed and starts to realize the compromises men made to stay ahead in the jail - because the supremacists were a minority, they paid a non-white gang to keep them safe. When he learned that a fellow white supremacist was doing favors for a Mexican man, he became enraged and stopped interacting with the group. Later, Derek was assigned laundry duty with a black inmate named Lamont. Lamont was friendly toward Derek, but Derek was not friendly back, at first. Soon Lamont and Derek began to befriend each other and became good acquaintances. Angered that Derek had befriended a black inmate and seemed to be abandoning them, the gang attacks him in the shower, one of them raping him. The day this happened, Dr. Sweeney, who was also Derek's teacher, came to visit him. As soon as he arrived, Derek broke down in tears and told Sweeney that he wanted out and that he wanted to take everything back and move as far away as possible so he wouldn't hurt his family anymore. Dr. Sweeney told Derek that it wasn't enough; Danny was headed down the same path and he must do whatever was necessary for Danny to not end up like him. Derek agreed and told him that he was ready to do anything for his brother once he was out.After about three years, Derek is released from prison and returns home to find that Danny has become a white supremacist as well. He also learns that what was once a small following has turned into a considerably large one due to Cameron's influence and Derek's legend. That night, Danny and Derek both go to a party that Cameron is throwing for Derek's homecoming. Once there, he finds his old girlfriend, Stacey (Fairuza Balk), and asks her to move far away with him. He tells her that he doesn't want any of this anymore, he's done with white supremacy. Following that, she asks him if he's crazy and runs off in anger. Derek looks for Danny and finally finds him in Cameron's office. Derek tells Danny to leave and that there is a girl outside waiting for him. After Danny leaves, Derek confronts Cameron and tells him that he's done with the whole white supremacist thing and he knows Cameron's game - Cameron had once rolled over on a couple of his own men and let them go to jail. Cameron is infuriated and they start to argue. The argument ends when Derek punches Cameron in the face and then kicks him again while he's down. Derek leaves and calls for Danny to come with him. On his way out, Seth Ryan (Ethan Suplee), a friend of Derek's before he went to jail, starts yelling at him and demanding an answer as to what happened to Cameron. Derek is befuddled and keeps yelling for Danny but then Seth pulls out a gun and points it at Derek. Stacey begins to yell from the side, "Shoot him! Shoot him!" and Seth continues to get closer and closer. Just as Seth is about to do it, Derek grabs the gun and points it up then pushes him and tells him to step away. Derek calls Danny and starts to run away, gun in hand.Danny soon catches up to him and Derek begins to explain his life in prison & his change in attitude. Even though Danny is frustrated with Derek, because he's giving up the only thing he thinks brings the white kids hope against the non-white race, he understands and forgives him and they walk home. When they arrive, Danny begins working on his paper and Derek enters the room. They both look at each other and move toward the wall that is covered in white supremacist propaganda; they take everything down. When they're done, Danny returns to the computer to write his paper and Derek gets into the shower. The following morning, at sunrise, Danny is narrator, telling us the end to his story. He says that he's never watched the sunrise before and he hopes that this paper is what he, Dr. Sweeney, is looking for. Derek gets ready for his meeting with his probation officer and soon they leave together. Derek walks Danny to school before his meeting, and on their way they stop at a Café. There, they meet up with Dr. Sweeney and Captain Rasmussen. They tell Derek that Cameron and Seth were found last night after being jumped and they are now in the hospital. Dr. Sweeney and Rasmussen both ask Derek if he knows anything about it and he swears he doesn't. Derek tells them that he has somewhere to go and that he's going to walk Danny to school before he goes. They set off on their way. As Derek is dropping him off, he staggers over words and finally says "I'll see you at home." Danny departs for the front doors and Derek heads down the street. While he's walking, the audience can sense the fear in Derek. At the same time, Danny enters the bathroom just before class starts. What Danny doesn't know is that Henry is in the bathroom as well. He raises a gun and shoots Danny a number of times as blood spatters against the bathroom stall, he falls to the ground lifeless.Next we see Derek is in the bathroom with Danny. He sits with him and holds his body close to his, extremely distraught. The only things we can hear between sobs are the remarks Derek is making to himself about what he's done. Immediately after, Danny's voice takes over as narrator and we hear the closing statement of the paper he's written about his brother:"So I guess this is where I tell you what I learned - my conclusion, right? Well, my conclusion is: Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time. It's just not worth it. Derek says it's always good to end a paper with a quote. He says someone else has already said it best. So if you can't top it, steal from them and go out strong. So I picked a guy I thought you'd like. 'We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.' " We see an image of Venice Beach as waves crash over the sunset, then the credits start to roll.

Review: I also agree with the point in the movie that proves that people can change for the better and straighten things out in their head to do the right things in life.
The movie does not give a hopeful message but instead shows the dangers and pain you're causing to yourself and your close environment when you're thinking as a white supremacist.As an anti Neo-Nazi movie this movie works really powerful.
I think that its a really good and important thing that this movie is often shown in classrooms.Edward Norton is truly fantastic in his role.
Furlong and Norton are both acting well together in their scene's are highly believable as two brothers.Also surprising good was the musical score by Anne Dudley who had already won an Oscar for "The Full Monty", the year before.This was a movie that surprisingly impressed me.
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.
I honestly don't think I have ever seen a better movie than American History X in my entire life!
It answers many questions I have long awaited an answer to such as what could possibly make someone act as Derek did in this movie, yet left open-ended many others that people such as myself may have.
I was stunned walking out of the theater after seeing American History X, and I don't think I will ever have the benefit of seeing another movie as good as this one as long as I live.
I believe that this movie was a whole lot more than just a ground-breaking, controversial drama; it was a portrayal of exactly how much damage can be done to a family and a nation simply because of the hate for a person or people of a different color, for almost no reason at all.
IT can be simplistic at times, but the messages are powerful in this great Ed Norton film.
Meanwhile Derek leaves prison a reformed man with only the desire to repair the damage he once did to his family with his beliefs and his hate.I was looking forward to see this film as I missed it at the cinema and am a firm believer that Edward Norton is one of the most talented actors of his generation and is always worth seeing (even if some of his films have given less than he deserves).
Having seen the pompous fool interviewed several times, I find it quite self assuring that I don't agree with his opinions of it!The plot is a mix of flashback into Derek's hate filled past (told in b&w) and the present (colour) where he is desperate to save his brother and family from suffering anymore from his `sins'.
One particular weakness which I felt was a little hamfisted was Derek's `road to Damascus' experience in prison  it was OK but was far too easy given the character we had just seen brutally kill several black men.The other main selling point the film has is a performance by Norton that simply ensures he steals nearly every scene he is in.
The direction by Tony Kaye with his mixture of black &  white history contrasting with colourful reality is magic to absorb and  shows this film up to be what it is  a true American Classic,  ironically by a British director.
Without wanting to spoil the film Derek encounters change in the  prison, he meets a black man whom he works with and faces his own  demons inside, I will leave it there for those who want to be moved by  his transformation.
Kaye's use of black & white creates an atmospheric drama that builds  tension and has you feeling like a stung out piece of drum leather by  mid movie.
I love the way that Kaye subtly uses quotes and  intellectualises the Nazi Stance, only to watch it being broken down by  the same man (Derek / Norton).
To sum up American History X is a powerful intelligent drama, which  provides plenty of discussion after the movie.
Its main character is Derek (Edward Norton), a neo-Nazi skinhead who is released from jail to find his younger brother (Edward Furlong) descending down the same corrupt path as he once walked.In jail Derek learns a few things about life, and racism, or more appropriately, himself, and after becoming a free man again takes it upon himself to set his brother on the straight and narrow path."American History X" is not a pleasant motion picture.
Director Tony Kaye disowned the film after Norton (allegedly) re-edited footage to give himself more screen time.
They later wrote a song, called "NLC," bashing the company.Despite the hard-edged controversy it's still a very good film, above all else extremely well-acted and featuring a gripping storyline  even if the direction isn't always up to par.Edward Norton is simply superb in his role, showing extremely raw talent a mere two years after his film debut (in the Richard Gere thriller "A Primal Fear").
Norton careens between the role of a raging, vicious supremacist and a kindler, gentler version of the same character; a metamorphosis so convincing it's hard to believe it's just one actor.The rest of the cast is good as well  Furlong gives the best performance of his career and Beverly D'Angelo and Stacy Keach have strong supporting roles.
The black-and-white photography isn't on the same level, visually, as "Raging Bull" or "Schindler's List." The preaching is a bit heavy-handed at times.But it still manages to convey an important lesson and boasts great acting complimented by an (overall) impressive, gut-wrenching screenplay.
The movie made me realize how much the public attitude toward race has changed since the late 1960s, when optimistic films like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" confronted racism by creating immensely likable African-American characters and ignoring any other social and cultural tensions that might pose a barrier to interracial relationships.
That isn't exactly the most inspiring message about race relations.My main reason for wanting to watch this movie in the first place was to understand better how an extremist hatemonger could change.
Outstanding film with a sensational performance by Edward Norton as fanatic Nazi.
It happens in Venice , California and deals with a young man , a skinhead and leader of a violent white supremacist gang named Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) previously seduced into the fascist bunch by Alexander (Stacy Keach) .
As his only thought is to steer his brother away from that same violent past and being helped by a reformist headmaster (Avery Brooks).Intense and thought-provoking drama with powerful performances and slick direction , being developed by means of flashbacks filmed in black and white and color .
Edward Norton sounds and looks more like the president of the Yale Republican Club than a white supremacist skinhead - the movies truly fatal flaw considering he's the linchpin of the whole thing.
The story, the underlying message and personal transformation of Norton's character should be considered the pillars of this film.
Unfortunately, the most impressive thing about the movie was the way Norton changed his body for the role.
My 9/10 rating is because "American History X" is very well done in every way, except that it seems that when Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) started spouting out the anti-Semitic diatribe, they should have asked him what became of his humanity.
A white supremacist Derek (Edward Norton) is sent to jail for brutally killing two black men who try to steal his car.
The only bad acting was by Avery Brooks--but he's not really a main character so it doesn't really hurt the film.Some of the sequences in here were very difficult to watch (the attack on the store, the prison sequences and the finale) but they're meant to be that way.
It stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong, and co-stars Fairuza Balk, Stacy Keach, Elliott Gould, Avery Brooks, Ethan Suplee and Beverly D'Angelo.In a shocking opening scene, teen Danny Vinyard (Edward Furlong) races to tell his older brother, neo-Nazi Derek (Edward Norton), about the young blacks breaking into his car in front of the house, whereupon Derek gets his gun and with no forethought shoots the youths in their tracks.
The acting is great all around, and Edward Norton gives one of the best performances of all time.
Edward Norton does an excellent job as Derek Vinyard, a venomous, hateful leader of a local gang of skinheads.The movie takes a singular look at a young man who is entrenched in the White Supremist movement, then how he emerged from that life, and even how he started down that path to begin with.
But the movie also shows the interaction between the Whites and Blacks in the 'hoods of L.A. There was by no means an angelic depiction of the African-Americans in this film.
A few of the blacks shown were thugs who in part helped shape the views that Derek and his brother Danny (Edward Furlong) held as White Supremists, but there were also a couple of key African-American characters that helped to reshape the views of Derek and Danny."American History X" made sure to do it right and make it true to life.
This was no "Mississippi Burning" or "Rosewood" detailing events of the past, rather this was a movie showing the present, the good and bad in both parties, and the different ways people can be reformed..
If you want to be obnoxious and confrontational to the white folks, and go around shooting them through the head for no good reason, that is understandable because they are all probably horrid racists and deserve it.This film should be burned along with the small-minded chumps that made it..
I really appreciated how those associated with this excellent film refused to pull any punches in showing the life of a young skin-head so ably portrayed by Edward Norton.
This is the story of a neo-Nazi named Derek who repents and gets out of prison just in time to save his kid brother Danny, who is going down the same skinhead path.
Much of the greatest pieces of art in the history if cinema rated lower than this, which tells me the moral message pulled on heart strings.It deserved a 6, why can't people be objective?Americans obviously have a more sensitive approach to race relations but there is a big world outside of the USA and we for the most part have come a long way.The transition from an evil ideology seems to have happened simply after watching a fellow NeoNazi do business with other races in prison, this quickly followed by a rape caused a humbling of the protagonist.
Edward Norton, one of the world's most versatile film actors, gives another staggering performance, as does Edward Furlong as his younger brother.
If your going to make a movie about black / white neo racism you need to come up with something better than this.
Controversial subjects usually make for interesting movies, and American History X courts controversy in so many ways by examining neo-Nazis, racism, prison violence, and school violence all in the same movie.
So American History X is a very interesting film, but it is executed so haphazardly that it becomes hard to enjoy, and it loses most of its potential and some of its power in the process.The film examines the life and crimes of Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) through the eyes of his younger brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), both whom are "involved" in the neo-nazi movement.
Further questioning and thought is provoked by the movie's ending, which is both beautiful and shocking in such an odd way that it almost makes the whole film worthwhile.It is obvious that this film is unashamed to say what it wants to say.
'American History X' is a decent but flawed drama about Derek, a former neo-Nazi who, after serving time in prison for the murder of a black man, reforms himself and tries to prevent his younger brother, Danny, from following in his footsteps.
The film cuts back and forth between the past and present, showing us what Derek used to be like and the path that his younger brother is at risk of going down.It's a solid drama and an interesting enough watch, but with an average rating of 8.5 it's also massively overrated.
I do think, however, that they could have selected a better actor to play the younger brother, Danny, but that is a nit pick, the actor in the film did fine but I just think someone could have given a more compelling dramatic performance.Overall, what I loved most about the film was the fact that it shows racism for what it is, something that is taught, how naïve people can be led to believe anything if their circumstances call for it.
Edward Norton's compelling and powerful performance of a highly misguided neo-nazi convict is a gripping and highly convincing one, and alongside Edward Furlong, this is an unmissable but hauntingly true interpretation by Tony Kaye that really brings home a message that's stuck with me forever.Whether it was just a cleverly written script, a good director or an excellent cast, I'll never know but what ever it is, it works and it works very well.Both Edward's reflect their prime ability to act with their portrayal of a fractured background and how it's influenced their behaviours and attitudes.
While his prison scenes should have been the most powerful part of the movie, they just felt like a waste of time (and using B&W for the past is such an embarrassingly Hollywood device).Secondly, the script is just terrible.
When I first came across the movie American History X it was while I was looking through Edward Nortons films on his profile.
The flashback scenes are in black and white to firstly make it clear when the time period is and arguably also to show the darkness that was consuming Edward Nortons character when following the neo-nazi way of life that he did for so long.
Edward Norton himself also adds to this effect and his performance makes it seem like he is playing two separate characters.
His brother in the movie 'Danny' is played by Edward Furlong who gives a very gripping performance as we see his character change his ways completely in front of our eyes.
The slow motion shots of dripping water in the shower, made you really feel the exhaustion and fatigue felt by the characters.Overall, the general reason as to why 'American History X' is the purpose of film, is due to the fact that it exposes its audience to confronting aspects of our world.
this is a movie that shows you both sides, it makes you think and changes the way you look at life and judge others.
As a conclusion, I am shocked to see that Americans consider this movie as controversial and a good thinking about their racial issues..
Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) returns from prison to discover that his younger brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), has been following in his footsteps, living the neo-Nazi life of racism and violence that landed Derek in prison.
Dealing bravely with issues of supremacy and racism, American History X goes where few films ever attempt to go, and it does it perfectly.Edward Norton gives his strongest dramatic performance, playing a very believable, supremacist older brother reformed by experiences in prison.
Edward Furlong plays an equally realistic, impressionable younger brother.If you can see past the swearing and violence, which is SUPPOSED to leave you feeling dirty, then you can see the real message of this fantastic film.
I love how you watch the 2 main characters evolve into the people they become at the end of the movie.
The story of how Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) tries to get his younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong) out of the neo-Nazi life is multi-layered, intelligent and emotional.
Not only is the story great, the performances in the movie are phenomenal, especially Edward Norton.
Unflinchingly brutally frank look at racism in America wnd the skinhead/neo-Nazis in particular led by a fireball, Oscar nominated performance by Norton as the eldest son of a family whose hatred beliefs turn inside out after a prison stint, and a chance to redeem himself by saving his younger, impressionable brother (Furlong) with only tragedy looming on the horizon.
American History X is an excellent movie on the effects of hate and what hate feels like.
This Film Is All About Edward Norton's Performance.
He's great, but the movie is a bit of a hot mess.Norton plays a skinhead who goes to prison for a vile crime and comes out a reformed man, determined to see that his little brother (Edward Furlong) doesn't go down the same path he did.
It is hard to believe that within a couple of hours, Edward Norton could turn from a skinhead killer into a noble big brother to Edward Furlong who also showed his abilities in this movie.
First off the most obvious thing about this movie that makes it so great is the acting, and I don't mean just Edward Norton I mean the entire cast.
The cast of this movie is really great and make it so believable.That said obviously Edward Norton is the heart of this film.
Because of this movie I love Edward Norton as an actor he truly has a very strong talent for acting and he has all of his strengths on show in this heartbreaking truthful tale of racism and skinheads.First off this film is very dark, sad, and disturbing.
There is Edward Norton's versatile performance and some good looking Cinematography and it is all in support of a sociological/psychological problem that is forever haunting the American Dream.It is a confusing and only slightly believable, if powerful, story of racism and hatred.
Edward Norton is a brilliant actor..and i believe that this is his best performance.