Product Details

• Actors: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Jennifer Lien, Ethan Suplee
• Directors: Tony Kaye
• Writers: David McKenna
• Producers: Bill Carraro, Brian Witten, David McKenna, John Morrissey, Jon Hess
• Format: NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Run Time: 119 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (687 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000065JUH
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #546,276 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

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

From The New Yorker

Young Edward Norton, who seemed to have no body at all in the recent "Rounders"-he faded away from the camera, like a ghost-is here muscled up and swaggering, with a swastika the size of a giant tarantula emblazoned on his chest. He plays a skinhead neo-Nazi in Venice Beach, California, and screenwriter David McKenna has composed some shrewd tirades for him that push only slightly past standard white working-class resentment. Norton gives the young thug an ambiguous erotic allure; he's almost appealing. Everything else in this melodrama, directed and photographed by the British commercial director Tony Kaye, is to be regretted-the alternation between color (the present) and black-and-white (the past); the mopey performance by Edward Furlong as Norton's kid brother, who is haplessly turning into a skinhead himself; and the confused political implications of the story, especially the violent ending, which entirely reverses the direction in which the material has been going. Kaye's work is self-important and garish. The movie was taken away from him during the editing phase. It should have been. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

124 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American History X, June 14, 2004

By 

nico_laos "nico" (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American History X (DVD)

How terrifying is it while listening to some of Edward Norton's rants in this movie....that you actually begin to understand his point of view on things? That's a very important aspect of this film. The hatred spewing from his mouth along with statistical evidence and insightful rhetoric places the viewer amist what seems to be an actual white supremicist rally. It becomes easy to see how so many fall into crowds like this with characters like the fictional Derrick Vinyard preaching to the masses. Many people don't like the way the world around them is. They're looking for a change. People like Vinyard offer a path to that change.

But this story is mainly about redemption. The redemption of the character in question, Derrick Vinyard. Only after he loses everything can he begin to see the horrible path that he has beaten for his younger brother who is speedily chasing after him. The unlikely friendship with a black prison inmate and the tutalage of his former principle are what helps him return to his humanity. The simple yet distanced solution to all the hatred and anger that he's felt most of his life comes like an epiphany: "It's just not worth it." A point that he vehemently drives into those around him.

Be forwarned, this is not a happy story. The ending is tragic yet depressingly real. Hatred becomes a vicious circle.

88 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best movies I have ever seen., February 7, 2000

By 

FloozyFlapper1926 (Somewhere in the 20's) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American History X (DVD)

This is one of the movies that touched me more than any others have in quite a long time. It puts a human face on skinheads, not glorifying them yet showing how a young person can be warped by a racist father and what racism can do to a family. Derek Vinyard had to learn the truth about racism the hard way by being betrayed in prison and he began to question his beliefs after a black man is the only person who befriends him. He begins to understand how futile and destructive hatred is only to pay for his mistakes in the end. At times this movies is difficult to watch but I think it is important for everyone to see. Ed Norton definitely deserved the oscar for this film and was cheated. Anyone who watches this will see how racism only destroys families, hurts others and destroys one's self in the end. It is brutal yet honest and it is what good filmmaking is all about it. I would give it ten stars if I could. Simply brilliant.

39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth about Racism........, June 18, 2000

By 

Jacqueline M. Lum (North Olmsted, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American History X (DVD)

American History is chilling story about a skinhead Derek (Norton) who is sent to prison for killing two blank gang members. During his incarceration he is subjected to the brutal ways of prison society. In the prison laundry Derek meets a fellow black inmate who has no ill-feeling towards Derek's racist beliefs and helps Derek change his attitudes towards other people. Overtime, Derek begins too see the damage racism has brought to himself and his family. Unfortunately Derek's younger brother is heading towards the same path Derek took. Derek is determined too stop his brother and faces his former gang and mentor.

American History should be shown to all high school kids because the movie has such a strong message. The part of the movie that struck me was Derek's family. His family was emotionally and morally bankrupt by the past racism inflicted by Derek's deceased father and Derek himself. Ed Norton's portrayal as a young racist was chilling and convincing. You could feel his rage and hatred towards society and minorities in general. I thought Ed Norton deserved an Oscar, however the academy gets weak knees about issues such as racism. I would recommend this movie...