American History X

Rating:
Summary: Utterly Phenominal
Review: The first time I saw this movie, i was awe-struck. The acting, the cinamentography, and the story(the way it was presented with the black and white past and the color present) was so provocative, fantatic, sensational. It is most deffinatly one of my top three movies...

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: If you want a long review there are plenty here. I can't say anything new except for watch the color imagery that is compared in the opening scene and the final scene. You will see what I am referring to.

Rating:
Summary: The consequences of hate.
Review: I rarely buy movies. But I did buy American History X.

This is the incredibly powerful story of two brothers who fall into the trap of racism and hate. It is also the story of these brothers trying to free themselves from racism and hate. After spending some time in prison for murdering two blacks who try and steal his car (a dispute starting with a basketball game), former neo-nazi Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) leaves his incarceration a changed man. To his dismay, however, he find that his younger brother is walking the same path he once did. The movie uses black-and-white scenes from the past in conjunction with color scenes in the current situation to establish Derek's sordid history as a vicious racist and show his path to change.

The younger brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), idolizes Derek. In fact, the local coterie of skinheads all do. Derek has a power to feed the hate of his retinue with fiery rhetoric that targets ethnic groups indiscriminately with intense indignation. The movie is truly scary when you see the skinheads bonding, brought together by an irrational hate and Derek's ability to gratify it with his fierce oratories.

Edward Norton was robbed when the Academy denied him the Oscar for Best Actor (he was nominated, though). His performance is compelling and real...frighteningly so. He effectively straddles the line between a smart kid with dumb ideas and the true racist seething with hate. I sincerely think he is one of Hollywood's most promising actors. Edward Furlong is also powerful, which is shocking for an actor of his age. Danny shares Derek's hate, but not the ability to convey it "rationally." The script is stunning, likewise the directing and editing.

The movie is violent and brutal, almost disturbingly so, but it is critical to underscore the power of the story. This is not tasteless killing. And it does not glorify racism...it exposes the consequences of racism and its absurdity. It shows how screwed-up people can rise above the pettiness of hate. One of the most powerful scenes in the movie is when Derek and Danny pull down all the Nazi crap on his bedroom wall.

This movie is intense, as well. I must have lost 20 pounds watching it, because my heart was pounding insanely hard. The ending is horrifyingly sad...I have to wonder if I've ever been more moved by a movie.

Be warned: It's brutal, gritty, and emotionally heavy. But at the same time it's a remarkably powerful story with first-rate acting and a powerful message. Don't pass this one up.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie
Review: There is a lack of good movies currently but this one doesn't fit that catergory.The movie basically has 3 or 4 scenes that caused it to be rated R bu three of these scens hit you with such a force that you wil lfeel sick and will have a lump in your throat for hours to come.The first scene is a sex secne (one reason it was rated R) but the scene is more of an opener to set the tone.Derek (Edward Norton) is interupted by his younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong) who tells him of a few black gang members breaking into their car.Derek in what at first should have been self defense instead of just stopping them from robbing him instead goes on a rampage and kills two of the three gang members.The second one was still alive when Derek took his head,put i on the curb,and smashed it with his foot.Te scene is horrifying and just shocks practically anyone.The movie is through the eyes of Danny and through most of the fist half of the movie you sense that the movie is glorifying NAZIs,Racists,etc but that is just the picture you need because that is the way Danny is thinking.With his brother's release from prison,Danny realizes Derek is no longer the same.Prison changd Derek and the prison scenes were another reason why this movie has a very strong R rating.Derek is no longer a young,stupid,NAZI wanna be.Through the movie Dann y talsk of his memories.It seems that what Derek was saying involved thougth and logic,a very scary thought to have being that his movie is not so far from fiction.The movie is excellent but it is not a movie for everyone.I do not insist that you watch thi movie when you are feeling very happy because yu will be very upset within the firt 10 minutes of the movi.AMERICAN HISTORY X has a shocking and unexpected ending that will leave you shocked,horrified,scared,and undoubtedly very glum. The acting is excellent.Edward Norton has proved himself a much better ator than any of the actors he has been in movies with (Brad Pitt,Ben Stiller,Woody Harrelson,Richard Gere,Woody Allen,etc).Edward Furlong too adds great acting, bt he stars in a role ver similiar to his in the movie Little Oddessa).There aren't many people that can play these kind of roles and Furlong and Norton both did greeat.Norton made his character seem so real..This is a great movie but it is very dark, I suggest you rent this movie before you buy it based on what peopel say.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: The movie had excellent acting and cinematagraphy. But it glorified neo-nazism too much during the first half, especially during the Basketball game, I mean please...

Rating:
Summary: American History X
Review: I just recently saw the movie and i thought it was absolutely great.I personally think the movie has some mild seens of violence but nothing really bad.The movie is really well laid out and has a clever way of showing when an event is in the past,they make that certain scenes black and white.I really think Edward Norton plays his part really well. The movie also has funny lines,and theres vocabulary that youll wanna say outloud right after. The movies title says it all,American History X.The movie shows you the bad side of america and the bad side of people.I think that if there is anyone under age to see this movie theyre parents should think twic eand let them see it,its almost like a documentry in a way.well this movie was one of my favorites,i hope you see it and you like it.

Rating:
Summary: LIFE IS TOO SHORT
Review: We are all products of our environment, not so different from the character Derrick Vinyard in American History X. Our experiences and upbringing mold our characters. This movie demonstrates how easily each of us could become trapped in the cycle of hate. With the death of his father Derrick went from a well-behaved kid to a man consumed with hate, but before the death, his father began a slow building hatred in Derrick with the racist and ignorant beliefs that he taught. Derrick changes his entire life in order to ignore the hurt and joins a white power society seeking revenge. Quickly, Vinyard emerges as their leader. Many acts of violence are depicted which strengthen the power of the movie and the effect it has on its audience. American history X explores the racial prejudices of our society by graphic images of hate and through this provides a strong message of individual change. With his swastika tattoo and shaved head Derrick Vinyard leads his white power friends through a series of racist acts. In one particular scene Derrick and fifteen others trash a store owned by immigrants. In this scene the audience becomes enthralled with an overwhelming sense of hate. Throughout the ordeal racial slurs were thrown about. Whether associated with a minority or not the event came across as very real and offensive. Actor Edward Norton, who plays Derrick, plays the part perfectly. The shaved head and tattoos alone make Derrick seem evil, but the glaring eyes of Ed Norton make Derrick appear devilish. The separation between black and white is witnessed in a territorial competition at the basketball courts. Here the blacks and the whites play a game for the ownership of the courts. Derrick turns out to be the star, winning the courts for his race. In a retaliation attempt the black players who had lost decide to steal Derricks truck. This becomes a fatal decision for two of the gang members. Once Derrick discovers what is going on he runs out of the house wearing only a wife beater, some boxers, and holding a gun. Derrick makes quick work of the problem, but is arrested and sent to jail. Danny, his younger brother, who has witnessed all of the scenes described above, is left with these explicit images of hate and without a male role model. While in prison Vinyard meets up with fellow skinheads who give him protection. In the prison laundry department Derrick finds himself working along side a black man. What at first is a quiet and tense relationship quickly develops into a strong friendship. Derrick begins distancing himself from the other skinheads. The skinheads soon become his enemies. Derrick now begins to question everything that he has believed in, but without the protection of the other skinheads he is an easy target for those of color. For some reason, he is never touched. The reason is his friend from laundry detail, ironically a man that before Derrick would have hated because of his skin color. Derrick undergoes a change once again, but this time a change for the better. Derrick releases the hate that had been controlling him for so long. When released from prison he comes home to a younger brother, who has been idealizing Derrick, following in his racist footsteps. Derrick has a tough challenge ahead of him, the alienation of his former friends, keeping his brother from continuing down the same path, and piecing together the family he had so brutally broken. In his attempt to rid himself of his old friends fights and gunplay break out at a party put together for his return. He and his brother Danny flee the scene and Derrick tells Danny all that happened to him in prison. Danny understands why he doesn't want to continue being pissed off. "Life's too short to be pissed off all the time." Prior to looking for a job the very next day, Derrick takes Danny to school. Everything seems to be turning around for the Vinyard's. Danny goes to the bathroom after entering school and a young aspiring gang member follows, with whom Danny had run into earlier in the movie. The young gang member pulls out a gum and shoots Danny in the chest killing him. As life pours out of his body one thing remains alive, a paper lying next to his body about the life of his brother titled, American History X.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but troubling
Review: It's difficult to gauge my feelings towards this film. It is incredibly powerful, shocking and moving, lasting long in your mind after the end credits have faded to black. The performances are particularly engaging, both Ed Norton and Edward Furlong giving career bests, and Stacy Keach, Elliot "Father Gellar" Gould, and Beverly "Mother Griswald" D'Angelo thankfully kept to an absolute minimum. The music, coupled with the bleak cinematography that cuts from black and white to slow motion to grainy textures and bleached colours, makes this a surprisingly emotional film, and the story line grips you throughout. What troubles me, however, is the subject matter, twinned with the charisma given off by Norton's fascist mastermind.

The film is obviously sending out the message that it is wrong to be racist, and yet, just as 'Falling Down' brought cheers of support from the white middle-classes, 'American History X' may gain the same support. The appeal of Norton's character whilst he is in his racist phase is magnetic, to say the least, as the camera adulates him in glorious monochrome and voyeuristic slow motion, and his sociological (and fascist) dialogue is given a solitary forum from which to speak. So, you wait for the abuttal, the turnaround, the moment in which he realises his error, the adulation of an anti-racist, and the same sociological arguments that reverse what has been said before...and yet they never come. Indeed, it seems to make the point that racism is bad because it tears up your white middle-class family, and not because it is wrong. And so, though the ending is powerful and shocking from an emotional drama point-of-view, from a political viewpoint it is dangerous, because it does not reverse the seductive allure of racism that fills up the first half of the movie. Essentially, therefore, the film is full of rhetoric that argues racism has a valid and acceptable root, and is rather slim on evidence that racism is bad.

I gave 'American History X' four stars because of its power: just a look from the characters can rend your heart. When Norton is in the shower having been released from prison, he thinks back to his innocent childhood, and upon leaving the cubicle, sees himself in the mirror, complete with his Nazi tattoos, and the expression that crosses his face, added to the slow-motion footage and music, is incredibly moving. Likewise, the manic gleam in his eyes having killed the two men being replaced by despair upon realising he is going to be separated from his family strikes the heart. And yet I cannot fully commit to this movie because its surface anti-racist sentiment seems to hide an undercurrent of pro-fascist ideologies and aesthetics, in that never does the camera dwell upon a coloured person the way it does the white cast members. It is, however, a must-see movie, if only for the cinematic masterpiece that comprises the final scenes. Watching it as a drama, it is a great movie. Watching it as something else is deeply unsettling.

Rating:
Summary: Derek and Danny Inc.
Review: Edward Norton is Superb as Derek Vinyard,leader of a group of white supremacists.Extremely powerful drama from start to finish, with some scenes not easily forgotten,including the Basketball Match,another scene where Derek gives a brief lecture to a group of skinheads,before they raid a supermarket,and ofcourse the ending-inevitable,believable,memorable. An oustanding transfer from new line only adds to this,must have DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Hate is baggage
Review: This is an incredible film with searing performances and frighteningly real portraits of a family torn apart by violence and hate. Derreck Vinyard (Norton) is the leader of a group of neo-nazi thugs. He is imprisoned for a heinous crime, but returns to find his younger brother Danny (Furlong) is taking the same route in life. Stacy Keach delivers a chilling performance as Cameron the driving force behind the motion. As it progresses you are spellbound by the way Cameron prays on the vulnerability of the fragile boys, who are by no means innocent. This is horrifying look into their lives set against a backdrop of Swassticas and White power slogans. Chilling stuff and not to everyones tastes.