American History X

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American History X
Image:American history x poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tony Kaye
Produced by Steve Tisch
Jon Hess
Written by David McKenna
Starring Edward Norton
Edward Furlong
Beverly D'Angelo
Avery Brooks
Music by Anne Dudley
Cinematography Tony Kaye
Editing by Gerald B. Greeenberg
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Release date(s) October 30, 1998
Running time 119 min.
Country Image:Flag of the United States.svg
Language English
Budget $10 million
Gross revenue $23,875,127
Official website
IMDb profile

American History X is a 1998 film directed by Tony Kaye. It features Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Jennifer Lien, Ethan Suplee, Fairuza Balk, Avery Brooks, Elliott Gould, Stacy Keach, Guy Torry, and William Russ. Norton was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.

In a 2007 poll sponsored by Entertainment Weekly, the film was voted among the most violent films of all time.[1]

Contents

[edit] Plot

This plot synopsis does not follow the non-linear storyline of the movie; in which much of the events described are shown as flashbacks. Contemporary time is in color, while flashbacks are in black and white.

The film tells the story of a racist guy named Derek Vinyard (Norton), taking place in the late 1980s and early 1990s Venice Beach. An extremely bright and charismatic student, Derek is drawn into the neo-Nazi underground after his father is killed. Derek had already been influenced by his father's critical views on black culture and affirmative action (his father refers to it as "affirmative blacktion").

Eventually Derek becomes second-in-command of the Venice Beach neo-Nazi gang, "The Disciples of Christ (D.O.C.)", which entices young whites to join by promising protection from predominantly minority gangs who are essentially in control of the area. He and Cameron Alexander, the adult leader of D.O.C., eventually regain control of the boardwalk, basketball court, and beach area, and maintain a large presence at the high school. Alexander uses Derek to recruit other members who have become frustrated at being attacked by gangs of different ethnicities. One night, Derek assembles many of the white power skinheads in front of a store that is owned by a Korean immigrant, and employs many illegal immigrants. He makes a speech saying that most of these immigrants are stealing the rightful jobs of Americans, and without hesitation, they attack most of the employees and clientèle in the store.

A dinnertime discussion about the then-current Rodney King incident and race relations is pivotal. Murray (Gould), a Jewish guest, maintains a liberal view shared by Derek's mother Doris (played by Beverly D'Angelo), and his sister. Derek attacks Murray's views openly and launches into a racist diatribe supported by his girlfriend, as his younger brother Danny watches. The dinner ends in violence and confrontation; Derek threatens Murray and displays the large Swastika tattooed on his chest, saying, "See this? That means Not Welcome." Murray leaves hurt and stunned at his behaviour, to which he explains to Doris that Derek has changed for good. Doris orders Derek out of her house, and he says he'll be gone in the morning.

That night, three black men park in front of the Vinyard house and break into Derek's car. Danny hears them and informs Derek, telling him that a black man was stealing his car. Derek becomes infuriated and seizes a pistol from a nightstand drawer and puts on a pair of steel toed combat boots. Derek shoots one of the men, killing him, and wounds a second. The third escapes in their car. Derek kills the wounded man by ordering him to place his mouth on the curb and then stomps on the back of his head (known as "curb stomping"), effectively breaking his jaw and neck. Danny watches in horror and witnesses his brother unresisting the white officers, while he smiles triumphantly at Danny as he is being handcuffed and led away.

Derek is sentenced to three years in prison, charged with voluntary manslaughter. Danny notes in his paper, but deletes, that if he had testified, Derek would have gotten life imprisonment. In prison, he joins the Aryan Brotherhood, for protection. His strong belief system, and his distrust of the politics and favors within the group, soon alienates him from his supposed allies after a year into his sentence. During this time, his white supremacist gang, angry at many of Derek's actions (ironically, mostly due to his anger over the group's dealings with a Mexican gang), gang rape him during a group shower while the guard on duty turns a blind eye.

At the same time he's alienating the Aryan Brotherhood, Derek makes the acquaintance of a black inmate named Lamont (Guy Torry), with whom he works in the prison laundry room. Although he originally scorns Lamont, he gradually warms to him and through time abandons the gang after being raped by the Aryan Brotherhood. Through time he realizes that Lamont is his only true friend. Just before Derek is released on parole, largely due to his former Honors English teacher Dr. Sweeney's (Brooks) vouching for him, he realizes that only through Lamont's intervention did the black prison gangs leave him unharmed after the Brotherhood withdrew their protection.

Derek returns home to find that his little brother Danny has modeled his own life like Derek's pre-incarceration beliefs. In addition to associating with the D.O.C., Danny has written a paper arguing for Hitler as a civil rights hero. His teacher, Murray, wanted to expel him, but now-principal Sweeney felt it would be better to make him write a new paper on the last few years of Derek's life than to turn him loose to the dangers of the streets. Danny reluctantly converts from his old ways after Derek advises about these events and how to write about them.

Derek visits his old neo-Nazi mentor, Cameron Alexander, and informs him that he'll no longer associate with him. He threatens Alexander, warning him to keep away from Danny. Alexander counters that Danny will eventually "come to [him]." The scene ends violently, with Derek beating the man and storming out. Danny angrily confronts Derek, demanding to know what is wrong with him, and that the situation has become "completely fucked up." Derek tells him about his experiences in prison. The confession seems to prompt a change in Danny. They walk home and begin to change their ways, ripping down all their Neo-Nazi posters and regalia on the bedroom wall. After showering, Derek looks at the Swastika on his chest, and puts a hand over it, showing how he has indeed changed.

The next morning, Danny walks into his high school bathroom with his report on his brother, and is fatally shot several times in the chest. The gunman, a black youth, was previously involved in an altercation with Danny, when Danny stood up for a young white male being harassed by the black youth. Derek runs in and embraces his brother's body, crying uncontrollably.

The film ends with shots of the beach at sunset, and Danny reciting the last lines of his essay he was going to turn in, a quote originally said by Abraham Lincoln in his inaugural address. This is the revised edition: "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."

[edit] Cast

[edit] Controversy

Controversy developed over the film when director Tony Kaye attempted to remove his name from the credits, preferring to use the pseudonym Alan Smithee.[2] When this was refused he chose "Humpty Dumpty" as an alternative pseudonym, which in turn was also rejected. Kaye alleged that his reasoning for this was Edward Norton's re-editing of the film to give himself more screen time.[3] The Director's Guild of America ultimately denied Kaye the right to remove his name from the production, reasoning that Kaye had placed ads in Variety attacking the film, thus violating Guild rules regarding the right to invoke the pseudonym. Kaye proceeded to sue the Directors Guild and New Line Cinema, claiming they had violated his First Amendment rights.[3]

In an interview in October, 2007, Kaye said he was happy New Line didn't let him take his name off of the film.[3]

[edit] Film prints

After the film's initial release, no prints of the film were kept. It was not until 2007 that a new print was eventually made. The new print made its debut on June 8th, 2007 at the Collins Road Theatres in Marion, Iowa as part of a special midnight screening.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20058602_14,00.html
  2. ^ A Quick Chat With Tony Kaye September 1998
  3. ^ a b c Tobias, Scott. Tony Kaye interview The A.V. Club, 4 October 2007.

[edit] External links

de:American History X es:American History X fa:تاریخ مجهول آمریکا/موقت fr:American History X gl:American History X hr:Generacija X (1998) it:American History X he:אמריקה X nl:American History X ja:アメリカン・ヒストリーX no:American History X pl:Więzień nienawiści pt:American History X ru:Американская история Икс (фильм) sq:American History X sr:Америчка историја икс sh:Američka istorija iks fi:American History X sv:American History X tr:Geçmişin Gölgesinde

Retrieved from "http://india.smashits.com/wikipedia/American_History_X"
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