American History X (Wide Screen) > Reviews > A surprisingly sensitive stylish moving film

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Brilliant script and cast in a fantastically shot film
Disadvantages:	Not the best features on the DVD and the violence is slightly unnerving due to the realism of it and therefore will be offputting to some

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

American History X is most definitely one of the most controversial films to have been produced over the past few years. It deals with one of today’s most sensitive issues – racism, which is heightened by the fact that it is told unusually through the eyes of the racist rather than the victim.

The story develops through the eyes of Danny (Edward Furlong) who is the younger brother of Derek (Edward Norton). Derek furious and enraged by the murder of his father, which he believes to have been committed by African Americans, becomes the leader of a local white power movement. His anger and hatred brought on by his father’s death eventually leads to him committing a violent and brutal murder on two young black men.

The story is set though three years later, when he is released from prison. Derek is set an assignment by his principal Sweeney to tell the story of Derek in a bid to overcome his racism and break free from the ‘skinhead’ minority of where they live. In a series of stylish black and white sequences of flashbacks, both Danny and Derek recount the tale of how they ended up where they are and how Derek ended up ‘wanting out’ of the life that has caused his family so much pain.

This is a truly magnificent film with some fantastic performances by both Norton and Furlong (Terminator 2), which are backed by equally brilliant offerings by Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoons franchise) as their long-suffering mother. Fairuza Bulk (The Craft, The Waterboy) played Derek’s girlfriend; and Avery Brooks (Star Trek:Deep Space Nine, The Big Hit) as Sweeney.

American History X turned out to be like nothing its director Tony Kaye had intended though, as so much of it had to be cut out of the final film due to the expectation that it would be too much for an audience to take. This bothered Kaye so much that shortly after the film’s release in the UK he wrote a letter to a well-known British broadsheet disowning the film as his own work. There is also rumour that Norton re-edited the film to lengthen his screen time which also annoyed Kaye. In fact he was so troubled by this that he wanted his name to be removed with Alan Smith (a name used by directors when their film is very bad). However he violated a rule of the Director's Guild of America by then discussing why he did so. After which Kaye sued them for over $200 million claiming that they had violated his rights as a director!!!!

It was due to knowing this that I actually bought the DVD as there are some deleted scenes on there, which I thought may be more vivid in nature than the rest of the film. However there are only three, which aren’t really as controversial as the rest of the film and disappointingly there is no director’s commentary explaining why they were cut from the film.

There is also “cast and crew” extra although again I was disappointed as I expected it to be interviews with the cast and crew discussing the film. However it was in fact just lists of the work that each has done.

I was not disappointed, as it is a very good film. The cast are all fantastic with some great performances, and the script is brilliant and I will definately watch it again. Plus at the moment it is being sold for just 9.99 in Woolworth’s so it is definitely a good buy. However if you prefer to buy DVD's mainly for their extra features then you are most likely going to be disappointed.