The DVD gives three extra scenes, subtitles,yours forever
Disadvantages:
UK prices always higher then Americas !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
In around 1968/69 I lived in Fort Walton Beach Florida. This was at the time of the de-segregation of blacks and whites. I had not lived in America that long at the time and for this reason I was not aware of the problems there had been in the South.
I remember seeing bus loads of black children all stood on the curb waiting to be emptied and I was surprised to see police cars surrounding them. I didn't know the reason for it at the time. There were groups of white adults, teenagers and kids shouting at the buses. I walked over to the area to see what was happening and was in time to see the buses open their doors to let off their passengers.
What happened next I could not believe. The whites who had been shouting so much attacked the kids disembarking from the buses. With baseball bats, hammers, crowbars and lumps of wood, they hit out at those poor kids. Most were around my age but some were older. Fighting broke out as these poor people tried to defend themselves and I looked over at the police to see them just standing and watching. I felt sick, I had never seen hate like this nor ever knew there was such a thing as prejudice. Now in all its shocking horror I was getting a front seat view of it.
These memories came back to me when I watched "American History X"
The movie starts in flashback as Danny (Edward Furlong) hears someone breaking into his older brothers car. On warning his brother, Derek (Edward Norton) who at the time happened to be making love to Stacey (Fairuza Balk), his brother reaches for a gun and precedes to blow one of them away, wound the other before crushing his skull, with the third managing to escape in a getaway car.
This scene of violence sets the standard for the entire film and you should be warned that this film is an 18 certificate and deserves that plus more for the amount of swearing, violence and racism it shows. The story really centres around the two brothers although there are some other integral players in this well acted and provocative film.
Stacey Keach puts in one of his better displays of acting as the racist white supremacy leader, Cameron. What gets me is there are real people out there like this character, turning susceptible teens heads with their twisted logic! I can see no reason why one race would think themselves better than another, although I must admit a strong liking of Portuguese women! :O)
Derek is sent to prison during the film and this is a turning point in his life. He begins to realise that it is not the colour of a mans skin that makes him great but rather the man within! If anything what the movie shows all of us is that we have our own preconceived ideas and that we need to reflect and perhaps alter our views. The colour of a persons skin does not make an individual bad nor does the country in which they live, which I thought about a lot after September 11th. This film brings all of these thoughts to the forefront with shocking clarity.
On his release from prison we are left to ponder whether Derek can get his younger brother out of the clutches of the racists, he (Derek) used to run with, and also distance himself from them. With violence and racist remarks a constant backdrop the film barrages your senses making you want to bang heads together to try to get people to see the reality of what they are saying.
If you like acting of the highest quality this film is for you. Edward Norton is brilliant and more than believable. Edward Furlong as his younger brother is more vulnerable and easily taken in by it all. Stacey Keach was excellent which is something coming from me because I hated him and his acting when he was in the TV series Mike Hammer.
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~*~ My Opinion ~*~ ****************
This is a brilliant film, although it is very disturbing and I would suggest that adults only watch it. Even then you might find some scenes very disturbing and I warn you now that it is NOT for the feint hearted. I was captivated from beginning to end. I found the characters believable and for this reason all the more disturbing.
The filming is excellent with good use of camera angles and black & white for flashback purposes. The direction was also top class as too was the editing giving this film continuity where it could easily have become confusing.
Is the film value for money? NO. I still can see no reason why it is so much cheaper in the US. The cost off getting the product over here does not warrant the excessive amounts charged. It still didn't stop me getting it though!
**WARNING** The film has very strong language, racism and violence! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~*~ Extras on the DVD ~*~ ***********************
The DVD does have some special features which makes getting it all the more worthwhile and these are:
Deleted scenes - Yes scenes not seen in the released film and some of these should have been shown as they would have helped seal character aspects. There are three and they are as follows:
1. Boardwalk - This shows a black bag lady with all of her worldly possessions being pushed in an old shopping trolley. She is approached by two skinheads who snatch her trolley and kick and stamp on both it and her possessions whilst verbally assaulting and scaring her. The attack is racist in every way and made all the more worrying because other people passing by ignore what is going on rather than come to her assistance. Her tears actually seemed real.
2. How Do I Look - I wasn't sure where this scene was supposed to go in the movie and could only assume it was after Derek (Edward Norton) was released from prison. It shows Derek in a fast food restaurant with his brother. His hair is longer and he is wearing a shirt and tie. He sees a little black girl and strikes up a conversation with her asking how she thinks he looks after telling her she looks nice. Her mother is watching the conversation with only a little apprehension. I think if I was the parent of a 6 or 7 year old I would have been a bit more worried about a stranger walking up to her saying she looked nice and how do I look!
3. Ben's Burgers - This scene has Cameron (Stacey Keach) and Ben going into a burger bar for food. They are talking about having to silence Derek now he is going straight. They abuse a couple where the man is black and the girl white and leave the burger bar. It looks like they were going to get jumped by a gang of blacks armed with baseball bats. The whole scene lasts around 5 minutes and is the longest and perhaps most disturbing due mainly to the racist hatred displayed by the two.
You also have the cast and crew biographies as well as a trailer that was released to advertise the film. You can also have subtitles if you so desire. This is an excellent feature for the hard of hearing.
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~*~ COST ~*~ ************ Based on Amazon .com & Amazon.co.uk
US - $21.49 Used $14.99 UK - £18.99 (save £1.00) Used Price £10.97 (how do they come up with that?)
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~*~ ODDS & SODS ~*~ ******************** Released 1998 Filmed in both colour and black & white (flashbacks) Classification 18 Running time - 118 minutes
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~*~ CAST & CREW ~*~ *********************
Edward Norton - Derek Vinyard ……(Fight Club (Movie) - 1999) Edward Furlong - Danny Vinyard …… (Terminator 2 - Judgement Day (Movie) - 1991) Stacy Keach - Cameron Alexander ……( Mike Hammer (TV) - 1984-1987) Fairuza Balk - Stacey …… (Return to Oz (movie) - 1985) Beverly D'Angelo - Doris Vinyard …… Best known for the National Lampoon "vacation" series Avery Brooks - Bob Sweeney …… Best known for playing Cmdr. Benjamin Sisko in the series Star Trek - Deep Space Nine Elliott Gould - Murray …… Father of Ross in Friends Jennifer Lien - Davina Vinyard …… Plays Kes in Star Trek - Voyager William Russ - Dennis Vinyard …… Father of Ben Savage in Boy Meets World (TV)
Producer - John Morrissey Screenwriter - David McKenna Music - Anne Dudley ( The background movie on the DVD is lovely)
God it is good to be back.
More details
Soundtrack
Good
How does it compare to others by the same director?
Outstanding
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American History X [1999]
Perhaps the highest compliment you can pay to Edward Norton is that his Oscar-nominated
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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 sh...
American History X [1999]
Perhaps the highest compliment you can pay to Edward Norton is that his Oscar-nominated
... more
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 sh...
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