SOME LEGACIES MUST END.
A reformed neo-nazi (Edward Norton) is released from prison after serving time for homicide and tries to save his younger brother (Edward Furlong) from making the same mistakes. First-time director Tony Kaye thought that the studio ruined his film, but this is actually a frightening, fascinating study of how easily everyday racism poisons weak minds. Black-and-white flashbacks show us how Derek Vinyard was lost and how he changed again in prison. Sometimes difficult to watch, but a very well directed and acted drama that should be seen by young adults (even though the violence is off-putting). Norton is mesmerizing as he preaches the gospel of hatred and race war.
1998-U.S. 118 min. Color-B/W. Produced by John Morrissey. Directed and photographed by Tony Kaye. Screenplay: David McKenna. Cast: Edward Norton (Derek Vinyard), Edward Furlong (Danny Vinyard), Fairuza Balk (Stacey), Beverly D’Angelo, Avery Brooks, Stacy Keach… Elliott Gould.
Trivia: Norton allegedly had the film re-edited in order to lengthen his screen time; Kaye wanted the studio to remove his name from the credits, but his violation of a DGA rule made that impossible. He subsequently sued the studio.
Last word: “Whenever I argued with Norton, I didn’t have a leg to stand on. He could wipe the floor with me because he’s a great articulator. My problem all through ‘American History X’ was that I could never tell anyone what I wanted to do with the film. Sometimes I didn’t even know myself. More often, I was so intimidated by the process that I went into meltdown if I wasn’t left alone to work things out. Of course, if you actually listened to what Norton was saying, you could hear that none of it made sense in film-making terms: that’s not his forte, as you’ll know if you saw the movie that he directed, ‘Keeping the Faith’. ‘Pretty fucking awful’ hardly covers that one.” (Kaye, The Guardian)