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zingy
College Boy Z
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:40 pm
Posts: 36662
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 American History X American History X Quote: American History X is a 1998 American drama film directed by Tony Kaye and starring Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo and Avery Brooks. It was distributed by New Line Cinema.
The film tells the story of two brothers, Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) and Daniel "Danny" Vinyard (Edward Furlong) of Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California. Both are intelligent and charismatic students. Their father, a firefighter, is murdered by a black drug dealer while trying to extinguish a fire in a South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, and Derek is drawn into the neo-Nazi movement. Derek brutally kills two black gang members whom he catches in the act of breaking into the truck left to him by his father, and is sentenced to three years in prison for voluntary manslaughter. The story shows how Danny is influenced by his older brother's actions and ideology and how Derek, now radically changed by his experience in incarceration, tries to prevent his brother from going down the same path as he did. The film is told in the style of nonlinear narrative.
David McKenna scripted the film and shooting took place in Los Angeles, California. The film was released in the United States on October 30, 1998 and went on to gross over $23 million at the international box office. It was given an "R" rating by the MPAA for "graphic brutal violence including rape, pervasive language, strong sexuality and nudity." Critics mostly praised the film and Edward Norton was given an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. It was also named by Empire magazine in September 2008 as the 311th Greatest Movie of All Time, while on The Internet Movie Database it is currently ranked as the 38th best movie ever made.
Last edited by zingy on Sun May 15, 2005 12:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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| Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:24 pm |
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Atoddr
Veteran
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 3:07 am
Posts: 3014
Location: Kansai
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The movie itself is not that great, but Edward Norton elevates it to another level with his performance. He gives one of my favorite performances in any movie. And they gave the Oscar that year to Roberto Beignini? One of the Academy's greatest mistakes, a shame. I rate it a B+.
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| Mon Nov 22, 2004 8:03 am |
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Riggs
We had our time together
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 4:36 am
Posts: 13299
Location: Vienna
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edit
Last edited by Riggs on Sun Jan 16, 2005 8:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
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| Sat Jan 15, 2005 12:58 pm |
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Atoddr
Veteran
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 3:07 am
Posts: 3014
Location: Kansai
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Norton was nominated for an Oscar, but he didn't win.
Oh, and this is a duplicate thread. I posted my thoughts previously on the earlier thread.
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| Sat Jan 15, 2005 8:05 pm |
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Algren
now we know
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm
Posts: 68222
Location: Seattle, WA
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Ive heard this was amazing. I have got to see this.
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| Sun Jan 16, 2005 9:48 am |
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Optimus_Prime
Okay, I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 7:34 pm
Posts: 817
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Edward Norton was excellent in this movie, but that is really the only part of the movie I liked. I feel the director and the writer just dropped the ball on a project that had the potential to be a masterpiece that would do to racism what The Fast and Furious did to street racing, (wow what a good connection)
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 5:37 pm |
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Optimus_Prime
Okay, I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 7:34 pm
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Atoddr wrote: The movie itself is not that great, but Edward Norton elevates it to another level with his performance. He gives one of my favorite performances in any movie. And they gave the Oscar that year to Roberto Beignini? One of the Academy's greatest mistakes, a shame. I rate it a B+. I agree with Atoddr, the movie had the potential to be much better, but it was in the hands of an untalented director, if done correctly this film could have made racism come to the for front and actually be discussed in the world and not just brushed away.
p.s. Edward is phenominal in the movie.
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| Fri Jan 28, 2005 7:47 pm |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm
Posts: 92093
Location: Bonn, Germany
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A
Great film, amazing performance by Norton and an incredible ending.
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Last edited by Dr. Lecter on Tue Feb 07, 2006 12:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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| Sat Jan 29, 2005 4:09 pm |
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Algren
now we know
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm
Posts: 68222
Location: Seattle, WA
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American History X - A
Truely brilliant film, superb script, some of cinemas most memorable and meaningful lines ever. Edward Norton is fantastic, his best role ever!
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| Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:04 pm |
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BennyBlanco
Indiana Jones IV
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 3:51 pm
Posts: 1102
Location: The Bronx
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A very powerful film. Some incredible monologues delivered by Norton's character and Norton himself displays a stunning amount of charisma in the role.
A+
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| Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:25 pm |
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neo_wolf
Extraordinary
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:19 pm
Posts: 11028
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A-
A very powerfull film.Norton gives his best performance and got a well deserved oscar nom.The film dosent hold back.
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| Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:41 pm |
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Optimus_Prime
Okay, I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 7:34 pm
Posts: 817
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I guess Atoddr and myself are the only two that feels this movie was extremly underwhelming and is greatly overrated. However, it is very good that everyone recognizes that Edward Norton did a fantastic job.
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| Thu Feb 03, 2005 3:58 pm |
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zingy
College Boy Z
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:40 pm
Posts: 36662
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I'm speechless. I don't think there's ever been a movie that had such a huge impact on me. It's one of the best movies I've ever seen. The acting by Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, everyone; fantastic. The story and the message is incredibly strong, and though it's taught to us in the most brutal way, it's a masterpiece. Some scenes were literally brutal for me to watch. I can't say anymore about this movie, except that it's one of the best, with the most powerful message of all.
A+
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| Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:43 pm |
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Eagle
Site Owner
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:09 pm
Posts: 14631
Location: Pittsburgh
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It is a very good movie, one that shows you racism at its core. It shows you a man who has overcome racism, and attaches you to him, then destroys his life.
Would have been one of the best movies of all time if certain elements were fleshed out more, as is, it is a very powerful and well done movie. Ed Norton is a great actor.
Rounders is another favorite of mine.
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| Fri Feb 04, 2005 6:29 pm |
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Appy
Veteran
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:22 pm
Posts: 3285
Location: WA state baby!
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I loved this film. Its very moving it left me feeling so many di8fferent things. Very good A+
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| Sat Feb 05, 2005 12:55 am |
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matatonio
Teh Mexican
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 11:56 pm
Posts: 26066
Location: In good ol' Mexico
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WOW!! What a powerful movie with a powerful message!, Incredible performence by Norton
it has some disturbing scenes but its still GREAT!!
A-
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| Tue Feb 08, 2005 4:59 am |
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movies35
Forum General
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 1:53 pm
Posts: 8627
Location: Syracuse, NY
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The performances were great but I felt that the story just dragged. It was very powerful but not the great movie people make it out to be.
7/10 (B-)
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| Wed May 04, 2005 12:16 pm |
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xXVincentxX
La Bella Vito
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 11:56 pm
Posts: 9146
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This film has to be one of the most severly overrated films I have ever seen. It's good, don't get me wrong. The black and white adds substance in my opinion to the story. The only redeeming thing about this film was Edward Norton's performance. It was fantastic, and he played his role to the maximum. I didn't like the ending, way too tragic, and not uplifting in the least. It's good, but not that good.
C+
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| Fri May 06, 2005 3:27 am |
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xiayun
Extraordinary
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 3:41 pm
Posts: 25109
Location: San Mateo, CA
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American History X - A-, 8.4/10
Powerful, uncompromising, and realistic. Filled with real emotion and dialogs. An incredible performance by Edward Norton. The only thing I didn't buy into is Derek's transformation in prison. It's too simple for a person of his conviction. I wish they put more inks into it instead of just having him got screwed by the white guys and helped by a black young man. I'd prefer it to be much more complicated than that.
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| Sun May 15, 2005 2:54 am |
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Riggs
We had our time together
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 4:36 am
Posts: 13299
Location: Vienna
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One of the greatest movies ever. Norton gives the performance of his life, imo. Everyone should see it.
A+
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| Sun May 15, 2005 9:45 am |
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FILMO
The Original
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 10:19 am
Posts: 9808
Location: Suisse
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Powerful and great. One of my all time favourites. Norton is excellent. 10/10
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| Sun May 15, 2005 10:52 am |
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Brock Middlebrook
Hatchling
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2005 7:19 pm
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Ed Norton's performance was masterful. What made it so great is that he was compelling as a Skinhead. It's awkward to say, but he made you sympathetic to him despite his actions. Nobody wants to like a homicidal biggot, but Norton pulled that off. And he is also great after being released from prison. You sense the vulnerability in him, but also see that he still has a strong resolve about setting things right and protecting his family.
The film is very powerful and very good. It is also a bit flawed. The director, Tony Kaye, had a background in commercials and/or music videos. He did a nice job with the film for the most part, but was taken away from the editing process because he was cutting too much. Can you imagine any other director fighting for less of his movie? Norton took a big part in working on the final cut and restoring some of what had been deleted. A more polished director might have turned this into an amazing film. The story was so compelling that it didn't require a lot of visual tricks and creative storytelling. Compare that the job Doug Liman did in Go. That story needed a boost. Liman saw that and was very creative in his filmmaking. Kaye should have gone after a different script to really show off his visual flair. The flashbacks and mixture of B&W and color did work nicely.
Lots of powerful moments and scenes in the movie. The strongest moment to me is when Norton and Ed Fulong tear down the nazi posters and paraphenalia in the bedroom. That is the climactic moment in the film and feels very good...almost joyous. The scene that blows everyone away is the stomping at the curb. That is very uncomfortable to watch. However, it's followed by an incredible moment as Furlong stares at Norton as he's about to be cuffed. The look on Norton's face is mesmerizing. Ethan Suplee is good as the degenerate Seth and Stacy Keach is downright creepy as Cameron.
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| Mon May 16, 2005 12:04 am |
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Shack
Devil's Advocate
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:30 am
Posts: 40237
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A-
Great movie. Norton is amazing.
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| Sat Jan 21, 2006 3:29 am |
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Libs
Sbil
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 3:38 pm
Posts: 48677
Location: Arlington, VA
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I thought the movie was good, but Edward Norton's stunning performance elevates it to a higher level. His Oscar nomination was extremely deserved. B+
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| Sat Jan 21, 2006 12:49 pm |
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Chris
life begins now
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:09 pm
Posts: 6480
Location: Columbus, Ohio
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I just saw this recently for the first time, and wow is all I can say. It's a truely stunning movie, with great performances from the entire cast, but especially Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. Norton, like most everyone has said, completely elevated the movie to another level. He was outstanding.
A
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| Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:37 pm |
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