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Whilst watching it the other day, I thought just why on earth don’t SR have this DVD in stock.
Okay so it’s not got the best set of extras ever and the DVD presentation isn’t superb but the film itself is so good that it makes it far more of a worthy purchase than some spruced-up DVD package of Charlie’s Angels, which still can’t save the film from being ultimately poor.
Anyone who has not seen American History X, I suggest you go down to your local video shop and rent it right now. You don’t know what you’re missing. There is no happy ending, no loveable characters, no expensive special effects and certainly no corny one-liners, but it doesn’t need any of this because it has the power of one man’s performance behind it.
Ed Norton is, for lack of a better word, astonishing in this film. In such a difficult role to play too, it is unbelievable how good he is. It is his performance that really makes this film what it is. Without him, it couldn’t have the same impact. From intelligent high school student to racist killer, he outshines any other actor in any other film I can think of which is a pretty impressive feat.
The story takes place in a suburb in South USA. Derek ____, once a promising young school student, has become the leader of a local gang of racist skinheads all because his father was gunned downed by a group of black kids while trying to put out a fire in their own neighbourhood. Now he is cold, and full of hatred. Derek’s younger brother, Danny, idolizes Derek but when Derek is jailed for 7 years for murder, he must leave Danny and his family alone. In prison however, Derek changes and realises how wrong he has been. But he has already gotten his family in too deep and he must now try to dig them out of the mess he created years before.
As I said before, Norton is phenomenal but Ed Furlong who plays his younger brother Danny, is also very impressive. Whilst not being able to stand up to Norton, he still gives a very good performance, leading to some very powerful scenes.
This is a film that everyone must see. Not everyone will enjoy it (it may be a bit too violent for some), but they must appreciate it. Its frightening what happens when Derek tries to change the life he created for himself, the help he gets from his old ‘black’ literature teacher. There are some truly powerful scenes in this film, the ending probably being the most shocking. The violence though, just makes it that much more effective, which is probably the only reason it ever got past the censors.
“Has anything you’ve ever done made your life better?”
Really. You MUST watch this film! It’s not something you sit down to on a Sunday night ready to be entertained. It’s something you appreciate for what it is. An extremely powerful film about racism and the effects it has on society, yourself and your family.
Watch it. Please. You must.
Okay so it’s not got the best set of extras ever and the DVD presentation isn’t superb but the film itself is so good that it makes it far more of a worthy purchase than some spruced-up DVD package of Charlie’s Angels, which still can’t save the film from being ultimately poor.
Anyone who has not seen American History X, I suggest you go down to your local video shop and rent it right now. You don’t know what you’re missing. There is no happy ending, no loveable characters, no expensive special effects and certainly no corny one-liners, but it doesn’t need any of this because it has the power of one man’s performance behind it.
Ed Norton is, for lack of a better word, astonishing in this film. In such a difficult role to play too, it is unbelievable how good he is. It is his performance that really makes this film what it is. Without him, it couldn’t have the same impact. From intelligent high school student to racist killer, he outshines any other actor in any other film I can think of which is a pretty impressive feat.
The story takes place in a suburb in South USA. Derek ____, once a promising young school student, has become the leader of a local gang of racist skinheads all because his father was gunned downed by a group of black kids while trying to put out a fire in their own neighbourhood. Now he is cold, and full of hatred. Derek’s younger brother, Danny, idolizes Derek but when Derek is jailed for 7 years for murder, he must leave Danny and his family alone. In prison however, Derek changes and realises how wrong he has been. But he has already gotten his family in too deep and he must now try to dig them out of the mess he created years before.
As I said before, Norton is phenomenal but Ed Furlong who plays his younger brother Danny, is also very impressive. Whilst not being able to stand up to Norton, he still gives a very good performance, leading to some very powerful scenes.
This is a film that everyone must see. Not everyone will enjoy it (it may be a bit too violent for some), but they must appreciate it. Its frightening what happens when Derek tries to change the life he created for himself, the help he gets from his old ‘black’ literature teacher. There are some truly powerful scenes in this film, the ending probably being the most shocking. The violence though, just makes it that much more effective, which is probably the only reason it ever got past the censors.
“Has anything you’ve ever done made your life better?”
Really. You MUST watch this film! It’s not something you sit down to on a Sunday night ready to be entertained. It’s something you appreciate for what it is. An extremely powerful film about racism and the effects it has on society, yourself and your family.
Watch it. Please. You must.
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Tiltawhirl wrote:
> Yup it is a damn good film, good performance by Norton. That scene where he
> stamps on the guys head though, ouch is all I can say.
Ahhh yes. I can almost feel that every time. I cringe just like Meka... It nearly hurts!
> Yup it is a damn good film, good performance by Norton. That scene where he
> stamps on the guys head though, ouch is all I can say.
Ahhh yes. I can almost feel that every time. I cringe just like Meka... It nearly hurts!
Meka_Dragon wrote:
> Yes, American History X is indeed a fantastic movie, but I'm not sure how it
> compares to it's prequels.
Apparently American History IV was a classic....
I've heard that before somewhere.....dunno if it was you who said it mind. :-D
> Yes, American History X is indeed a fantastic movie, but I'm not sure how it
> compares to it's prequels.
Apparently American History IV was a classic....
I've heard that before somewhere.....dunno if it was you who said it mind. :-D
Yes, you only need to mention Schindlers List to know how powerful black and white can be, especially with little injections of colour here and there. Anyway, American History X was a good film, not spectacular. I've seen better better. Mouldy Cheese - I'd recommend Heat, it's a far better film.
Tiltawhirl wrote:
> Yup it is a damn good film, good performance by Norton. That scene where he
> stamps on the guys head though, ouch is all I can say.
Aww, man, yeah. That's sick. I cringe every time I see it. I love the use of black and white for the flash back scenes. Funny how black and white can be so powerful when used today, isn't it?
> Yup it is a damn good film, good performance by Norton. That scene where he
> stamps on the guys head though, ouch is all I can say.
Aww, man, yeah. That's sick. I cringe every time I see it. I love the use of black and white for the flash back scenes. Funny how black and white can be so powerful when used today, isn't it?
Yup it is a damn good film, good performance by Norton. That scene where he stamps on the guys head though, ouch is all I can say.
Yes, American History X is indeed a fantastic movie, but I'm not sure how it compares to it's prequels.
Apparently American History IV was a classic....
Apparently American History IV was a classic....
VINYARD!!!!
That's his surname! Just came back to me there.
And I also heard that a similar film to American History X is being released in cinemas soon. Apparently, it's supposed to be better than American History X.
X has Ed Norton, the new film has Billy Zane. The man who REALLY cannot act. He's not got too big a part hopefully. I like him but he can't act and in a film like this, you really need strong actors.
That's his surname! Just came back to me there.
And I also heard that a similar film to American History X is being released in cinemas soon. Apparently, it's supposed to be better than American History X.
X has Ed Norton, the new film has Billy Zane. The man who REALLY cannot act. He's not got too big a part hopefully. I like him but he can't act and in a film like this, you really need strong actors.
Hmmmmm....
I'm not sure which one I'd recommend. Heat is my favourite film but American History X is also brilliant.
They're both definitely worth getting. If you can afford both, get both. :-D
I'm not sure which one I'd recommend. Heat is my favourite film but American History X is also brilliant.
They're both definitely worth getting. If you can afford both, get both. :-D
Damn you votta! Just as I'm about to order Heat (On FMs recomendation), you go and post like this. Norton was great in Fight Club...but Heat sounds pretty good...hmmm.
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