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Thelma & Louise
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Thelma & Louise
Thelma & Louiseposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Ridley Scott
Produced by
Mimi Polk Gitlin
 Ridley Scott
Written by
Callie Khouri
Starring
Susan Sarandon
Geena Davis
Harvey Keitel
Michael Madsen
Brad Pitt
Music by
Hans Zimmer
Cinematography
Adrian Biddle
Edited by
Thom Noble

Production
 company

Pathé Entertainment
 Percy Main
 Star Partners III Ltd.

Distributed by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Release dates

May 24, 1991


Running time
 129 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$16.5 million
Box office
$45,360,915 (North America)[1]
Thelma & Louise is a 1991 American drama film, written by Callie Khouri and directed by Ridley Scott. It stars Geena Davis as Thelma and Susan Sarandon as Louise, two friends who embark on a road trip with disastrous consequences. It also stars Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen and Brad Pitt (in his major motion picture debut) in supporting roles.
The film became a critical and commercial success, receiving six Academy Award nominations and winning one for Best Original Screenplay (Khouri). Both Sarandon and Davis were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Reception 4.1 General
4.2 Feminism
4.3 Awards and honors
5 Soundtrack
6 References 6.1 Further reading
7 External links

Plot[edit]
Two friends, Thelma Dickinson (Geena Davis) and Louise Sawyer (Susan Sarandon), set out for a two-day vacation to take a break from their dreary lives. Thelma is married to a controlling man, Darryl (Christopher McDonald), while Louise works as a waitress in a diner. They head out in Louise's 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible, but their vacation in the mountains quickly turns into a nightmare before they reach their destination.
They stop for a drink at a roadhouse, where Thelma meets and dances with Harlan Puckett (Timothy Carhart). After she gets drunk, Harlan attempts to rape her in the parking lot. Louise finds them and threatens to shoot Harlan with a gun that Thelma brought with her. Harlan stops, but as the women walk away, he yells profanity and insults them. Louise loses her temper and fires, killing him. Thelma wants to go to the police, but Louise says that because Thelma was drunk and had been dancing with Harlan, no one will believe her claim of attempted rape. Afraid that she will be prosecuted, Louise decides to go on the run and Thelma accompanies her.
Louise is determined to travel from Oklahoma to Mexico, but refuses to go through Texas. It is revealed that something happened to her in Texas years earlier, but she refuses to say exactly what. Heading west, they come across an attractive young man named J.D. (Brad Pitt), and Thelma convinces Louise to let him hitch a ride with them. Louise contacts her boyfriend Jimmy Lennox (Michael Madsen) and asks him to wire transfer her life savings to her. When she goes to pick up the money, she finds that Jimmy has come to see her. Thelma invites J.D. into her room and learns he is a thief who has broken parole. They sleep together, and J.D. describes how he conducted his hold-ups. At the same time, Jimmy asks Louise to marry him, but she declines.
In the morning, Thelma tells Louise about her night with J.D. When they return to the motel room, they discover J.D. has taken Louise's life savings and fled. Louise is distraught and frozen with indecision, so a guilty Thelma takes charge and robs a convenience store using the tactics she learned from listening to J.D. Meanwhile, the FBI are getting closer to catching the fugitives, after questioning J.D. and Jimmy, and tapping the phone line at Darryl's house. Detective Hal Slocumb (Harvey Keitel) discovers the traumatic event that Louise experienced years earlier in Texas. During a couple of brief phone conversations with her, he expresses sympathy for her predicament and pledges to protect her, but he is unsuccessful in his attempts to persuade her to surrender.
When they are pulled over by a state trooper (Jason Beghe), Thelma holds him at gunpoint and locks him in the trunk of his car, while Louise takes his gun and ammunition. They then encounter a truck driver (Marco St. John) who repeatedly makes obscene gestures at them. They pull over to demand an apology, but when he refuses, they fire at the fuel-tanker he is driving, causing it to explode. Leaving the man furious, they drive off.
Thelma and Louise are finally cornered by the authorities only 100 yards from the edge of the Grand Canyon. Hal arrives on the scene, but he is refused the chance to make one last attempt to talk the women into surrendering themselves. Rather than be captured and spend the rest of their lives in jail, Thelma proposes that they "keep going" (over the cliff). Louise asks Thelma if she is certain. Thelma says yes, they kiss, and Louise steps on the accelerator. As soon as the car starts forward, Hal sprints after it in an attempt to save them, but the car zooms over the cliff.
Cast[edit]
Susan Sarandon as Louise Elizabeth Sawyer
Geena Davis as Thelma Yvonne Dickinson
Harvey Keitel as Detective Hal Slocumb
Michael Madsen as Jimmy Lennox
Christopher McDonald as Darryl Dickinson
Stephen Tobolowsky as Max
Brad Pitt as J.D.
Timothy Carhart as Harlan Puckett
Jason Beghe as State Trooper
Marco St. John as Truck Driver
Production[edit]
Although the setting for the film is a fictional route between Arkansas and the Grand Canyon, the movie was filmed almost entirely in the states of California and Utah. The primary filming locations for the movie are rural areas around Bakersfield, California and Moab, Utah. The Grand Canyon scenes were actually filmed just south of Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah.[2]
Reception[edit]
General[edit]
The film was a critical success. Metacritic lists a composite critical score of 88 out of 100.[3] Rotten Tomatoes rates Thelma & Louise 83% "Fresh". Janet Maslin of The New York Times had only praise for the film in her review: "Mr. Scott's Thelma and Louise, with a sparkling screenplay by the first-time writer Callie Khouri, is a surprise on this and many other scores. It reveals the previously untapped talent of Mr. Scott (best known for majestically moody action films like Alien, Blade Runner and Black Rain) for exuberant comedy, and for vibrant American imagery, notwithstanding his English roots. It reimagines the buddy film with such freshness and vigor that the genre seems positively new. It discovers unexpected resources in both its stars, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, who are perfectly teamed as the spirited and original title characters."[4] Roger Ebert also praises the film, but withholds a perfect score on the basis of "the last shot before the titles begin. It's a freeze frame that fades to white, which is fine, except it does so with unseemly haste... It's unsettling to get involved in a movie that takes 128 minutes to bring you to a payoff that the filmmakers seem to fear."[5]
The film was screened out of competition at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.[6] After watching the film, singer-songwriter Tori Amos wrote "Me and a Gun", the story of her rape six years earlier, which she had told no one about before watching this film. Triggered by a scene in the movie, Amos began sobbing publicly in a crowded movie theater and writing the lyrics to the song in her head.[7]
Argentinian singer and musician Fito Páez wrote a hit song called "Dos días en la vida" ("Two days in one lifetime") after watching this movie. The lyrics tell the story of the main characters, with verses played by singers Fabiana Cantilo (in the role of Thelma) and Celeste Carballo (Louise). It was one of the most successful singles from his 1992 album "El amor después del amor".
The final scene, where the two embrace each other before driving off a cliff, has become an iconic scene. Numerous homages and parodies of this scene have appeared through the years, including alternate movie endings, cartoon parodies, video game "Easter Eggs", and as a tragic ending to television series, music videos and commercials.[clarification needed]
The film also received significant criticism from those who thought it was misandrist and that its depictions of men were unfairly negative.[8][9]
Feminism[edit]
Numerous critics and writers have remarked on the feminist overtones of Thelma & Louise. Film critic B. Ruby Rich praises the film as an uncompromising validation of women's experiences,[10] while Kenneth Turan calls it a "neo-feminist road movie".[11] In her essay "The Daughters of Thelma and Louise", Jessica Enevold argues that the movie constitutes "an attack on conventional patterns of chauvinist male behavior toward females". In addition, it "exposes the traditional stereotyping of male-female relationships" while rescripting the typical gender roles of the road movie genre.[12]
However, in her review for The Los Angeles Times, film critic Sheila Benson objects to the characterization of the film as feminist, arguing that it is more preoccupied with revenge and violence than feminist values.[13]
In an article commemorating the film's 20th anniversary in 2011, Raina Lipsitz called it "the last great film about women" and said that it heralded the achievements of women that caused 1992 to become "the year of the woman". However, she also claimed that women-themed films have since been losing ground, and rarely even pass the Bechdel test.[14]
Awards and honors[edit]
Khouri won an Academy Award for Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen; Scott, Davis, Sarandon, cinematographer Adrian Biddle, and film editor Thom Noble were nominated for Oscars.

Award
Category
Nominee
Result
Boston Society of Film Critics Best Actress Geena Davis Won
British Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography Award Adrian Biddle Nominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actress Geena Davis Nominated
NBR Award Best Actress Susan Sarandon Won
Geena Davis
Top Ten Films  Won
Saint Jordi Award Best Foreign Actress Susan Sarandon Nominated
Golden Spike Award  Ridley Scott Won
(tied with The Adjuster)
Academy Award Best Original Screenplay Callie Khouri Won
Best Actress in a Leading Role Geena Davis Nominated
Susan Sarandon
Best Cinematography Adrian Biddle Nominated
Best Director Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Film Editing Thom Noble Nominated
BAFTA Award Best Actress Geena Davis Nominated
Susan Sarandon
Best Cinematography Adrian Bibble Nominated
Best Direction Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Editing Thom Noble Nominated
Best Film Ridley Scott
 Mimi Polk Gitlin Nominated
Best Original Film Score Hans Zimmer Nominated
Best Screenplay - Original Callie Khouri Nominated
Bodil Award Best Non-European Film Ridley Scott Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actress Geena Davis Nominated
Susan Sarandon
Best Director Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Picture  Nominated
Best Screenplay Callie Khouri Nominated
César Award Best Foreign Film Ridley Scott Nominated
David di Donatello Award Best Foreign Actress Geena Davis Won
Susan Sarandon
Best Foreign Film Ridley Scott Nominated
DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Ridley Scott Nominated
Golden Globe Award Best Screenplay - Motion Picture Callie Khouri Won
Best Motion Picture - Drama  Nominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama Geena Davis Nominated
Susan Sarandon
Silver Ribbon Best Female Dubbing Rossella Izzo
(voice of Louise)  Won
Best Foreign Director Ridley Scott Nominated
Critics' Circle Film Awards Actress of the Year Susan Sarandon
(also for White Palace)  Won
Director of the Year Ridley Scott Won
Film of the Year  Won
MTV Movie Award Best Female Performance Geena Davis Nominated
Best On-Screen Duo Geena Davis
 Susan Sarandon Nominated
NSFC Award Best Supporting Actor Harvey Keitel
(also for Bugsy and Mortal Thoughts)  Won
Best Actress Susan Sarandon Nominated
Literary Award Screenplay Callie Khouri Won
Writers Guild of America Award Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Won
The British Film Institute published a book[13] about the film in 2000, as part of a Modern Classics series. On the Writers Guild of America Award's 101 Best Screenplays List it made No. 72.[15] The film was ranked on the Australian program 20 to 1, in the episode Magnificent Movie Moments.
American Film Institute lists
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated
AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #76
AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: Thelma Dickinson & Louise Sawyer – #24 Heroes
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #78
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated
Soundtrack[edit]
In addition to Glenn Frey's "Part of Me, Part of You", which became the film's primary theme song, the soundtrack included songs by Chris Whitley, Martha Reeves, Toni Childs, Marianne Faithfull, Charlie Sexton, Grayson Hugh, B.B. King, and Michael McDonald.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Thelma and Louise (1991)". Box Office Mojo. 1991-08-06. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
2.Jump up ^ "Movies filmed in the Moab area". Moab Area Travel Council. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
3.Jump up ^ "Thelma & Louise Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
4.Jump up ^ "Thelma & Louise (1991)" The New York Times. May 24, 1991.
5.Jump up ^ Roger Ebert. "Thelma & Louise". Chicago Sun-Times.
6.Jump up ^ "Festival de Cannes: Thelma & Louise". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
7.Jump up ^ "Chasing Away the Demons, 20/20 Interview with Tori Amos". Healthy Place Inc. 1999-02-15. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
8.Jump up ^ "Is This What Feminism Is All About?" Time, June 24, 1991.
9.Jump up ^ "Callie Khouri Answers Critics Of 'Thelma And Louise'" Chicago Tribune. July 7, 1991.
10.Jump up ^ Rich, B. Ruby (February 18, 2003). "Two for the Road". The Advocate: 48–49.
11.Jump up ^ Dunne, Michael (2001). Intertextual Encounters in American Fiction, Film, and Popular Culture. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. p. 89. ISBN 0-87972-848-5.
12.Jump up ^ Enevold, Jessica (2004). "The Daughters of Thelma and Louise". Gender, Genre & Identity in Women's Travel Writing. New York. pp. 73–95. ISBN 0-8204-4905-9.
13.^ Jump up to: a b Sturken, Marita (2000). Thelma and Louise. London: British Film Institute. p. 11. ISBN 0-85170-809-9.
14.Jump up ^ "'Thelma & Louise': The Last Great Film About Women" The Atlantic, August 31, 2011.
15.Jump up ^ Writers Guild of America, West: 101 list
Further reading[edit]
Fournier, Gina. Thelma & Louise and Women in Hollywood. McFarland & Co., Inc. Publishers, 2007
Cook, Bernie, editor. Thelma & Louise Live! The Cultural Afterlife of an American Film, The University of Texas Press, 2007
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Thelma & Louise
Official website
Thelma & Louise at the Internet Movie Database
Thelma & Louise at AllMovie
Thelma & Louise at the TCM Movie Database
Thelma & Louise at Rotten Tomatoes
Thelma & Louise at Box Office Mojo
Thelma & Louise at The Numbers
Thelma and Louise - Original Trailer on YouTube


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Categories: 1991 films
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_%26_Louise









Thelma & Louise
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Thelma and louise)
Jump to: navigation, search


Thelma & Louise
Thelma & Louiseposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Ridley Scott
Produced by
Mimi Polk Gitlin
 Ridley Scott
Written by
Callie Khouri
Starring
Susan Sarandon
Geena Davis
Harvey Keitel
Michael Madsen
Brad Pitt
Music by
Hans Zimmer
Cinematography
Adrian Biddle
Edited by
Thom Noble

Production
 company

Pathé Entertainment
 Percy Main
 Star Partners III Ltd.

Distributed by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Release dates

May 24, 1991


Running time
 129 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$16.5 million
Box office
$45,360,915 (North America)[1]
Thelma & Louise is a 1991 American drama film, written by Callie Khouri and directed by Ridley Scott. It stars Geena Davis as Thelma and Susan Sarandon as Louise, two friends who embark on a road trip with disastrous consequences. It also stars Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen and Brad Pitt (in his major motion picture debut) in supporting roles.
The film became a critical and commercial success, receiving six Academy Award nominations and winning one for Best Original Screenplay (Khouri). Both Sarandon and Davis were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Reception 4.1 General
4.2 Feminism
4.3 Awards and honors
5 Soundtrack
6 References 6.1 Further reading
7 External links

Plot[edit]
Two friends, Thelma Dickinson (Geena Davis) and Louise Sawyer (Susan Sarandon), set out for a two-day vacation to take a break from their dreary lives. Thelma is married to a controlling man, Darryl (Christopher McDonald), while Louise works as a waitress in a diner. They head out in Louise's 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible, but their vacation in the mountains quickly turns into a nightmare before they reach their destination.
They stop for a drink at a roadhouse, where Thelma meets and dances with Harlan Puckett (Timothy Carhart). After she gets drunk, Harlan attempts to rape her in the parking lot. Louise finds them and threatens to shoot Harlan with a gun that Thelma brought with her. Harlan stops, but as the women walk away, he yells profanity and insults them. Louise loses her temper and fires, killing him. Thelma wants to go to the police, but Louise says that because Thelma was drunk and had been dancing with Harlan, no one will believe her claim of attempted rape. Afraid that she will be prosecuted, Louise decides to go on the run and Thelma accompanies her.
Louise is determined to travel from Oklahoma to Mexico, but refuses to go through Texas. It is revealed that something happened to her in Texas years earlier, but she refuses to say exactly what. Heading west, they come across an attractive young man named J.D. (Brad Pitt), and Thelma convinces Louise to let him hitch a ride with them. Louise contacts her boyfriend Jimmy Lennox (Michael Madsen) and asks him to wire transfer her life savings to her. When she goes to pick up the money, she finds that Jimmy has come to see her. Thelma invites J.D. into her room and learns he is a thief who has broken parole. They sleep together, and J.D. describes how he conducted his hold-ups. At the same time, Jimmy asks Louise to marry him, but she declines.
In the morning, Thelma tells Louise about her night with J.D. When they return to the motel room, they discover J.D. has taken Louise's life savings and fled. Louise is distraught and frozen with indecision, so a guilty Thelma takes charge and robs a convenience store using the tactics she learned from listening to J.D. Meanwhile, the FBI are getting closer to catching the fugitives, after questioning J.D. and Jimmy, and tapping the phone line at Darryl's house. Detective Hal Slocumb (Harvey Keitel) discovers the traumatic event that Louise experienced years earlier in Texas. During a couple of brief phone conversations with her, he expresses sympathy for her predicament and pledges to protect her, but he is unsuccessful in his attempts to persuade her to surrender.
When they are pulled over by a state trooper (Jason Beghe), Thelma holds him at gunpoint and locks him in the trunk of his car, while Louise takes his gun and ammunition. They then encounter a truck driver (Marco St. John) who repeatedly makes obscene gestures at them. They pull over to demand an apology, but when he refuses, they fire at the fuel-tanker he is driving, causing it to explode. Leaving the man furious, they drive off.
Thelma and Louise are finally cornered by the authorities only 100 yards from the edge of the Grand Canyon. Hal arrives on the scene, but he is refused the chance to make one last attempt to talk the women into surrendering themselves. Rather than be captured and spend the rest of their lives in jail, Thelma proposes that they "keep going" (over the cliff). Louise asks Thelma if she is certain. Thelma says yes, they kiss, and Louise steps on the accelerator. As soon as the car starts forward, Hal sprints after it in an attempt to save them, but the car zooms over the cliff.
Cast[edit]
Susan Sarandon as Louise Elizabeth Sawyer
Geena Davis as Thelma Yvonne Dickinson
Harvey Keitel as Detective Hal Slocumb
Michael Madsen as Jimmy Lennox
Christopher McDonald as Darryl Dickinson
Stephen Tobolowsky as Max
Brad Pitt as J.D.
Timothy Carhart as Harlan Puckett
Jason Beghe as State Trooper
Marco St. John as Truck Driver
Production[edit]
Although the setting for the film is a fictional route between Arkansas and the Grand Canyon, the movie was filmed almost entirely in the states of California and Utah. The primary filming locations for the movie are rural areas around Bakersfield, California and Moab, Utah. The Grand Canyon scenes were actually filmed just south of Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah.[2]
Reception[edit]
General[edit]
The film was a critical success. Metacritic lists a composite critical score of 88 out of 100.[3] Rotten Tomatoes rates Thelma & Louise 83% "Fresh". Janet Maslin of The New York Times had only praise for the film in her review: "Mr. Scott's Thelma and Louise, with a sparkling screenplay by the first-time writer Callie Khouri, is a surprise on this and many other scores. It reveals the previously untapped talent of Mr. Scott (best known for majestically moody action films like Alien, Blade Runner and Black Rain) for exuberant comedy, and for vibrant American imagery, notwithstanding his English roots. It reimagines the buddy film with such freshness and vigor that the genre seems positively new. It discovers unexpected resources in both its stars, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, who are perfectly teamed as the spirited and original title characters."[4] Roger Ebert also praises the film, but withholds a perfect score on the basis of "the last shot before the titles begin. It's a freeze frame that fades to white, which is fine, except it does so with unseemly haste... It's unsettling to get involved in a movie that takes 128 minutes to bring you to a payoff that the filmmakers seem to fear."[5]
The film was screened out of competition at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.[6] After watching the film, singer-songwriter Tori Amos wrote "Me and a Gun", the story of her rape six years earlier, which she had told no one about before watching this film. Triggered by a scene in the movie, Amos began sobbing publicly in a crowded movie theater and writing the lyrics to the song in her head.[7]
Argentinian singer and musician Fito Páez wrote a hit song called "Dos días en la vida" ("Two days in one lifetime") after watching this movie. The lyrics tell the story of the main characters, with verses played by singers Fabiana Cantilo (in the role of Thelma) and Celeste Carballo (Louise). It was one of the most successful singles from his 1992 album "El amor después del amor".
The final scene, where the two embrace each other before driving off a cliff, has become an iconic scene. Numerous homages and parodies of this scene have appeared through the years, including alternate movie endings, cartoon parodies, video game "Easter Eggs", and as a tragic ending to television series, music videos and commercials.[clarification needed]
The film also received significant criticism from those who thought it was misandrist and that its depictions of men were unfairly negative.[8][9]
Feminism[edit]
Numerous critics and writers have remarked on the feminist overtones of Thelma & Louise. Film critic B. Ruby Rich praises the film as an uncompromising validation of women's experiences,[10] while Kenneth Turan calls it a "neo-feminist road movie".[11] In her essay "The Daughters of Thelma and Louise", Jessica Enevold argues that the movie constitutes "an attack on conventional patterns of chauvinist male behavior toward females". In addition, it "exposes the traditional stereotyping of male-female relationships" while rescripting the typical gender roles of the road movie genre.[12]
However, in her review for The Los Angeles Times, film critic Sheila Benson objects to the characterization of the film as feminist, arguing that it is more preoccupied with revenge and violence than feminist values.[13]
In an article commemorating the film's 20th anniversary in 2011, Raina Lipsitz called it "the last great film about women" and said that it heralded the achievements of women that caused 1992 to become "the year of the woman". However, she also claimed that women-themed films have since been losing ground, and rarely even pass the Bechdel test.[14]
Awards and honors[edit]
Khouri won an Academy Award for Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen; Scott, Davis, Sarandon, cinematographer Adrian Biddle, and film editor Thom Noble were nominated for Oscars.

Award
Category
Nominee
Result
Boston Society of Film Critics Best Actress Geena Davis Won
British Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography Award Adrian Biddle Nominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actress Geena Davis Nominated
NBR Award Best Actress Susan Sarandon Won
Geena Davis
Top Ten Films  Won
Saint Jordi Award Best Foreign Actress Susan Sarandon Nominated
Golden Spike Award  Ridley Scott Won
(tied with The Adjuster)
Academy Award Best Original Screenplay Callie Khouri Won
Best Actress in a Leading Role Geena Davis Nominated
Susan Sarandon
Best Cinematography Adrian Biddle Nominated
Best Director Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Film Editing Thom Noble Nominated
BAFTA Award Best Actress Geena Davis Nominated
Susan Sarandon
Best Cinematography Adrian Bibble Nominated
Best Direction Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Editing Thom Noble Nominated
Best Film Ridley Scott
 Mimi Polk Gitlin Nominated
Best Original Film Score Hans Zimmer Nominated
Best Screenplay - Original Callie Khouri Nominated
Bodil Award Best Non-European Film Ridley Scott Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actress Geena Davis Nominated
Susan Sarandon
Best Director Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Picture  Nominated
Best Screenplay Callie Khouri Nominated
César Award Best Foreign Film Ridley Scott Nominated
David di Donatello Award Best Foreign Actress Geena Davis Won
Susan Sarandon
Best Foreign Film Ridley Scott Nominated
DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Ridley Scott Nominated
Golden Globe Award Best Screenplay - Motion Picture Callie Khouri Won
Best Motion Picture - Drama  Nominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama Geena Davis Nominated
Susan Sarandon
Silver Ribbon Best Female Dubbing Rossella Izzo
(voice of Louise)  Won
Best Foreign Director Ridley Scott Nominated
Critics' Circle Film Awards Actress of the Year Susan Sarandon
(also for White Palace)  Won
Director of the Year Ridley Scott Won
Film of the Year  Won
MTV Movie Award Best Female Performance Geena Davis Nominated
Best On-Screen Duo Geena Davis
 Susan Sarandon Nominated
NSFC Award Best Supporting Actor Harvey Keitel
(also for Bugsy and Mortal Thoughts)  Won
Best Actress Susan Sarandon Nominated
Literary Award Screenplay Callie Khouri Won
Writers Guild of America Award Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Won
The British Film Institute published a book[13] about the film in 2000, as part of a Modern Classics series. On the Writers Guild of America Award's 101 Best Screenplays List it made No. 72.[15] The film was ranked on the Australian program 20 to 1, in the episode Magnificent Movie Moments.
American Film Institute lists
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated
AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #76
AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: Thelma Dickinson & Louise Sawyer – #24 Heroes
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #78
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated
Soundtrack[edit]
In addition to Glenn Frey's "Part of Me, Part of You", which became the film's primary theme song, the soundtrack included songs by Chris Whitley, Martha Reeves, Toni Childs, Marianne Faithfull, Charlie Sexton, Grayson Hugh, B.B. King, and Michael McDonald.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Thelma and Louise (1991)". Box Office Mojo. 1991-08-06. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
2.Jump up ^ "Movies filmed in the Moab area". Moab Area Travel Council. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
3.Jump up ^ "Thelma & Louise Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
4.Jump up ^ "Thelma & Louise (1991)" The New York Times. May 24, 1991.
5.Jump up ^ Roger Ebert. "Thelma & Louise". Chicago Sun-Times.
6.Jump up ^ "Festival de Cannes: Thelma & Louise". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
7.Jump up ^ "Chasing Away the Demons, 20/20 Interview with Tori Amos". Healthy Place Inc. 1999-02-15. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
8.Jump up ^ "Is This What Feminism Is All About?" Time, June 24, 1991.
9.Jump up ^ "Callie Khouri Answers Critics Of 'Thelma And Louise'" Chicago Tribune. July 7, 1991.
10.Jump up ^ Rich, B. Ruby (February 18, 2003). "Two for the Road". The Advocate: 48–49.
11.Jump up ^ Dunne, Michael (2001). Intertextual Encounters in American Fiction, Film, and Popular Culture. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. p. 89. ISBN 0-87972-848-5.
12.Jump up ^ Enevold, Jessica (2004). "The Daughters of Thelma and Louise". Gender, Genre & Identity in Women's Travel Writing. New York. pp. 73–95. ISBN 0-8204-4905-9.
13.^ Jump up to: a b Sturken, Marita (2000). Thelma and Louise. London: British Film Institute. p. 11. ISBN 0-85170-809-9.
14.Jump up ^ "'Thelma & Louise': The Last Great Film About Women" The Atlantic, August 31, 2011.
15.Jump up ^ Writers Guild of America, West: 101 list
Further reading[edit]
Fournier, Gina. Thelma & Louise and Women in Hollywood. McFarland & Co., Inc. Publishers, 2007
Cook, Bernie, editor. Thelma & Louise Live! The Cultural Afterlife of an American Film, The University of Texas Press, 2007
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Thelma & Louise
Official website
Thelma & Louise at the Internet Movie Database
Thelma & Louise at AllMovie
Thelma & Louise at the TCM Movie Database
Thelma & Louise at Rotten Tomatoes
Thelma & Louise at Box Office Mojo
Thelma & Louise at The Numbers
Thelma and Louise - Original Trailer on YouTube


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American History X
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search


American History X
American history x poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Tony Kaye
Produced by
John Morrissey
Written by
David McKenna
Starring
Edward Norton
Edward Furlong
Fairuza Balk
Stacy Keach
Ethan Suplee
Elliott Gould
Avery Brooks
Beverly D'Angelo

Music by
Anne Dudley
Cinematography
Tony Kaye
Edited by
Jerry Greenberg
Alan Heim


Production
 company

Turman-Morrissey Company

Distributed by
New Line Cinema

Release dates

October 30, 1998


Running time
 119 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$20 million[1]
Box office
$23.9 million[1]
American History X is a 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna. It stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong, and co-stars Fairuza Balk, Stacy Keach, Elliott Gould, Avery Brooks, Ethan Suplee and Beverly D'Angelo. The film was released in the United States on October 30, 1998 and was distributed by New Line Cinema.
The film tells the story of two Venice, Los Angeles brothers who become involved in the neo-Nazi movement. The older brother serves three years in prison for voluntary manslaughter, changes his beliefs and tries to prevent his brother from going down the same path. The film is told in the style of nonlinear narrative. It was given an "R" rating by the MPAA for "graphic brutal violence including rape, pervasive language, strong sexuality and nudity". Made on a budget of $20 million, it grossed over $23 million at the international box office.
Critics mostly praised the film and Norton's performance, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In September 2008, Empire magazine named it the 311th Greatest Movie of All Time.[2]


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Soundtrack
4 Production
5 Reception 5.1 Box office
5.2 Critical reception
5.3 Accolades
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links

Plot[edit]
Danny Vinyard (Edward Furlong), a high school student and budding neo-Nazi in Venice Beach, California, receives an assignment from Murray (Elliott Gould), his history teacher, to write a paper on "any book which relates to the struggle for human rights." Knowing Murray is Jewish, Danny writes his paper on Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. Murray attempts to get Danny expelled for doing this, but Principal Dr. Bob Sweeney (Avery Brooks) — who is black — refuses, instead informing Danny that he will study history and current events under Sweeney, and that the class will be called "American History X." Danny's first assignment is to prepare a paper on his brother Derek (Edward Norton), a former neo-Nazi leader who has just been released from prison after serving three years for voluntary manslaughter. Danny is warned that failing to submit the paper the next morning will result in his expulsion. The rest of the movie alternates between a series of vignettes from Danny and Derek's shared past (distinguished by being shown in black and white), and present day events (shown in color).
Derek and Danny's father is Dennis Vinyard (William Russ), a firefighter who displays racist tendencies in reaction to the news that Derek's English teacher, Dr. Sweeney, had assigned Richard Wright's novel Native Son. He also reveals himself to be anti-affirmative action, as well as against political correctness. Sent on a call to fight a fire in a drug den, Dennis is murdered by black drug dealers. In a television interview conducted after Dennis's death, Derek erupts in a long racist tirade. Shortly thereafter, Cameron Alexander (Stacy Keach) and Derek form a white supremacist gang called the D.O.C.
A skilled basketball player, Derek is reluctantly dragged into a 5-on-5 game against several members of the Crips in which the prize is control of the recreation center basketball courts. Derek and his friends win the game. Later that evening, Derek leads a large gang of skinheads to attack a supermarket that has now lawfully been taken over and owned by a Korean who was accused of hiring Mexicans to take control of the store. They wreck the store, robbing it, and Derek tortures an African-American woman before escaping after the robbery. The next day, his mother Doris (Beverly D'Angelo) invites Murray, whom she is dating, home for dinner. A dinnertime discussion about Rodney King and police brutality turns into a full-blown argument between Derek and Murray. When Derek reveals his swastika tattoo and threatens Murray with violence for "invading his family", Murray leaves and Doris orders Derek out of her home. That night, as Derek and his girlfriend Stacey (Fairuza Balk) have sex, Danny hears people (the three gang members whom Derek beat at basketball) attempting to steal Derek's truck. Derek grabs a pistol and heads outside. He shoots one of the thieves to death and curb stomps another. Immediately arrested, Derek is sentenced to three years at the California Institution for Men in Chino.
Derek is given a job in the prison laundry and is assigned to be the partner of Lamont (Guy Torry), a black man who is serving six years for assault. Lamont stole a television set from a store and broke the arresting officer's foot when he accidentally dropped the television on it. The pair develop a rapport from their shared love of basketball.
In prison, Derek joins the Aryan Brotherhood but, after about a year, he becomes disillusioned with the racist gang, particularly over the group's hypocritical friendly relations with a Mexican gang member, and their trafficking of narcotics. In response to Derek's criticisms, Aryan Brotherhood members savagely beat and rape him in the shower. While recovering from the attack, Derek is visited by Sweeney, whom he asks for help to be paroled. Sweeney informs him of Danny's involvement with neo-Nazis, and warns that he is on the same path as his older brother. Sweeney confesses that he hated white people as a youth, but eventually realized that hatred is pointless.
Derek further distances himself from the Aryan Brotherhood and changes his outlook on life. He spends the remainder of his time in prison alone, reading books that Sweeney sends him. He fears that the prison's black inmates will attack him, but they leave him alone, thanks to Lamont's persuasion. Finally realizing the error of his ways, Derek leaves prison a changed man.
In the evening that Derek returns home from prison, he finds that Danny has a D.O.C. tattoo. Derek tries to persuade Danny to leave the gang. Later that night, they both go to a neo-Nazi party, where Derek tells the leader, Cameron, that he and Danny will no longer associate with the neo-Nazi movement. Cameron provokes Derek, who beats him up. In response, Danny's neo-Nazi friend Seth Ryan (Ethan Suplee) runs after Derek and aims a pistol at him, which Derek wrestles from him and points at the angry crowd before running away. Danny angrily confronts Derek, who tells him about his experience in prison, which seems to prompt a change in Danny. Back at their home, they remove all the white power posters from their bedroom walls.
The following morning, Danny finishes his paper and Derek gets ready for a meeting with his parole officer. Derek walks Danny to school before his meeting, and on their way they stop at a diner where they are met by Sweeney and a police officer. They tell Derek that Cameron and Seth were attacked the previous night and have been hospitalized.
At school, Danny is confronted by a young black student named Little Henry, with whom he had a confrontation the previous day. Little Henry pulls out a gun and shoots Danny in the chest, killing him. When Derek arrives at the school, he runs into the bathroom and tearfully cradles his dead brother in his arms.
The film ends with a voice over of Danny reading the final lines of his paper for Dr. Sweeney. Stating "Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time. It's just not worth it." and then quoting the final stanza of Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address.
Cast[edit]
Edward Norton as Derek Vinyard
Edward Furlong as Danny Vinyard
Beverly D'Angelo as Doris Vinyard
Jennifer Lien as Davina Vinyard
Ethan Suplee as Seth Ryan
Fairuza Balk as Stacey
Avery Brooks as Dr. Bob Sweeney
Elliott Gould as Murray
Stacy Keach as Cameron Alexander
William Russ as Dennis Vinyard
Guy Torry as Lamont
Joseph Cortese as Rasmussen
Alex Sol as Mitch McKormick
Keram Malicki-Sánchez as Chris
Giuseppe Andrews as Jason
Christopher Masterson as Daryl Dawson
Paul Le Mat as McMahon
Tara Blanchard as Ally Vinyard
Nigel Miguel as Basketball Player[3]
Soundtrack[edit]
All music composed by Anne Dudley.

No.
Title
Length

1. "American History X"   4:46
2. "The Assignment"   2:36
3. "Venice Beach"   1:28
4. "Playing to Win"   3:49
5. "People Look at Me and See My Brother"   1:41
6. "If I Had Testified"   4:05
7. "A Stranger at My Table"   3:31
8. "Putting Up a Flag"   2:06
9. "Raiders"   3:02
10. "Complications"   1:38
11. "Starting to Remind Me of You"   1:43
12. "The Right Questions"   3:24
13. "The Parth to Redemption"   2:56
14. "We Are Not Enemies"   2:05
15. "Two Brothers"   2:31
16. "Storm Clouds Gathering"   2:04
17. "Benedictus"   3:35
Production[edit]
Shooting took place in Los Angeles, California.[4] With some suggestions from New Line, director Tony Kaye made a second heavily shortened cut, which New Line rejected as it bore little resemblance to the first. Film editor Jerry Greenberg was brought in to cut a third version with Edward Norton.
Kaye disowned the third version as the final cut of the film, as he did not approve of its quality.[5] He tried and failed to have his name removed from the credits,[6][7] openly telling some interviewers he tried to invoke the Alan Smithee pseudonym which the Directors Guild of America used to reserve for such cases. When his request was denied, Kaye tried "Humpty Dumpty" as an alternative name.
Joaquin Phoenix was offered the role of Derek Vinyard but turned it down.[8]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
American History X was released on October 30, 1998 and grossed $156,076 in seventeen theaters during its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $6,719,864 from 513 theaters in the United States, and a total of $23,875,127 worldwide.[1]
Critical reception[edit]



Edward Norton's performance was critically lauded and he went on to receive multiple accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
The film received positive reviews upon release with many critics directing particular praise towards Edward Norton's performance. Based on the reviews of 82 critics collected on Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of critics gave the film a positive review, making the film "Certified Fresh", with an average score of 7.3/10; the website's consensus reads: "A compelling and provocative story led by an excellent performance by Edward Norton."[9] By comparison, on Metacritic, the film holds a 62/100 average rating based on 32 reviews of top mainstream critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]
Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune, awarding American History X four stars out of four, described it as "a shockingly powerful screed against racism that also manages to be so well performed and directed that it is entertaining as well" and stated that it was "also effective at demonstrating how hate is taught from one generation to another." Siskel singled out Norton's performance and called him "the immediate front-runner" for an Oscar.[11] Todd McCarthy, writing for Variety, gave the film a positive review stating, "This jolting, superbly acted film will draw serious-minded upscale viewers interested in cutting-edge fare." He gave special praise to Norton's performance, saying "His Derek mesmerizes even as he repels, and the actor fully exposes the human being behind the tough poses and attitudinizing."[12] The New York Times '​s Janet Maslin wrote, "Though its story elements are all too easily reduced to a simple outline, American History X has enough fiery acting and provocative bombast to make its impact felt. For one thing, its willingness to take on ugly political realities gives it a substantial raison d'être. For another, it has been directed with a mixture of handsome photo-realism and visceral punch."[13] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, stating that it was "always interesting and sometimes compelling, and it contains more actual provocative thought than any American film on race since Do the Right Thing." He was critical though of the film's underdeveloped areas, stating that "the movie never convincingly charts Derek's path to race hatred" and noting that "in trying to resolve the events of four years in one day, it leaves its shortcuts showing." Nevertheless, Ebert concluded, "This is a good and powerful film. If I am dissatisfied, it is because it contains the promise of being more than it is."[14]
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle expressed disappointment at the film, though he did praise Norton's performance as Derek, commenting that he "is perfect for the role." LaSalle felt that while the film succeeded in portraying Derek's descent into neo-Nazism, it failed to portray his renouncement of his past beliefs: "We had to watch him think his way in. We should see him think his way out." LaSalle also noted other problems: "In some places the dialogue is surprisingly stilted. Far worse, the ending is a misfire."[15] Stephen Hunter, writing for The Washington Post was highly critical of the film and gave it a negative review. He called it "a mousy little nothing of a picture, an old melodramatic formula hidden under pretentious TV-commercial-slick photography, postmodernist narrative stylings and violations of various laws of probability."[16]
Accolades[edit]
Norton was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Derek Vinyard, but lost to Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful. In 2006, the film was nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers.[17]
Norton's performance was ranked by Total Film as the 72nd greatest film performance of all time.[18] Norton's Academy Award loss was also included on Empire list of "22 Incredibly Shocking Oscars Injustices".[19]

Award
Category
Recipient(s) and nominee(s)
Result
Ref.
Academy Awards Best Actor Edward Norton Nominated [20]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Actor Edward Norton Nominated [21]
Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing: Music Score in a Feature Film Richard Ford Nominated [22]
Golden Satellite Awards Best Original Screenplay David McKenna Nominated [23]
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Edward Norton Won
Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Drama Beverly D'Angelo Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor Edward Norton Nominated [24]
Political Film Society Awards Peace — Nominated [25]
Saturn Awards Best Actor Edward Norton Nominated [26]
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards Best Actor Edward Norton Won [27]
Taormina International Film Festival Best Actor Edward Norton Won [28]
Youth in Film Awards Best Supporting Young Actor in a Feature Film Edward Furlong Nominated [29]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c "American History X (1998)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
2.Jump up ^ "Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". Empire Magazine. March 24, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
3.Jump up ^ Willis, John (2000). "Screen World 1999 Film Annual". Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. p. 148. ISBN 9781557834102. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
4.Jump up ^ "American History X Filming Locations". Movie Locations Guide. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
5.Jump up ^ Maurer, Monika (September 1998). "A Quick Chat with Tony Kaye by Monika Maurer".
6.Jump up ^ McCarthy, Todd (October 22, 1998). "American History X". Variety. Archived from the original on July 23, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009. "It is possible that some otherwise well-disposed critics may restrain their praise, even unwittingly, in knee-jerk sympathy with director Kaye, who disowns this cut and lost his bid to take his name off the picture."
7.Jump up ^ Kaye, Tony (October 25, 2002). "Losing it". The Guardian. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
8.Jump up ^ "Great roles actors have turned down". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
9.Jump up ^ "American History X". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
10.Jump up ^ "American History X Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
11.Jump up ^ Siskel, Gene (October 30, 1998). "A Shocking Film About Racial Hate". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
12.Jump up ^ McCarthy, Todd (October 22, 1998). "American History X". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
13.Jump up ^ Maslin, Janet (October 28, 1998). "'American History X': The Darkest Chambers of a Nation's Soul". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
14.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (October 30, 1998). "American History X". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 12, 2004. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
15.Jump up ^ LaSalle, Mick (October 30, 1998). "Neo-Nazi With a Conscience / Norton shines, but `History' disappoints". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
16.Jump up ^ Hunter, Stephen (October 30, 1998). "'American History X'". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
17.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years ...100 Cheers Nominees
18.Jump up ^ Total Film (December 11, 2008). "150 Greatest Movie Performances of All Time". Total Film. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
19.Jump up ^ De Semlyen, Phil (February 27, 2014). "22 Incredibly Shocking Oscars Injustices". Empire. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
20.Jump up ^ "71st Academy Awards Winners". Academy Awards. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
21.Jump up ^ Tribune staff (January 19, 1999). "Chicago Film Critics Name Their Favorites". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
22.Jump up ^ J. Olson, Eric (February 22, 1999). "Sound editors shout Golden Reel noms". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
23.Jump up ^ "1999 Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
24.Jump up ^ "1998 Awards (2nd Annual)". Online Film Critics Society. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
25.Jump up ^ "Previous Award Winners". Political Film Society. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
26.Jump up ^ J. Olson, Eric (March 8, 1999). "Out of this world". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
27.Jump up ^ "1998 SEFCA Best Films of the Year". Southeastern Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on June 13, 2004. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
28.Jump up ^ Rooney, David (August 3, 1999). "U.S. pix help revive Italy’s Taormina fest". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
29.Jump up ^ "20th Annual Awards". Young Artist Award. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
Further reading[edit]
Frauley, Jon (2010). "Subculture and American History X". Criminology, Deviance, and the Silver Screen: The Fictional Reality and the Criminological Imagination. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-61516-8.
External links[edit]

Portal icon California portal
Portal icon Film portal
Portal icon Greater Los Angeles portal
American History X at AllMovie
American History X at Box Office Mojo
American History X at Metacritic
American History X at Rotten Tomatoes
American History X at the Internet Movie Database


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Categories: 1998 films
English-language films
1990s crime drama films
American crime drama films
American independent films
Directorial debut films
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Films about race and ethnicity
Films about racism
Films directed by Tony Kaye (director)
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American History X
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search


American History X
American history x poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Tony Kaye
Produced by
John Morrissey
Written by
David McKenna
Starring
Edward Norton
Edward Furlong
Fairuza Balk
Stacy Keach
Ethan Suplee
Elliott Gould
Avery Brooks
Beverly D'Angelo

Music by
Anne Dudley
Cinematography
Tony Kaye
Edited by
Jerry Greenberg
Alan Heim


Production
 company

Turman-Morrissey Company

Distributed by
New Line Cinema

Release dates

October 30, 1998


Running time
 119 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$20 million[1]
Box office
$23.9 million[1]
American History X is a 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna. It stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong, and co-stars Fairuza Balk, Stacy Keach, Elliott Gould, Avery Brooks, Ethan Suplee and Beverly D'Angelo. The film was released in the United States on October 30, 1998 and was distributed by New Line Cinema.
The film tells the story of two Venice, Los Angeles brothers who become involved in the neo-Nazi movement. The older brother serves three years in prison for voluntary manslaughter, changes his beliefs and tries to prevent his brother from going down the same path. The film is told in the style of nonlinear narrative. It was given an "R" rating by the MPAA for "graphic brutal violence including rape, pervasive language, strong sexuality and nudity". Made on a budget of $20 million, it grossed over $23 million at the international box office.
Critics mostly praised the film and Norton's performance, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In September 2008, Empire magazine named it the 311th Greatest Movie of All Time.[2]


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Soundtrack
4 Production
5 Reception 5.1 Box office
5.2 Critical reception
5.3 Accolades
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links

Plot[edit]
Danny Vinyard (Edward Furlong), a high school student and budding neo-Nazi in Venice Beach, California, receives an assignment from Murray (Elliott Gould), his history teacher, to write a paper on "any book which relates to the struggle for human rights." Knowing Murray is Jewish, Danny writes his paper on Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. Murray attempts to get Danny expelled for doing this, but Principal Dr. Bob Sweeney (Avery Brooks) — who is black — refuses, instead informing Danny that he will study history and current events under Sweeney, and that the class will be called "American History X." Danny's first assignment is to prepare a paper on his brother Derek (Edward Norton), a former neo-Nazi leader who has just been released from prison after serving three years for voluntary manslaughter. Danny is warned that failing to submit the paper the next morning will result in his expulsion. The rest of the movie alternates between a series of vignettes from Danny and Derek's shared past (distinguished by being shown in black and white), and present day events (shown in color).
Derek and Danny's father is Dennis Vinyard (William Russ), a firefighter who displays racist tendencies in reaction to the news that Derek's English teacher, Dr. Sweeney, had assigned Richard Wright's novel Native Son. He also reveals himself to be anti-affirmative action, as well as against political correctness. Sent on a call to fight a fire in a drug den, Dennis is murdered by black drug dealers. In a television interview conducted after Dennis's death, Derek erupts in a long racist tirade. Shortly thereafter, Cameron Alexander (Stacy Keach) and Derek form a white supremacist gang called the D.O.C.
A skilled basketball player, Derek is reluctantly dragged into a 5-on-5 game against several members of the Crips in which the prize is control of the recreation center basketball courts. Derek and his friends win the game. Later that evening, Derek leads a large gang of skinheads to attack a supermarket that has now lawfully been taken over and owned by a Korean who was accused of hiring Mexicans to take control of the store. They wreck the store, robbing it, and Derek tortures an African-American woman before escaping after the robbery. The next day, his mother Doris (Beverly D'Angelo) invites Murray, whom she is dating, home for dinner. A dinnertime discussion about Rodney King and police brutality turns into a full-blown argument between Derek and Murray. When Derek reveals his swastika tattoo and threatens Murray with violence for "invading his family", Murray leaves and Doris orders Derek out of her home. That night, as Derek and his girlfriend Stacey (Fairuza Balk) have sex, Danny hears people (the three gang members whom Derek beat at basketball) attempting to steal Derek's truck. Derek grabs a pistol and heads outside. He shoots one of the thieves to death and curb stomps another. Immediately arrested, Derek is sentenced to three years at the California Institution for Men in Chino.
Derek is given a job in the prison laundry and is assigned to be the partner of Lamont (Guy Torry), a black man who is serving six years for assault. Lamont stole a television set from a store and broke the arresting officer's foot when he accidentally dropped the television on it. The pair develop a rapport from their shared love of basketball.
In prison, Derek joins the Aryan Brotherhood but, after about a year, he becomes disillusioned with the racist gang, particularly over the group's hypocritical friendly relations with a Mexican gang member, and their trafficking of narcotics. In response to Derek's criticisms, Aryan Brotherhood members savagely beat and rape him in the shower. While recovering from the attack, Derek is visited by Sweeney, whom he asks for help to be paroled. Sweeney informs him of Danny's involvement with neo-Nazis, and warns that he is on the same path as his older brother. Sweeney confesses that he hated white people as a youth, but eventually realized that hatred is pointless.
Derek further distances himself from the Aryan Brotherhood and changes his outlook on life. He spends the remainder of his time in prison alone, reading books that Sweeney sends him. He fears that the prison's black inmates will attack him, but they leave him alone, thanks to Lamont's persuasion. Finally realizing the error of his ways, Derek leaves prison a changed man.
In the evening that Derek returns home from prison, he finds that Danny has a D.O.C. tattoo. Derek tries to persuade Danny to leave the gang. Later that night, they both go to a neo-Nazi party, where Derek tells the leader, Cameron, that he and Danny will no longer associate with the neo-Nazi movement. Cameron provokes Derek, who beats him up. In response, Danny's neo-Nazi friend Seth Ryan (Ethan Suplee) runs after Derek and aims a pistol at him, which Derek wrestles from him and points at the angry crowd before running away. Danny angrily confronts Derek, who tells him about his experience in prison, which seems to prompt a change in Danny. Back at their home, they remove all the white power posters from their bedroom walls.
The following morning, Danny finishes his paper and Derek gets ready for a meeting with his parole officer. Derek walks Danny to school before his meeting, and on their way they stop at a diner where they are met by Sweeney and a police officer. They tell Derek that Cameron and Seth were attacked the previous night and have been hospitalized.
At school, Danny is confronted by a young black student named Little Henry, with whom he had a confrontation the previous day. Little Henry pulls out a gun and shoots Danny in the chest, killing him. When Derek arrives at the school, he runs into the bathroom and tearfully cradles his dead brother in his arms.
The film ends with a voice over of Danny reading the final lines of his paper for Dr. Sweeney. Stating "Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time. It's just not worth it." and then quoting the final stanza of Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address.
Cast[edit]
Edward Norton as Derek Vinyard
Edward Furlong as Danny Vinyard
Beverly D'Angelo as Doris Vinyard
Jennifer Lien as Davina Vinyard
Ethan Suplee as Seth Ryan
Fairuza Balk as Stacey
Avery Brooks as Dr. Bob Sweeney
Elliott Gould as Murray
Stacy Keach as Cameron Alexander
William Russ as Dennis Vinyard
Guy Torry as Lamont
Joseph Cortese as Rasmussen
Alex Sol as Mitch McKormick
Keram Malicki-Sánchez as Chris
Giuseppe Andrews as Jason
Christopher Masterson as Daryl Dawson
Paul Le Mat as McMahon
Tara Blanchard as Ally Vinyard
Nigel Miguel as Basketball Player[3]
Soundtrack[edit]
All music composed by Anne Dudley.

No.
Title
Length

1. "American History X"   4:46
2. "The Assignment"   2:36
3. "Venice Beach"   1:28
4. "Playing to Win"   3:49
5. "People Look at Me and See My Brother"   1:41
6. "If I Had Testified"   4:05
7. "A Stranger at My Table"   3:31
8. "Putting Up a Flag"   2:06
9. "Raiders"   3:02
10. "Complications"   1:38
11. "Starting to Remind Me of You"   1:43
12. "The Right Questions"   3:24
13. "The Parth to Redemption"   2:56
14. "We Are Not Enemies"   2:05
15. "Two Brothers"   2:31
16. "Storm Clouds Gathering"   2:04
17. "Benedictus"   3:35
Production[edit]
Shooting took place in Los Angeles, California.[4] With some suggestions from New Line, director Tony Kaye made a second heavily shortened cut, which New Line rejected as it bore little resemblance to the first. Film editor Jerry Greenberg was brought in to cut a third version with Edward Norton.
Kaye disowned the third version as the final cut of the film, as he did not approve of its quality.[5] He tried and failed to have his name removed from the credits,[6][7] openly telling some interviewers he tried to invoke the Alan Smithee pseudonym which the Directors Guild of America used to reserve for such cases. When his request was denied, Kaye tried "Humpty Dumpty" as an alternative name.
Joaquin Phoenix was offered the role of Derek Vinyard but turned it down.[8]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
American History X was released on October 30, 1998 and grossed $156,076 in seventeen theaters during its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $6,719,864 from 513 theaters in the United States, and a total of $23,875,127 worldwide.[1]
Critical reception[edit]



Edward Norton's performance was critically lauded and he went on to receive multiple accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
The film received positive reviews upon release with many critics directing particular praise towards Edward Norton's performance. Based on the reviews of 82 critics collected on Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of critics gave the film a positive review, making the film "Certified Fresh", with an average score of 7.3/10; the website's consensus reads: "A compelling and provocative story led by an excellent performance by Edward Norton."[9] By comparison, on Metacritic, the film holds a 62/100 average rating based on 32 reviews of top mainstream critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]
Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune, awarding American History X four stars out of four, described it as "a shockingly powerful screed against racism that also manages to be so well performed and directed that it is entertaining as well" and stated that it was "also effective at demonstrating how hate is taught from one generation to another." Siskel singled out Norton's performance and called him "the immediate front-runner" for an Oscar.[11] Todd McCarthy, writing for Variety, gave the film a positive review stating, "This jolting, superbly acted film will draw serious-minded upscale viewers interested in cutting-edge fare." He gave special praise to Norton's performance, saying "His Derek mesmerizes even as he repels, and the actor fully exposes the human being behind the tough poses and attitudinizing."[12] The New York Times '​s Janet Maslin wrote, "Though its story elements are all too easily reduced to a simple outline, American History X has enough fiery acting and provocative bombast to make its impact felt. For one thing, its willingness to take on ugly political realities gives it a substantial raison d'être. For another, it has been directed with a mixture of handsome photo-realism and visceral punch."[13] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, stating that it was "always interesting and sometimes compelling, and it contains more actual provocative thought than any American film on race since Do the Right Thing." He was critical though of the film's underdeveloped areas, stating that "the movie never convincingly charts Derek's path to race hatred" and noting that "in trying to resolve the events of four years in one day, it leaves its shortcuts showing." Nevertheless, Ebert concluded, "This is a good and powerful film. If I am dissatisfied, it is because it contains the promise of being more than it is."[14]
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle expressed disappointment at the film, though he did praise Norton's performance as Derek, commenting that he "is perfect for the role." LaSalle felt that while the film succeeded in portraying Derek's descent into neo-Nazism, it failed to portray his renouncement of his past beliefs: "We had to watch him think his way in. We should see him think his way out." LaSalle also noted other problems: "In some places the dialogue is surprisingly stilted. Far worse, the ending is a misfire."[15] Stephen Hunter, writing for The Washington Post was highly critical of the film and gave it a negative review. He called it "a mousy little nothing of a picture, an old melodramatic formula hidden under pretentious TV-commercial-slick photography, postmodernist narrative stylings and violations of various laws of probability."[16]
Accolades[edit]
Norton was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Derek Vinyard, but lost to Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful. In 2006, the film was nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers.[17]
Norton's performance was ranked by Total Film as the 72nd greatest film performance of all time.[18] Norton's Academy Award loss was also included on Empire list of "22 Incredibly Shocking Oscars Injustices".[19]

Award
Category
Recipient(s) and nominee(s)
Result
Ref.
Academy Awards Best Actor Edward Norton Nominated [20]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Actor Edward Norton Nominated [21]
Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing: Music Score in a Feature Film Richard Ford Nominated [22]
Golden Satellite Awards Best Original Screenplay David McKenna Nominated [23]
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Edward Norton Won
Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Drama Beverly D'Angelo Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor Edward Norton Nominated [24]
Political Film Society Awards Peace — Nominated [25]
Saturn Awards Best Actor Edward Norton Nominated [26]
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards Best Actor Edward Norton Won [27]
Taormina International Film Festival Best Actor Edward Norton Won [28]
Youth in Film Awards Best Supporting Young Actor in a Feature Film Edward Furlong Nominated [29]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c "American History X (1998)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
2.Jump up ^ "Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". Empire Magazine. March 24, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
3.Jump up ^ Willis, John (2000). "Screen World 1999 Film Annual". Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. p. 148. ISBN 9781557834102. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
4.Jump up ^ "American History X Filming Locations". Movie Locations Guide. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
5.Jump up ^ Maurer, Monika (September 1998). "A Quick Chat with Tony Kaye by Monika Maurer".
6.Jump up ^ McCarthy, Todd (October 22, 1998). "American History X". Variety. Archived from the original on July 23, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009. "It is possible that some otherwise well-disposed critics may restrain their praise, even unwittingly, in knee-jerk sympathy with director Kaye, who disowns this cut and lost his bid to take his name off the picture."
7.Jump up ^ Kaye, Tony (October 25, 2002). "Losing it". The Guardian. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
8.Jump up ^ "Great roles actors have turned down". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
9.Jump up ^ "American History X". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
10.Jump up ^ "American History X Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
11.Jump up ^ Siskel, Gene (October 30, 1998). "A Shocking Film About Racial Hate". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
12.Jump up ^ McCarthy, Todd (October 22, 1998). "American History X". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
13.Jump up ^ Maslin, Janet (October 28, 1998). "'American History X': The Darkest Chambers of a Nation's Soul". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
14.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (October 30, 1998). "American History X". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 12, 2004. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
15.Jump up ^ LaSalle, Mick (October 30, 1998). "Neo-Nazi With a Conscience / Norton shines, but `History' disappoints". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
16.Jump up ^ Hunter, Stephen (October 30, 1998). "'American History X'". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
17.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years ...100 Cheers Nominees
18.Jump up ^ Total Film (December 11, 2008). "150 Greatest Movie Performances of All Time". Total Film. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
19.Jump up ^ De Semlyen, Phil (February 27, 2014). "22 Incredibly Shocking Oscars Injustices". Empire. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
20.Jump up ^ "71st Academy Awards Winners". Academy Awards. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
21.Jump up ^ Tribune staff (January 19, 1999). "Chicago Film Critics Name Their Favorites". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
22.Jump up ^ J. Olson, Eric (February 22, 1999). "Sound editors shout Golden Reel noms". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
23.Jump up ^ "1999 Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
24.Jump up ^ "1998 Awards (2nd Annual)". Online Film Critics Society. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
25.Jump up ^ "Previous Award Winners". Political Film Society. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
26.Jump up ^ J. Olson, Eric (March 8, 1999). "Out of this world". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
27.Jump up ^ "1998 SEFCA Best Films of the Year". Southeastern Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on June 13, 2004. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
28.Jump up ^ Rooney, David (August 3, 1999). "U.S. pix help revive Italy’s Taormina fest". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
29.Jump up ^ "20th Annual Awards". Young Artist Award. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
Further reading[edit]
Frauley, Jon (2010). "Subculture and American History X". Criminology, Deviance, and the Silver Screen: The Fictional Reality and the Criminological Imagination. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-61516-8.
External links[edit]

Portal icon California portal
Portal icon Film portal
Portal icon Greater Los Angeles portal
American History X at AllMovie
American History X at Box Office Mojo
American History X at Metacritic
American History X at Rotten Tomatoes
American History X at the Internet Movie Database


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Films directed by Tony Kaye


American History X (1998) ·
 Lake of Fire (2006) ·
 Black Water Transit (2009) ·
 Detachment (2011)
 

  


Categories: 1998 films
English-language films
1990s crime drama films
American crime drama films
American independent films
Directorial debut films
Films about dysfunctional families
Films about race and ethnicity
Films about racism
Films directed by Tony Kaye (director)
Films set in Los Angeles, California
Films shot in Los Angeles, California
Fiction narrated by a dead person
Gang films
New Line Cinema films
Nazism in fiction
Nonlinear narrative films
Prison films




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