---
title: "American History X"
year: 1998
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/american-history-x"
fi1m_id: "american-history-x"
imdb_id: "tt0120586"
tmdb_id: 73
wikidata_id: "Q208572"
fi1m_score: 67
critics_score: 62
critics_reviews: 9
published: "2026-09-13"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:20.870772+00:00"
region: "NL"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# American History X (1998)

Directed by Tony Kaye · 1h 59m · Kijkwijzer 16 · Drama

## Identity

American History X

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/american-history-x
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** american-history-x
- **IMDb ID:** tt0120586
- **TMDB ID:** 73
- **Wikidata ID:** Q208572
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120586/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/73, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q208572

**Fi1m score: 67** · Critics 62 from 9 reviews

*In a sentence:* Edward Norton does the frightening; the script does the lecturing

> Edward Norton’s disturbing performance makes *American History X* worth seeing, despite its blunt writing. Tony Kaye directs with force, but the hurried explanations leave too little space for doubt or gradual change.

## Synopsis

Edward Norton plays Derek in a drama about neo-Nazism, racist conviction and the possibility of change. The story enters a working-class male environment where prejudice shapes the way people speak and act, and asks what it takes for those beliefs to be questioned. Edward Furlong plays Danny, with Beverly D’Angelo as Doris, Jennifer Lien as Davina and Avery Brooks as Sweeney. Directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna, *American History X* also features Stacy Keach as Cameron and Guy Torry as Lamont.

## Review

*American History X* is a forceful drama weakened by a script that makes difficult changes of belief look too simple. Tony Kaye wants us to face racist hatred without the reassuring thought that only people entirely unlike us could embrace it. That is a worthwhile aim, and Edward Norton gives it an unsettling human shape as Derek. The trouble is that David McKenna’s screenplay so often turns people into speakers for a position, then hurries towards the next lesson.

Norton makes Derek’s confidence the disturbing thing: the certainty that his prejudices amount to knowledge and that other people simply lack his courage. We were unnerved by how reasonable he can make himself sound while saying something vile. Norton does not need to force every line for the menace to register; his command of the conversation is enough. He lets us understand why someone might listen to this man, without making the beliefs themselves any less repellent.

Kaye also serves as cinematographer, and his emphatic compositions give the film a visual confidence that the writing cannot always sustain. The wordless passages allow a face or a group of bodies to hold our attention without somebody explaining what they represent. Yet Derek is photographed with such insistence on his presence that the film sometimes seems impressed by the man it is examining. Norton’s charisma is already dangerous enough, and the images work too hard to underline it.

Jon Gary Steele’s production design gives the working-class surroundings a convincing ordinariness. The settings help place Derek among people with an established life together, so his racism does not seem safely confined to some remote criminal hideout. Anne Dudley’s music is less restrained, supplying a solemnity that can feel prescribed. When both the images and the score are insisting on the weight of a scene, there is little room left for our own response.

The larger weakness belongs to McKenna, whose dialogue keeps making the themes explicit after the performances have made them clear. His account of how racist convictions take hold, and how they might be questioned, depends on lessons that arrive too neatly. We can accept that people change without accepting every dramatic shortcut taken to show it. Too much of the dialogue sounds prepared for a classroom discussion, with each speaker allocated a point to make and little opportunity to stray from it.

Editors Gerald B. Greenberg and Alan Heim keep the drama moving, though that forward pressure makes the simplifications harder to ignore. Some developments need time to settle, and the cutting gives them less of it than the film’s subject requires. The scenes can be forceful individually while the steps between them remain unconvincing. More time with hesitation and doubt would have helped us believe the changes the screenplay wants to make.

We do not require a drama about racism to explain every hateful belief or provide a complete programme for correcting it. We do need its people to remain convincing when the script starts steering them towards its conclusions. Kaye’s film has enough troubling moments to survive its simplifications, though they limit what it can tell us about changing a mind. See it for Norton, and allow for some persistent lecturing.

*Fi1m score 67, published 13 September 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is American History X worth watching?**

*American History X* is worth watching for Edward Norton's unsettling performance as Derek, though the script lectures too often, and we scored it 67. Norton makes a racist's certainty sound frighteningly reasonable, but David McKenna's dialogue keeps turning people into spokesmen for a position. See it for the acting and allow for the simplifications.

**How long is American History X, and what is it rated?**

*American History X* runs 1h 59m and is rated 16 by the Kijkwijzer in the Netherlands. It is a drama film.

**Where can I watch American History X in the Netherlands?**

*American History X* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from €2.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is American History X, and is it suitable for children?**

*American History X* carries an 18 certificate in the UK and is not suitable for children. It is a drama about neo-Nazism and racist hatred, and what unnerved us was less any single act than how convincing Norton makes Derek's contempt sound. Expect strong racist language and adult material throughout; younger teenagers should wait.

**How does American History X compare to This Is England?**

*American History X* is the more forceful film and [*This Is England*](https://film.one/film/this-is-england) the more patient one, and we prefer Shane Meadows's account of how a skinhead gang recruits the lonely. Both films arrange their political lessons too neatly, but Meadows gives his people warmth and humour where Kaye gives Derek charisma the camera admires too much. Choose Norton for menace, Meadows for understanding.

**What should I watch after American History X?**

After *American History X*, try [*This Is England*](https://film.one/film/this-is-england) (2006, Fi1m 85): Another account of racist belonging, with more patience for the people being recruited. Then [*La Haine*](https://film.one/film/la-haine) (1995, Fi1m 90): For another close encounter with young men, grievance and the appeal of violence; and [*The Shop on the High Street*](https://film.one/film/the-shop-on-main-street) (1965, Fi1m 90): A patient account of how prejudice becomes something ordinary people help enforce.

### Reviews we read (9)

- **Empire**, Adam Smith (75/100, inferred): The critic deems it a fine film centered on Edward Norton's towering, convincing performance as a racist with retained humanity, though noting flaws in backstory, direction, and the ending. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/american-history-x-review/)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (70/100, inferred): The film is well-made with powerful scenes and strong performances, particularly from Edward Norton, but its underlying structure is too apparent and it hurries through its bases without fully developing key elements like the prison experience. It is a good and powerful film that contains the promise of being more than it ultimately delivers. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/american-history-x-1998)
- **Sight and Sound**, Andrew O'Hehir (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film easy to mock for its heavy-handed dialogue and simplistic plotting around racism and redemption, yet praises its impressive scale, craft, and powerful non-verbal tableaux of images. [Read](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/92)
- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (70/100, inferred): This is an inflated yet gut-slugging film that dares to address America's neo-Nazi culture with brutal candor, featuring fiery acting and provocative bombast from Edward Norton in a dual-faceted role. Its willingness to take on ugly political realities gives it substance, though it mixes handsome photo-realism with visceral punch in a manner reminiscent of hyperstylists like Michael Cimino and Spike Lee. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/28/movies/film-review-the-darkest-chambers-of-a-nation-s-soul.html)
- **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (65/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's blunt candor in addressing racial tensions but criticizes its many flaws, including overwrought visuals and implausible character transformations. Norton’s magnetic performance and Kaye’s outsider view of American extremism are highlighted as sources of its primal power. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/american-history-x-1798220966)
- **Time Out**, WH (60/100, inferred): The review notes that the shock opening sums up the film's strengths and weaknesses as a would-be liberal drama on neo-Nazism, but praises Norton's astounding performance and its feeling for reactionary working-class male environments. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/american-history-x)
- **The Independent** (40/100, inferred): The critic calls the film facile and meretricious overall, singling out only Edward Norton's magnetic performance as worth seeing amid the variable script and distracting visual style. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-also-showing-1082865.html)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (30/100, inferred): The film is a simplistic and unconvincing look at a serious problem despite a kernel of a good idea and a forceful, mesmerizing performance by Edward Norton as an articulate racist. Kaye's razzle-dazzle cinematography underlines the excitement of capturing racism on film, but the bombastic, clumsy script feels that because racists aren’t subtle a film about them needn’t be either. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-28-ca-36714-story.html)
- **Den of Geek**, Ryan Lambie (80/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a spectacular diamond in the rough with stylish direction and outstanding performances from Norton and Furlong. It highlights how the troubled production overshadowed a powerful exploration of racial hatred and redemption. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/american-history-x-and-tony-kaye-hollywood-maverick/)

## Details

- **Director:** Tony Kaye
- **Director:** Tony Kaye
- **Screenplay:** David McKenna
- **Cinematography:** Tony Kaye
- **Editor:** Gerald B. Greenberg, Alan Heim
- **Music:** Anne Dudley
- **Production design:** Jon Gary Steele
- **Costume design:** Doug Hall
- **Producer:** John Morrissey
- **Cast:** Edward Norton as Derek; Edward Furlong as Danny; Beverly D'Angelo as Doris; Jennifer Lien as Davina; Ethan Suplee as Seth; Fairuza Balk as Stacey; Avery Brooks as Sweeney; Elliott Gould as Murray
- **Runtime:** 1h 59m
- **Certificate (Kijkwijzer):** 16
- **Release (the Netherlands):** 12 May 1999
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Budget:** $20 million
- **Box office:** $24 million

## Where to watch in the Netherlands

- Amazon Prime Video: rent €2.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy €7.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-13.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IN, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1999: Best Actor (nominated)
- Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture 1999: Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture (won)

## If you liked this

- *This Is England* (2006), Fi1m 85: Another account of racist belonging, with more patience for the people being recruited — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/this-is-england.md)
- *The Believer* (2001): A troubling companion about racist conviction, with a performance that resists easy explanation
- *La Haine* (1995), Fi1m 90: For another close encounter with young men, grievance and the appeal of violence — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/la-haine.md)
- *The Shop on the High Street* (1965), Fi1m 90: A patient account of how prejudice becomes something ordinary people help enforce — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-shop-on-main-street.md)
- *Made in Britain* (1982): A lean study of racist aggression that offers little comfort and no easy reassurance

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/american-history-x