

American History X
Some legacies must end.
Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.
TMDB
8.3/10
13,024 votes
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Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $20M
- Box office
- $23.9M
- Language
- English
- prison
- neo-nazism
- rape
- skinhead
- sibling relationship
- swastika
- nazi
- brother
- gangster
- fascism
- tragedy
- jail
Top billed cast
















Behind the camera
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Release dates
IndiaIN
- TheatricalA21 Sept 1999
United StatesUS
- Theatrical (limited)R30 Oct 1998
- TheatricalR20 Nov 1998
United KingdomGB
- Theatrical1826 Mar 1999
AustraliaAU
- TheatricalMA 15+6 May 1999
CanadaCA
- Theatrical1 Jul 1998
ArgentinaAR
- Theatrical1611 Mar 1999
BelgiumBE
- Theatrical183 Mar 1999
BrazilBR
- Theatrical1616 Apr 1999
CroatiaHR
- Theatrical29 Apr 1999
CzechiaCZ
- Theatrical15+25 Mar 1999
DenmarkDK
- Theatrical1512 Feb 1999
FinlandFI
- TheatricalK-1616 Apr 1999
Frequently asked questions
American History X was released on 1 July 1998.
Audience reviews
4- T9/10
tmdb15435519
4/15/2021
Despite having a somewhat weak cast, this is an incredibly poignant drama of one man's struggle to live a new life. Probably too violent and close-to-home for some.
- A5/10
Andre Gonzales
4/16/2023
There's really no point to the movie. Just a lot of violence. That's pretty much it.
- G1/10
GenerationofSwine
12/4/2025
You could use this as a skinhead recruitment film because it failed so miserably in the message it was trying to push, and it failed miserably because they were too concerned about pushing the message that they forgot how they were framing the film. So a bunch of skinheads win a turf war basketball game, to stop the gang violence around the basketball courts, and then one of the Black people on the losing side tri…
- C7/10
CinemaSerf
7/1/2026
"Danny" (Edward Furlong) isn't making much progress at school so his teacher "Sweeney" (Avery Brooks) gives him a project. He is to document the life of his elder brother "Derek" (Edward Norton) whom he adores. "Derek" was a neo-Nazi - and an active one at that who has only recently been released from prison for killing two men who tried to steal his car, but after spending time behind bars he has begun to question h…
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