Continuity: When Danny gets shot at the end of the film, his paper flies out of his hand. But the very next shot of him shows that the paper is still in his hand being held over his head while he falls backwards. In one of the following shots the paper is back on the floor, but it's on the opposite side it should have been when it flew out of his hand. It's all shown in slow motion and it's very obvious.
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Mistakes
In the opening of the movie, when Derek approaches the black guy who he had just pistol whipped, the background is pitch black with one small light flickering in the distance. Later in the movie, during one of Danny's flashbacks, it shows a repeat of that scene, and when Derek is approaching the black guy, the entire street is well lit, and the background is very visible. See more...
Trivia
At the end, when Danny is heard quoting from the paper he wrote for Dr. Sweeney, the quote which begins "We are not enemies, but friends..." is the closing paragraph from President Abraham Lincoln's first Inaugural Address on the 4th of March 1861. See more...
American History X (1998)
Directed by Tony Kaye, starring Avery Brooks, Beverly D'Angelo, Edward Furlong, Edward Norton, Elliott Gould, Ethan Suplee, Fairuza Balk, Jennifer Lien (add more)
American History X mistakes
Continuity: Toward the beginning, when the principal calls Danny into his office to discuss his Mein Kampf paper, he first glares at the Jewish teacher who exits the principal's office. As the teacher is walking past, the clock on the wall reads 8:10. But when the camera angle changes to show him walk around a corner, the same clock reads 8:20. Apparently it took him 10 minutes to turn the corner.
Continuity: When Danny and Derek are taking down the Nazi-posters in Danny's room, the big poster above the computer is a very large neo nazi flag that takes up about one fifth of the entire wall. During one of the shots in which all other smaller posters are being taken down, it is not there, and then it reappears and is the last one they take down.
American History X trivia
At the end, when Danny is heard quoting from the paper he wrote for Dr. Sweeney, the quote which begins "We are not enemies, but friends..." is the closing paragraph from President Abraham Lincoln's first Inaugural Address on the 4th of March 1861.
A little detail to notice: The swastika on the back of Seth's jacket at the party is facing the wrong way. From 1920, Nazis have always used a right-facing swastika as their official symbol, but the one on Seth's jacket is left-facing. Most likely a character mistake by Seth (who is not pictured as very bright), but worth noticing.