American History X

Character mistake: Near the end, just before Derek and Danny depart at Danny's high school, Derek says to his brother "I saw a car cruising by the house last night when I pulled out of there with Seth." The car that was shown driving by their house the previous night was in a brief scene right after Derek and Danny took down all of their nazi posters, and before Derek took a shower. He had not just 'pulled out of there with Seth.' The last time he had seen Seth at this point in the movie was at Cameron's party where Seth had almost shot him.

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Suggested correction: Just because Derek says to Danny that he saw a car driving by their house when he left with Seth and a black car drove by later in the movie doesn't mean that this is the car Derek was referring to. There are many possibilities to explain what Derek was referring to (perhaps he was paranoid and saw an ordinary car driving by that he thought was scoping their apartment out) but it doesn't mean that the black car is the one he was referring to when he warned Danny.

Continuity mistake: 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.

Continuity mistake: Watch Cameron's position when he is hit by Derek. He turns around, bumps onto the wall with his face pointed out left. In another shot after Derek's close-up, Cameron's face is suddenly pointed to the right as he slides down the wall to the ground, without the possibility to have changed his face direction.

Continuity mistake: Just after Danny gets shot at the end of the film, the paper falls directly downward out of his hand to the bathroom floor. In the next shot where he is falling backward, the paper is flying at least two and a half feet in the air higher than it was when it initially left his hand. It showed him releasing the paper just after he got shot without giving it any kind of upward direction.

Visible crew/equipment: When Sweeney and Murray are debating about how to handle Danny after the stunt he played in class, look closely at the bookcase behind Sweeney. You will notice a reflection of an object, likely a piece of equipment, hovering up and down above Sweeney's head. While it is difficult to make out what this object is, it is definitely something that would not ordinarily be there.

Continuity mistake: In the opening scene of the movie, when Derek grabs the black guy who is laying on the ground, his arm is raised high above his head. In the later scene, a repeat of the altercation, Derek's arm does not even raise past his chest when he grabs the black guy.

Continuity mistake: Just before Derek and Danny take down their Nazi posters, they are gazing at the wall. Danny, in one shot is sitting in his chair looking upward with his hands in his lap. In the next shot of what appears to be uninterrupted time, he is looking downward with his hand raised up to his face.

Continuity mistake: When Danny gets home from school on the day of Derek's return, he shows Derek his Disciples of Christ tattoo on his arm. Watch Derek and you will notice that he first grabs Danny's wrist with his right hand, and then in the immediate following shot of completely uninterrupted time Derek is holding Danny's wrist with his left hand.

Continuity mistake: Watch behind Danny when the principal tells him to shut the door to his office. Right before he says this, on the wall behind Danny, there is no reflection of the sun. When the shot cuts back to Danny we can see a large reflection behind him on the wall from the sun.

Continuity mistake: When Seth is spitting the jelly beans out of his mouth, he has them all over his shirt. But in the next shot when Derek comes into the room and Seth gets up, there are none on his shirt.

Continuity mistake: When Derek is talking to Danny in the kitchen about the stunt he pulled in school, the lamp above the kitchen table goes from being still to moving side to side between shots.

Visible crew/equipment: When Derek is in prison speaking to Doris (his mother) whenever the camera is facing Derek you can see the reflection of the camera in the glass.

gandolfs dad

Continuity mistake: When Derek is first telling the story about his time in the jail they show Derek with the top button on his shirt buttoned up and the next shot the cop tells him to button up his shirt and the top button was unbuttoned. (01:09:15)

Continuity mistake: After Derek stamps the car-jacker's head into the curb it shows the dead body with his head on the curb. It cuts to Derek, Danny, police then goes back to the dead body. His head has somehow slipped off the curb and is now behind it.

Other mistake: Derek sees the Cadillac circle the block after he walks Danny to school. He looks at the car and knows something is wrong. So he runs back to the school and in that short amount of time the crime scene is roped off and cops are everywhere.

American History X mistake picture

Visible crew/equipment: When Derek is entering the party with Seth you can actually see the shadow of the camera and of some crew members on Derek's and Seth's bodies. It just takes a sec, but I think it's clear.

Continuity mistake: When Danny is walking into the principal's office he is not quite in the door when the shot goes to Sweeney and he says to 'shut the door', then the shot goes back to Danny who is about two feet farther in the door than he was when he stopped in the last shot.

Continuity mistake: When they go into the coffee shop they order a coffee, a large milk, and a maple bar. Then when Sweeney and the cop walk in Derek goes to talk with them without taking the order. He tells them that he is going to take him to school and calls Danny over. Danny doesn't come close to the counter but when they walk out the door Danny has the order in his hand.

Continuity mistake: In the first basketball game in Venice Beach, Edward Furlong leans up on a fence and his school bag's strap slips off his shoulder. In the next shot, the strap is back up on his shoulder. Yet he had no time to fix it.

Continuity mistake: In the dinner scene with the whole family and the mother's new date they are talking about the LA riots when Edward Norton puts down his fork. It cuts to a shot behind him and he's still holding the fork up.

Murray: Derek, what are you trying to prove?

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Trivia: The ending was originally different. After the scene where Derek is crying over Danny, it cut to Henry being arrested, then his family in the kitchen mourning him and saying he was a good boy, and then Derek shaving his head again while smiling. When Edward Norton read the script, he said "I thought the movie was supposed to be anti-Nazi." So the ending was soon changed.

MikeH

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Question: We see something going on between the corrupt skinhead and the Hispanic criminal inside the prison, and it makes Vinyard leave that gang. What exactly was the arrangement by the skinheads to 'protect' Vinyard?

Answer: It's quite simple: He was one of them, a fellow skinhead. In prison different groups stick together for mutual protection and comradeship, and as neo-nazis/skinheads would be fairly unpopular with the colored inmates, all the more reason for them to protect each other.

Twotall

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