Synopsis:

This is simply a different way of looking at the film, chronologically from beginning to end. All narrations by Danny and Derek have also been removed. It’s not intended to be superior to the original.

Intentions:

The director of American History X, Tony Kaye, notoriously disassociated himself from the film during the editing process. This is not an attempt to reconstruct the film as Kaye might have wanted it. Depending on who you believe, either Kaye’s version and the theatrical version were drastically different or they were nearly identical. In my opinion, they were very similar. In any case, this is simply a different way of looking at the film, chronologically from beginning to end. It’s not intended to be superior to the original.

Change List:

-Re-ordered the scenes so that it flows chronologically -added 1 of the 3 deleted scenes (the one with Seth and Cameron in the restaurant) -there are a few almost unnoticeable continuity errors in the film that really aren’t that important, but one that always bugged me has been fixed: In the first flashback after Derek shoots at the car and is approaching one of the other guys he shot, he leans down and is about to pistol whip him before it cuts. In the second flashback, it shows the same scene with Derek approaching him but this time, when he gets to the guy, he just drags him into the street. Now there’s no approach by Derek to pistol whip him, he just drags him into the street. -turned the scenes with Danny working on his paper into a simple, short montage rather than having him go back and forth to it all night -removed all narration by Danny and Derek. If you’re watching the events chronologically, it makes no sense to have the narration. Derek’s narration is in the original because he’s telling his prison tale to Danny through flashbacks. Since it’s chronological, it doesn’t make sense to have him narrating it as it happens. Danny’s narration is essentially bits from his essay that introduce flashback sequences. Again, no need for it. And, it allowed me to lose that terrible, cringe-inducing monologue at the very end. Seriously, that was almost as painful as the curbing scene. The DVD is presented in stereo rather than 5.1 to make it less obvious where the narration has been removed.

Additional Notes:

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Other Sources:

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