At first, you may not think this is [...]]]> There’s a couple reasons American History X makes my favorite movies list. One is simply that it’s a compelling look at a disturbing topic — neo-Nazism among young American men. Another is that it was a major step in Edward Norton becoming one of my favorite actors.

At first, you may not think this is Norton, especially if you recall him as Aaron in the 1996 film Primal Fear. Released just two years later, American History X presents a bulked up, heavily muscled Norton. It is an amazing transformation. Combined with Norton’s talents as an actor, it helps make his character, Derek Vinyard, more believable. Norton earned plenty of best actor nominations for his performance, including the Oscar (won that year by Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful, one of the worst Academy Award decisions in my memory).

Vinyard is a leading member of a skinhead group in Los Angeles. Despite being very intelligent, he makes no bones about his hatred. To him, every problem in America is due to “social parasites,” the “Blacks, Browns, Yellow whatever.” Vinyard ends up in prison after brutally murdering a black man. Although the story takes a road that is almost too pat when Vinyard realizes the error of his ways while in prison and then he is paroled on the condition he keep his younger brother from following the same path, the film is still powerful. The story is told from the timeframe following Vinyard’s release from prison and, while that is in color, all flashbacks were filmed in black and white, adding a unique approach to a film about race.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 83 percent rating, with a consensus that it is a “compelling and provocative story led by an excellent performance by Edward Norton.” It is in the range of “generally favorable reviews” at Metacritic, but users of the site give it a 9 out of a possible 10. I am clearly in the latter group, believing that while American History X has its flaws, it is an impressive and disturbing look at race and hatred in America.

“Danny Vinyard” (Edward Furlong), American History X

I was 11 when the movie came out in 1968. I asked my parents to let me go see [...]]]> I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve seen 2001: A Space Odyssey. I do have one huge regret about all those viewings, though. None has been in a movie theater on a big screen.

I was 11 when the movie came out in 1968. I asked my parents to let me go see it in a Cinerama (the era’s version of IMAX) theater in Minneapolis that summer. Neither one wanted to go so I was out of luck. It’s one of those minor deals that still sticks in my mind, particularly with the retrospective knowledge of what it would have been like on such a huge screen.

Of course, whether I saw the movie in that or any other theater probably wouldn’t have made any difference to my comprehension of the meaning(s) of the film. After all, despite all the viewings on VHS and DVD and years of reading science fiction and watching Stanley Kubrick movies, I still don’t know that I understand it. And I actually think anybody who claims to grasp the meaning of the film is full of crap (although Kubrick claimed a 15-year-old girl provided the “most intelligent” commentary on it).

Whether we understand it or not, there’s no doubt 2001 is both a cinematic classic and a cultural icon. Most Baby Boomers (and perhaps others) commonly refer to the Richard Strauss composition Also sprach Zarathustra as “the 2001 theme.” The wipe at the from the opening “Dawn of Man” segment to the next is undoubtedly one of the most classic transitions ever. HAL, the computer with artificial intelligence in the movie, itself became an icon, not only being elected to a hall of fame but sparking the urban legend that the name was an intentional one letter shift from IBM. Finally, there’s the five-minute or so fantastic, psychedelic journey in the penultimate part of the film. When contrasted with the final scenes, it is no wonder we are left wondering just what we saw.

In 1991, the movie was selected for the National Film Registry, which preserves up to 25 “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films” each year. The U.K.s Film4 channel ranked it number 6 on its list of 50 films to see before you die. It was 22nd on the American Film Institute’s 1998 list of the 100 greatest American movies and actually rose to 15th place in the 10th anniversary edition. Filmsite‘s commentary on the movie in its discussion of those top 100 movies said, “Director Stanley Kubrick’s work is a profound, visionary and astounding film (a mysterious Rorschach film-blot) and a tremendous visual experience.”

Groundbreaking for its time, 2001‘s special effects show their age today. Yet I think the description of it as a “Rorschach film-blot” remains accurate after repeated viewings. And even though I’m living years after that then-distant future, I keep coming back to the film. Maybe one day I’ll understand it. Actually, I think finding it in an IMAX theater is far more probable — and that will help me erase 40 some years of disappointment.

HAL 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey