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.
Acting
Norton's bulked-up physicality and rage are genuinely frightening.
Direction
Kaye's black-and-white flashbacks vs. color present is devastating.
Writing
The dinner table debate scene is textbook tension.
Director
Tony Kaye
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Edward Norton famously took over editing and angered director Tony Kaye so much that Kaye tried to remove his name and replace it with 'Humpty Dumpty.'
The film's curb-stomping became referenced in actual hate crimes, creating a disturbing feedback loop between fiction and reality that Kaye never anticipated.
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