EXCLUSIVE: Lost American History X Footage

American History X had a difficult production, going through at least three cuts of the movie.  Director Tony Kaye presented at least two cuts, one (the first) which was accepted but with New Line wanting some minor tweaks.  His second cut was rejected outright.  This lead to a rapidly deteriorating relationship between Kaye and the studio, with Kaye eventually seeking a $275,000,000 lawsuit.

Back when VHS was still the main format of home entertainment, a bootleg copy of this movie did the rounds.  It’s not clear which cut of the movie it is, but it’s rumoured to be a third version of the movie, by director Tony Kaye, edited while he retreated to the Caribbean in 1998.  The footage below is from that cut.  This version of the movie is different almost entirely on an aesthetic level to the theatrical version, with no two angles or cuts being similar.  Substance wise, it’s the same movie as the theatrical cut, same dialogue, same story.

Included here is footage not used in the theatrical version.  There is more, but too much to remove and too interwoven.  There is more violence in it as well, it lingers around longer when someone is shot or punched or beaten.  In Furlong’s death for example, in the video, there is an extra shot of him being shot.  Three times as opposed to two, with added gore.  In this version, both Vineyard brothers are more coarse, more racist and aggressive. And whether or not Derek Vineyard is actually going to rehabilitate upon leaving prison isn’t clearer until much later. The rumoured ending of Norton re-shaving his head after Furlong’s murder is not included. Most probably it wasn’t filmed.

Like the Cliffhanger footage uploaded recently, this footage is in rough condition – but not as bad as Cliffhanger.  It can be corrected with specialist hardware, but there’s no real point.