Product Details

• Actors: Bob Hoskins, Jeffrey DeMunn, Rosa Blasi, Luis Avalos, Denise Blasor
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Showtime Ent.
• VHS Release Date: February 20, 2001
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000056BR8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,898 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lights, camera, more action, please!, May 20, 2001

By 

Robert Kelly (Oak Park, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Noriega: God's Favorite [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a too-long and too-talkative account of the streetwise thug who brutalized his countrymen as the military ruler of Panama in the 1980s. Bob Hoskins is believable as Manual Noriega but he can't overcome all of the dialogue and a leisurely story shot mainly indoors. You keep wishing for action tied to real or believable Panamanian locations to create a sense of locale. The co-villain, the U.S., isn't really nailed for its thuggery in sending in some 25,000 troops to capture the head of a country who had been a longtime informant for the CIA. As a result of Operation Just Cause, a classic wrong name if there ever was one, an estimated 2,500 to 5,000 Panmanians were killed and an entire poor neighborhood was obliterated; it has not yet been rebuilt completely. The movie does claim at the end that drug trade in Panama has doubled since Noriega was removed; the elder Bush, president at the time, had been miffed that Noriega also was helping the Colombian drug cartel. Hoskins makes a nice try but the movie misses the mark.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Suffering in a Beautiful Country, November 15, 2004

By 

John Marshall (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Noriega: God's Favorite [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I lived in Panama from 1985 to 1988, and remember quite well some of the events portrayed in the movie. Of course a movie of 2 hours can not be expected to tell the entire history of Panama and the actions of General Noriega. Since I speak Spanish and knew many local people, I was able to understand current events. I thought the murder of Dr Hugo Spadafor was a terrible thing, as well as the suffering of the Panamanian people. From the time of my arrival to Howard AFB, we were instructed to respect and obey the laws of Panama as well as the PDF and local police. We were not allowed to carry guns nor wear a military uniform off base. As military personnel, we were taught that we had no right to intefere in the local politics. I thought that the United States building the Canal and our presence was a good thing, since we supported the economy and made many local friends. Therefore, it is my opinion that the movie was a reasonable brief synopsis of the life of Gen Noriega, although it left out many details of the suffering of the Panamanian people, and could have been much improved had it revealed more of the facts.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Negative Views Aside, This is a great movie, March 10, 2007

By 

Ronald L. Mcninch Jr. "Real Views" (Mangilao, Guam USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Noriega: God's Favorite [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a very interesting movie.
This movie doesn't make a hero of Noriega, it shows how evil a man can be as a leader of a nation. The opening sequence clearly depicts the murder and torture associated with his regime and his methods.

There are strong alignments in this movie with other tyrannical historical figures depicted in stage and film, Richard III is a good example. I think that there are three basic lessons in this film:

1) Noriega led a tyrannical life of contasts, his bad behavior upped the stakes to the point that he could no longer control the external forces he stirred.

2) He did seem to have luck. The black comedy depiction highlights just how lucky he was. The depiction of the coup he narrowly escapes in the movie was very real.

3) There are key lessons in this movie about the level of violence tyrants will go to to keep power.

I bought this movie and its a favorite. I hope it will be released on DVD soon with the extras.