Product Details

• Actors: Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Bruce McGill, Loren Dean
• Directors: John Singleton
• Writers: Gregory Poirier
• Producers: Jon Peters, Penelope L. Foster, Peter Ramsey, Russ Kavanaugh, Tracy Barone
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: January 27, 1998
• Run Time: 140 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0790732068
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,583 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A shameful chapter in American history is powerfully dramatized in Rosewood, but moviegoers in 1997 may not have been ready for the African American equivalent of Schindler's List. And while the massacre that occurred in the nearly all-black town of Rosewood, Florida, in 1922 cannot compare in scale to the Nazi holocaust, it potently illustrates the same issues of racism and inherited intolerance that percolate at every level of human existence. An estimated 40 to 150 blacks were killed in Rosewood by an all-white lynch mob from the neighboring town of Sumner, where a white woman falsely claimed she'd been assaulted by a black man. The resulting mayhem ignited a tinderbox of resentment toward the flourishing citizens of Rosewood, and those few who survived were so traumatized that they remained silent until the truth was revealed by an investigative journalist in 1982.

The film is blessed with richly authentic production design, lush cinematography, and a subtly effective John Williams score, and director John Singleton and screenwriter Gregory Poirier embellish the truth of Rosewood with a fictional hero named Mann (Ving Rhames), who arrives to buy a five-acre plot coveted by Rosewood's white grocer (John Voight). The emerging trust between these two characters--and the fate of an extended family led by a defiant father (Don Cheadle)--gives shape to the movie's devastating depiction of racism and the courage of those who opposed the lynch mob's brutality. Singleton and Poirier fall prey to some bad dialogue and a broadly unbalanced depiction of bloodthirsty hayseeds, but the film's passion is maintained by its superb cast and the timeless echoes of history. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

Item Name: Rosewood; Studio: Warner Home Video

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An all too often forgotten part of our history., January 7, 2000

By 

John K. Reed (Harrisburg, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rosewood (DVD)

It could be argued that some of the black characters are far from above reproach. Esther Rolle's decision not to report the incident, Ving Rhames' (and others) desire to initially run from the conflict, or you could look at the promiscuity of Don Cheadle's sister's character who has an adulterous affair with Jon Voight. Superficially these may appear to be character flaws. That is unless you account for the reality of pervasive racism that exists in America (forget about just the South) by both the general populous and public officials in particular. The harsh truth is that black people didn't have the luxury to be (much) less than virtuous as it could too often result in imprisonment, financial ruin, beatings or lynchings. And even with all of the so called virtue exhibited by the black characters an accusation by a white woman was accepted even in lieu of truths known by other white characters. If that could happen to characters who were above reproach I hate to imagine what would have happened to less virtuous characters. If they were virtuous it's only because their very survival depended on it. This theme has repeated itself all too often and all too recently for a thinking individual to believe that these types of incidents couldn't happen today.

The most deplorable fact is how long it took for the government to even acknowledge the horror and injustice of this and other events such as the destruction of Black Wall Street in Kansas City. That is another element of why blacks so often had to conduct themselves in a seemingly reproachless manner.

And Mr. Singleton need not be criticized for the 'stereotypical' portrayals of southern racists. It was and is accurate. Just as it's accurate to demonstrate that there were and are whites who were fair minded and exhibited tremendous bravery of their own account.

There is nothing 'happy' about this movie at all. Look at the countless number of lives that were either ruined or ended because of our collective disease. The final conflict underscores the real tragedy that racism is. It destroys the lives and humanity of all it's participant's be they perpetrators or victims. How many children lost their parents? How many individuals lost their livelihood or savings? How many families were destroyed?

That notwithstanding it is a monumental achievment for Mr. Singleton if not necessarily a cinematic masterpiece. But who ever said that history has to be exiciting or uplifting? It's just what is. For that Mr. Singleton deserves the highest commendation just to get a film of this nature made let alone telling a too often suppressed and ignored part of our history. For that I give it 5 stars. However, there are many nuances to the film which I personally only recognized after multiple viewings. It's an experience that should be viewed, discussed and reflected upon. That's certainly something I can't say about much of what's coming out of Hollywood today.

What I wonder about is how many actual Rosewood's have occured that have never been recorded or recognized.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Powerful Movie, October 30, 2000

By 

Deone Wilhite - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rosewood [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Rosewood shows what happens when hatred runs unchecked, and how one lie, combined with hate, envy, and racial enmity, led to the destruction of an African American township in Florida. As powerful as the movie is, the true story of Rosewood was probably even worse, given that the level torture, mutilation, and brutality inflicted on the Black residents of the town could never be properly put on-screen and released by a Hollywood studio. The ratings system wouldn't allow it, and movie theaters don't want their patrons to get sick and leave the theater.

If there was any "silver lining" in this movie version of a horrid episode in American history, it is that Rosewood did an admirable job of reflecting what true mature manhood is all about. True manhood in the movie is shown when men (Don Cheadle & Ving Rimes) provide for, serve, and protect their families and communities from outside forces of evil that seek to destroy them. Don Cheadle's character was willing to give his life so his wife and family could escape from the lynch mob, and Mr. Mann was willing to sacrifice himself to get women, children, and elders to safety. True manhood is exhibited when Mr. Mann takes a frightened young boy, gives him responsibility, and turns him into a leader. True manhood also involves chosing to do the right thing despite your own personal prejudices and societal/peer pressure, as reflected by Jon Voight's character, and even in the brief scene of a lawman and his posse who turn back the lynch mob at the county line. False manhood is reflected by the ringleader of the lynch mob, who tried to teach his son that manhood was composed learning how to torture, shoot, and kill other humans beings like animals, as well as drinking and acting like a fool. Ultimately, his son rejected that version of manhood. Manhood may not be a popular topic in our politically correct times, but it was good to see a movie showing men exhibiting mature manhood by standing up to tyranny and evil and doing the right thing for their families and communities.

Rosewood is a powerful movie that angers and saddens you when you realize the events depicted on screen actually occured (and were far worse), but also encourages you when you see how a people can survive in the midst of murderous chaos when men stand up and be men.

To see the actual results of racially-inspired lynchings, torture, and murder, take a look at the lynching photography book "Without Sanctuary", or read "Rituals of Blood" by Orlando Patterson. The scenes in "Rosewood" will pale by comparison.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellant movie about what happened in Rosewood, January 29, 2004

By 

Jason Saybrook (Crystal River Fl.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rosewood (DVD)

I first watched this movie on HBO, after viewing it with my wife we decided to rent it so our children could see what realy happened in Rosewood and learn about history, we are a white family and I feel it is important for my children to learn what realy happened there. After watching the movie we took a ride to the site that was once Rosewood, the only remaining structure is mr. Wrights house, the town is gone, we walked through the area that was once Rosewood and tried to imagine it as it was in the movie, we then went to Sumner and saw the site that was once the mill,we found some relics there, along with some buildings that had housed the residents of Sumner who worked in the mill, we then visited Mr. Wrights grave in Sumner, all in all the movie was great as it taught my family and myself about the history of the town and how horrible racism was back then.