Customer Reviews
Too much Hollywood added, but understandable 
2006-04-25
The event this movie was based on was so despicable that John Singleton (Director) had to add in fictional characters so it wouldn't look as shameful as Rosewood really was.
Some fictitious elements were...
1. Mann's (Ving Rhames) character was 200% fiction. Not even loosely BASED on any historical person. So the ending, when Mann was shooting at the mob from the train...never happened.
2. The emotional distraught of the racist Duke's (Bruce McGill) son, Emmit, was fictional and not based on anything historic. Added for dramatic purposes obviously.
3. Sylvester (Don Cheatle) died in real life during the shootout and did not return heroically on a horse beside the train to pick Mann up.
As far as I know, the rest if pretty accurate..
In reality, during massacres like Rosewood, the heroes like Mann and Sylvester were the first to die. But I knew when I saw him escape the lynching, cutting himself down, and shooting at mob when he was escaping on the train that his character was based on "some" fiction. But then I found out his WHOLE character was fictional. Singleton had to create a hero, or else Black folks would be killing people when the movie was over. I wouldn't blame them. I remember I could hardly sleep the night I saw the movie. And during events like this, not one person faced any charges. Not one!
Jon Voight, as always, gave a hell of a performance. His character, John Wright, is obviously racist, but not a bigot. But when he witnesses the lynching of folks he's known for years in his face, he has a change of heart and arranges his friends who owns the train that passes Rosewood to pick up the Black women and children.
Michael Rooker, as Sheriff Walker, did a great job as the law who could not control his town. He, too, was racist, but still wanted order.
The Black Preacher in the movie was the typical religious Uncle Tom. Proving Karl Marx's theory of religion's role in oppressive societies correct (as being the drug to keep oppressed people satisfied with a belief of an after-life).
Read about Black Wallstreet too. I'd like to see a Director make a movie about that.
Anton Batey
Tragic history, great story. 
2005-09-17
Based on a true story of a historic outbreak of racist violence, "Rosewood" is a compelling movie even without the social significance. The storyline is basically that a white woman falsely accuses a black man of rape, causing a whole town to go nuts. Certain of the white citizens form a mob to administer "justice" and end up on a rampage, while 2 men try to hide the black citizens of the town and help them escape.
"Rosewood" has many of the same emotional elements (heroism, cowardice, hatred, loss of control vs. disciplined honor, plenty of emotional tension) of "Schindler's List" or the old version of "Titanic," "A Night to Remember." Director John Singleton keeps the action moving, by keeping the more sensitive scenes short, and actually increasing their impact by his brevity.
John Voight is very believable as a reluctant hero, playing a shopkeeper who risks losing everything to help the terrified women and children of the town. Ving Rhames does a good job as a black man returned from war who serve's as Voight's conscience and handles the action scenes.
A surprise stand-out is Bruce McGill (D-Day in Animal House, the sheriff in My Cousin Vinny) as the "leader" of the white mob. McGill is convincing as one of the most disgusting characters I've ever seen on film. He brings out the truly foul nature of hate, but manages to humanize his character by showing the personal costs of his hate as well as the social forces which led him to it. The result is that you think he actually is the character he portrays. The movie is worth it just for McGill's creepy character.
SAD CHAPTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY 2005-03-01
Based on actual events, Rosewood relates the events that led to as many as 150 African Americans being murdered and burned out of their homes in Rosewood, Florida in 1923, by whites from a neighboring town. All this happens because a white woman falsely accused a black man of raping her.
Truly a horrific tale, all the more so because it happened, although an accurate death count has never been determined. This sad account went unknown for many years due to a cover up as well as resident's refusal to talk abou the events. Director John Singleton probably takes a worst case scenario view of the body count and pure horror with burning bodies being hung by the neck and other such gruesome crimes.
Caught up in this chaotic story is Ving Rhames playing Mann, a former soldier who was merely passing through town and ends up having to fight for his life as well as heroically saving a number of children from the marauding racists. Don Cheadle gives an outstanding performance as a Rosewood resident who proves smarter than the rednecks.
Jon Voight plays a local business owner who is sympathetic to the blacks and for that is labeld a "_____" lover by the other whites. But Voight doesn't care and actually provides a safe harbor to several blacks after the attack begins.
Michael Rooker, who also played in Mississippi Burning gives a fine performance as sheriff Walker who while racist himself, finally realizes that the accusations were false but by then is unable to stop the mayhem. Bruce McGill is the typical, fat, white redneck as Duke Purdy.
The film is beautifully shot and John Jenson deserves a big tip of the hat for his cinematography as he captured the small-town, ramshackle look of 1920's Florida that greatly lent to the film's look of authenticity. Very powerful film. So sad yet an important film for people to watch, especially our young people as incidents like this should never be forgotten.
Scary Potrayal 2004-11-17
A very scary potrayal when ignorant people are given even a little bit of power. A white woman accuses a black man of raping her an all hell breaks loose. Sane minds are hard to find and a race war breaks out in the rural southlands of Florida.
Whereas many innocent people most African Americans are killed, the touching drama of the story is how a black man and a white man lead a group of displaced black women and children to safety. The scenes to capture the spirit on how African Americans have overcome some much prejudice and hardship.
Its good to see taht our prsent generation has preached toelrace for one's fellow man. Lets hope that this continues an that movies like Rosewood can hopefully continue to educate people into the evils of prejudice.
Excellent Movie!!!! 2004-10-30
I watched "Rosewood" in Texas when it came out in 1997. Unfortunately, it was not well received at the time - in fact, I found it really difficult to find a theatre that featured the film. Much like "Roots", this is a pivital movie, giving the viewers a snapshot of true events that occurred in Florida in 1922. Of course some artistic license is taken. At times, Vingh Raimes seems more like a super hero character....but the racist attitudes of the period seem to be accurately represented. One other note, I just read the rant about republicans verses democrats and I have this to say. It's funny how in modern times the republican party seems to celebrate the "retro" sensibilities of the 1950's when blacks just happened to be forced to ride on the back of the bus and received separate and unequal schooling. And when blacks also provided cheap labor as 2nd class citizens for whites who wanted to maintain their status as 1st class citizens of these United States....funny, no one really ever talks about how that power structure provided a world for middle class whites to flourish in before the modern civil rights movement took hold....a lopsided world missed by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and G. Gordon Liddy, but I digress....Anyway, the author of that rant fails to mention that during the 1960's, racist "Dixiecrats" like Strom Thurmond left the democratic party to join with the republicans who accepted him with open arms. And recently before his death, Strom was celebrated by fellow republican Trent Lott who wished aloud that Strom had been president. - When I lived in Texas, the people I knew who regularly used racial slurs, and drove around with confederate flag license plates always (and I mean always) claimed to be republican when the subject of politics came up. The democratic party is no perfect party, but trying to make the republican party seem like a refuge and oasis for blacks just because Abe Lincoln once was a member is just plain ignorant!!!!
Rosewood 2008-03-18
Sad but pretty close to the truth. I really don't know what else to say. It's our Country's Sad History. People still use the N word freely. This explains why so many of us take offense, even when our own use it. Boy, even at 50 and respected by his own, a grown man is referred to as Boy. Some folks just don't understand why some of us are still angry. Anger is an action word. Without feeling it, things just don't get done. It's as strong as Determination. I love my black brothers, excuse me, Black Men. Their fight is harder than any other race. If they climb too high, either his own or some other race will try to pull him down. In Rosewood, all I saw were Black Men. Even the youngest boy had to become a man, and he held up his position. Where are the young Arnet's today? They are pretty busy calling each other N...and telling the those who were almost killed or died fighting for the right to be called MAN or WOMAN. The word used to be a fighting word in my younger days...but then, so was the B word. Young People, Learn the history of words before you use them so freely. Watch this movie and others like it, and understand the Term is not endearing or a compliment. If you don't know your history, you are going to repeat it. Ignorance is not Bliss
Heavy, but great movie. 2007-10-02
This movie has a great story to tell, one that all should see, so that it will never happen again.
Item and described, with prompt shipping.
only got to see half 
2007-05-07
I purchased this dvd abouth a month ago. I went to finally watch it this weekend. I only got to watch half of it, due to the fact of the movie stops 1hr and 10 minutes into it. I tried 3 different dvd players and the movie stopped 1hr and 10 minutes later. Needless to say i was very disappointed. From what I did see it is a very good movie. I can only give it 3 stars cause i didn't get to see the rest.
Another film that is usually hard to watch 2007-02-16
Director John Singleton, of "Boyz N the Hood" fame, does a top-notch job throughout this two and a half hour film of conveying the building and inevitable terror of what is to come, and of then sustaining that terror. Visually, he's a master storyteller. The trigger was a white woman, beaten black and blue by her lover. To explain the bruises to her husband, she claims that a black intruder worked her over. Never mind that her housekeepers saw perfectly well who did it. And that he wasn't black. Forget due process. In short order, strange fruit was hanging high and blood lust for more was in the air. When one of the housekeepers finally stepped forward to try to quell the tide of violence by telling what she saw, well, suffice to say that no good deed goes unpunished. Ultimately, Rosewood was reduced to ashes.
I consider this film one of those that you might not necessarily want to see, but you need to. Because it's that necessary harsh kind of art, another example of which that readily leaps to mind is Alice Walker's book, Possessing the Secret of Joy. Based on a true story, this is Singleton's intrepid of the destruction of Rosewood, an all-black town in Florida. The incident occurred in 1923 and the film gets kudos all the way around. First of all, the script by Poirier is dead-on, giving you characters that have significant depth to them. Singleton directs the material well, helping to make you care about these people before the insanity begins. And the good news is that the cast is superb and definitely up to the challenge. Rhames, always an SDI favorite, shows that he can carry a leading role as the enigmatic Mann, a veteran who shows up just in time to try to facilitate some of Rosewood's citizens surviving the onslaught. Voight is in fine form as well as a store owner in Rosewood who is uncertain where his loyalties lie when the bullets start flying. Cheadle gets points as well as the proud Sylvester who knows when it's time to stop talking. The strength of this film is that it's brutally honest about the intrepid that it's providing.
The inhumanity is not glamorized or backed away from, it's put in front of you with the understanding that you're there to witness it and learn. It also provides an important lesson in racism, and how the belief system functions, by being passed down from generation to generation. Excellent filmmaking on the part of Singleton and unfortunately lost once Oscar-time rolled around.
This Is Education At Its Best 2007-02-14
So much is unknown about the valid attempts African-Americans made to build their own society's, during the 18th century, forward. This story tells of how they were thwarted and destroyed for 'just trying to live in America as free, productive, people.' My classes sat with eyes glued to the screen. It was a horrific awakening for many of my students. They were fed the lies and propaganda throughout their educations and lives, that African-Americans were a useless species. Well, they now know the truth. African-Americans were very diligent in building businesses, places of worship, homes, etc., which frightened the Cacausion people of that era, so they were destroyed - and much hope with them.
