Akosua Busia, Bruce McGill, Catherine Kellner, Don Cheadle, Elise Neal ...( see more  see more... ) , Esther Rolle , Jon Voight , Kevin Jackson , Loren Dean , Mark Boone Junior , Michael Rooker , Muse Watson , Paul Benjamin , Robert Patrick , Ving Rhames

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 massa...( read more  read more... )cre 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

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83% liked it

6,328 ratings

R, 2 hr. 22 min.

Directed by: John Singleton

Release Date: February 21, 1997

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DVD Release Date: July 3, 2001

Stats: 323 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (323)


  • January 27, 2010
    Look! as mobs of scary southerners hang black people for no reason. Watch! as Jon Voight shows his scary old man butt. See! as Ving Rhames kicks craker ass and un-hangs himself with his ridiculously strong body. Whitness! as Don Cheadle shamelessly decoys himself with a retard...( read more)ed kid who gets burned and riddled with bullets. Experience! aunt Jemimah tell stories of the old slave days. All this and more in Rosewood.
  • February 11, 2008
    A horrifying lesson in black history.
  • January 28, 2008
    Powerfull; and unfairly forgotten/underrated.
  • December 26, 2007
    Great movie!
  • February 4, 2010
    This movie brought forth many emotions that I wasn't aware that I had. It was well written, it allowed people to see what our ancestors endured for us to be where we are in this country today.
  • April 27, 2009
    This is real, it was had to swallow
  • February 23, 2009
    THis movie is deep! Real part of history, bad very bad part!
  • February 10, 2009
    This flick directed by John Singleton was a great movie. It was Esther Rolle's last film. It also featured Ving Rhimes, and Don Cheadle. The movie cause me to have diffenret, deep, emotions about how racism exists in this country. although we have come far, we still have a lo...( read more)ng way to go.
  • December 17, 2008
    Solid movie from beginning to end. Great cast, story, and directing. Avoids overly preaching and, like any good message movie, let's the characters' own words and actions do the talking.
  • December 10, 2008
    no thanks not my kinda thing

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Rosewood Trivia


  • The only actor/ress in all of the following movies, Hotel Rwanda, Rosewood, Crash and Manic.  Answer »
  • What movie was a true story about a white woman in 1922 that when caught cheating on her husband told him that she was raped by a black man and caused the deaths of over 150 black people by white lynch mobs, even though most people knew she was lying?  Answer »
  • Detective Billy Rosewood and Sergeant Taggert are characters from which film?  Answer »
  • In Beverly Hills Cop 2, what did Billy Rosewood have hanging on his bathroom door?  Answer »

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