Rosewood (1997)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

John Singleton

Writer (WGA):

Gregory Poirier (written by)

Release Date:

21 February 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History

Tagline:

In 1923, a black town in Florida was burned to the ground, its people murdered because of a lie. Some escaped and survived because of the courage and compassion of a few extraordinary people. This film is for them.

Plot:

A dramatization of a 1923 horrific racist lynch mob attack on an African American community.

Plot Keywords:

African American | Train | Sex | Race Riot | Lynching

Awards:

3 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Jon Voight	...	John Wright
Ving Rhames	...	Mann
Don Cheadle	...	Sylvester Carrier
Bruce McGill	...	Duke Purdy
Loren Dean	...	James Taylor
Esther Rolle	...	Aunt Sarah
Elise Neal	...	Beulah (Scrappie)
Robert Patrick	...	Lover
Michael Rooker	...	Sheriff Walker
Catherine Kellner	...	Fanny Taylor
Akosua Busia	...	Jewel
Paul Benjamin	...	James Carrier
Kevin Jackson	...	Sam Carter
Mark Boone Junior	...	Poly
Muse Watson	...	Henry Andrews

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some sexuality.

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:MA (TV rating) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #35022)

Filming Locations:

Lake County, Florida, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Though most of the film is based on true events, the film's main character, Mann (Ving Rhames), is a fictional creation.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Mann asks Sylvester Carrier how he got out of the house, Sylvester's replies, "They carried me..." The audio does not match up with Sylvester's mouth.

Quotes:

Mann: There ain't enough bullets in the world for all them crackers.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)

Soundtrack:

Tom Cat Blues

An accurate portrayal of north Florida racism as seen from a native Floridian.

I am white and grew up in the county where this really happened. I remember as a child driving by the place where this community was. There was a small sign that was put up by the Florida DOT that said "Rosewood" but there was nothing there. I asked my mother why and she was unsure what to tell me. Then when this movie came out I realized what had happened. I began asking the elderly people I knew, but they did not want to talk about this except for my ex-husband's step dad. He remembered being a boy and the mob trying to get his father to join them. He refused to participate and was threatened for the future of his family. I am also ashamed to say that race relations have still not gotten a lot better here. In 1969 when I was in kindergarten, I remember being sent home due to race riots in the high school. I now live in California, and I know some people found the movie distressing. Unfortunately the south has a subculture of violence even to this day. The actors did an excellent job on this film. I am so glad that the filmmakers had the courage to take this story on. People tend to think of Florida as an integrated state because of Miami and Orlando, but central and northern Florida is still very racist. For example the African-Americans still call the whites by names such as "Mr. John" or "Miss Ellen". Then little town I grew up in ,Williston, still has the African-Americans living on one side of the railroad tracks and the whites on the other "better" side. There are some whites that are very decent people and some blacks that are of very poor character. I keep waiting and praying for the day when a person will "be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" in the words of the great Martin Luther King JR. PLEASE SEE THIS MOVIE!! If Americas can take the violence that is in video games and stupid horror movies they should be able to take the true portrayal of man's inhumanity to man in this most wonderful film!!