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Hotel Rwanda
Director: Terry George
Actors: Xolani Mali, Don Cheadle, Desmond Dube, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, and Tony Kgoroge
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Retail Price (not our price): $14.98
Release Date: 2005-04-12
Theatrical Release Date: 2005-02-04
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Run Time: 122 minutes
Format: Array
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Discs: 1


Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):

1) Amazon.com
Solidly built around a subtle yet commanding performance by Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda emerged as one of the most highly-praised dramas of 2004. In a role that demands his quietly riveting presence in nearly every scene, Cheadle plays real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in the Rwandan capital of Kigali who in 1994 saved 1,200 Rwandan "guests" from certain death during the genocidal clash between tribal Hutus, who slaughtered a million victims, and the horrified Tutsis, who found safe haven or died. Giving his best performance since his breakthrough role in Devil in a Blue Dress, Cheadle plays Rusesabagina as he really was during the ensuing chaos: "an expert in situational ethics" (as described by critic Roger Ebert), doing what he morally had to do, at great risk and potential sacrifice, with an understanding that wartime negotiations are largely a game of subterfuge, cooperation, and clever bribery. Aided by a United Nations official (Nick Nolte), he worked a saintly miracle, and director Terry George (Some Mother's Son) brings formidable social conscience to bear on a true story you won't soon forget. --Jeff Shannon

2) Description
Once you find out what happened in Rwanda, you'll never forget. OscarÂ(r) nominee* Don Cheadle (Traffic) gives "the performance of his career in this extraordinarily powerful" (The Hollywood Reporter) and moving true story of one man's brave stance against savagery during the 1994 Rwandan conflict. Sophie Okonedo (Dirty Pretty Things) co-stars as the loving wife who challenges a good man to become a great man. As his country descends into madness, five-star-hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle) sets out to save his family. But when he sees that theworld will not intervene in the massacre of minority Tutsis, he finds the courage to open his hotelto more than 1,200 refugees. Now, with a rabid militia at the gates, he must use his well-honed grace, flattery and cunning to protect his guests from certain death. *2004: Actor, Hotel Rwanda

Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5

1) Basically one moving scene   [Rating: 2 out of 5]
There was essentially one scene in this movie that summed up the entire ordeal better than the two hours of Cheadle's camera mugging. The bodies laying strewn about the road side when the fog lifted. That's it. The rest of the screenplay was fairly safe and dumbed down for the masses to enjoy. I see many 5-star reviewers tossing out comparisons to "Schindler's List". Good heavens, both films deal with mass murder. That is where the similarities end. For starters, Nick Nolte is horribly mis-cast as the U.N. commander. He stumbles through his lines like a drunkard and his attempts at anger become cartoonish. There is a constant anti-white theme throughout the film as well that I found irritating. I understand this is Cheadles thing now...cough Crash cough...The only white cast member not displayed as a rich, callous, and soul-less blob is the woman working for the Red Cross. Nolte's little speech about Africans made to Cheadle is laughable and seems like it was tossed in just in case the average viewer had missed the obvious agenda.In closing, the Rwandan genocide was obviously a terrible period in world history. However, I don't need to sit and watch a movie which, for two hours, attempts to make the American and British governments look bad. When large countries get involved in affairs they are considered bullies and "global policeman." When they do not get involved they are considered callous and heartless. Can't have it both ways there folks, but I guess people like to reserve the right to complain no matter what politicians do.

2) One of the most inspirational movies I watched   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Very moving. Besides Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo, I like the performance of Nick Nolte a lot.

3) Very touching and unselfish story   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This movie reminded me 'Schindler's List'. However, Paul was in the even worse situation while helping and saving 1268 lives.You have to watch this movie to appreciate it.

4) Hotel Rwanda DVD   [Rating: 4 out of 5]
We often see the news and wonder what can or should be done. This movie shows us how one person can make a difference. I gave this movie to a teenage friend who wants to make a difference in the world. She loved it and so do I.The movie is well done. The subject is not for everyone. I would not allow young children to see it. But it is a film that every voting adult should see.Excellent performances by all actors.

5) Poignant   [Rating: 4 out of 5]
This movie is Don Cheadle's movie. His quiet gravita carries the weight and he deservedly wins an Oscar's nomination for it. To put it in a nutshell, Hotel Rwanda is akin to Oskar Schlinder saving the Jews in Schlinder's List. Here, we would get to see how Rwanda is abandoned by major powers such as French, Belgium, and even America. Unlike Iraq, Kuwait which have oil that America needs, Rwanda has nothing that those major power craves for. Even when genocide begins, personnel for the White House is still debating if "genocide" is a just definition of what happened to Rwanda. One million corpses is quite a body count, isn't it? Even when Paul (Don Cheadle), House Manager for Mille Colline could leave Rwanda, he morally chooses to stay back to ensure that those under his protection would leave safely. Established supporting cast such as Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Sophie Okonedo. A movie to watch, lest we forget of human's propensity to commit evil towards one another.