| | | A true story.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35, Dolby Digital (5.1), Audio Commentary, Theatrical Trailer, Documentary, English, Spanish, French Subtitled
Once you find out what happened in Rwanda, you'll never forget. Oscar 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 the world will not intervene in the massacre of minority Tutsis, he finds the courage to open his hotel to 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.SPECIAL FEATURES:Audio Commentary by Director Terry George and Paul Rusesabagina, With Select Commentary by Wyclef Jean Selected Scenes Commentary by Don Cheadle "A Message for Peace: Making Hotel Rwanda" Documentary "Return to Rwanda" Documentary Original Theatrical TrailerRunning Time 122 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE
"Magnificent." Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
"Enraging and enthralling." Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
"An extraordinary and effective film." Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Editor's Note
Don Cheadle gives a riveting performance as Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of a European-owned hotel in Rwanda, who created a secret refugee camp for the Tutsi people during the brutal genocide committed against them by the Hutu people in 1994. His efforts helped to save 1200 lives out of close to a million who were killed. HOTEL RWANDA shows this man's courage, while also capturing the political events that occurred between April and September '94. First, United Nations soldiers are restricted from fighting back against Hutu guerillas, even after the Rwandan president is assassinated and the country is thrown into chaos. But as the fighting worsens, all non-Rwandans including UN peacekeepers, Europeans, and Americans are evacuated. This leaves the Tutsi people defenseless against aggressive Hutus who are armed with machine guns and machetes. While working the system with strategic phone calls to powerful international contacts of the hotel, Rusesabagina also uses smart lies and power plays to hold off the Hutus. The morale among the refugees is low, but because they are protected from the inconceivable brutality happening outside the hotel's gates, they maintain a sense of hope. Powerful acting from all cast members, including throngs of children, makes this film touching and believable. Sophie Okonedo offers moving support as Rusesabagina's wife Tatiana, Nick Nolte shows knowing machismo as an American UN officer, and Joaquin Phoenix turns in a heartfelt display as a TV journalist. But it is the delicate treatment that director Terry George gives the insane, helpless situation depicted in HOTEL RWANDA which makes the film so penetrating. While the violence and gore of the genocide play a disturbing part in the film, the focus lies on the heroism of its protagonist and the strength with which he navigates under seemingly impossible odds.
| Features | "A Message Of Peace: Making Hotel Rwanda" Documentary | | "Return To Rwanda" Documentary | | Audio Commentary By Director Terry George And The Real-Life Subject Of The Film, Paul Rusesabagina, With Select Commentary By Wyclef Jean | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Audio: English Dolby Digital (5.1), French Dolby Digital Surround | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | A Message Of Peace: Making Hotel Rwanda Documentary | | Return To Rwanda Documentary | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Audio Commentary by Director Terry George and Paul Rusesabagina, with select commentary by Wyclef Jean | | Widescreen Presentation | | Selected Scenes commentary by Don Cheadle |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: MGM |
| Release Date: 4/22/2008 |
| Running Time: 122 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2004 | | Catalog ID: 1008501 | | UPC: 00027616925121 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (2005) | | | Don Cheadle, Nominee, Best Actor | | | Sophie Okonedo, Nominee, Best Supporting Actress | | | Keir Pearson, Terry George, Nominee, Best Writing, Screenplay | |
Golden Globe (2005) | | | Don Cheadle, Nominee, Best Actor |
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"[T]his is a film of rare courage and imperishable heart." 12/30/2004 p.171New York Times
"[A] wrenching film..." 12/22/2004 p.E1 USA Today
"Cheadle already is generating well-deserved Oscar talk, as is the movie..." 12/22/2004 p.3D Los Angeles Times
"[The film's] strength is its refusal to stint on the horrors and atrocities, in being unafraid to show us a vivid picture of the blood lust that gripped that country seemingly out of nowhere." 12/22/2004 p.E17 Chicago Sun-Times
"Cheadle etches a vivid character in the foreground." 12/01/2004 p.103-4 Uncut
"Cheadle's performance is impeccable....Deeply moving..." 04/01/2005 p.139 Sight and Sound
"[I]n his first leading role Cheadle pitches it exactly right....The story is what matters here. And as current events in Darfur show, it's one that can't be told too often." 04/01/2005 p.60-62 Uncut
Ranked #25 in Uncut's Best Films Of 2005 -- "George's film repeatedly asks why the world community failed to intervene. Powerful emotive filmmaking." 01/01/2006 p.82-83 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 9 of 10
If you're like me, you probably paid little attention to the attempted genocide that occurred during - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
This all succeeds as riveting drama. "Hotel Rwanda" is not about hotel management, but about heroism - Roger Ebert
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