Ride with the Devil
by Ang Lee
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Glenn Q. Pierce, Jeremy W. Auman, Scott C. Sener, Skeet Ulrich, Tobey MaguireDirector: Ang Lee
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 139 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-07-18
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Ride with the Devil
Movie Review: Ang Lee's foray into the West
Summary: 4 Stars
I was unsure about purchasing RIDE WITH THE DEVIL since I'm not a huge fan of the western genre, but was ultimately won over by the positive feedback it received by fellow Amazonian reviewers.
RWTD isn't a western per se, more of a Civil War docudrama. Being a history buff, I'm always interested in the various interpretations others place on our country's darkest hour (especially those not born in the States). The Border Wars between the Jayhawkers and Bushwhackers were not granted major coverage (during or post Civil War), but the ramifications were just as strong as the battles of Gettysburg, Shiloh, etc. because neighbor vs. neighbor, brother vs. brother, or father vs. son squared off.
I was very impressed at the breadth of emotions the actors conveyed in director Lee's film. Tobey Maguire was a marvel to me (having not really appreciated any of his work, including the SPIDER-MAN trilogy). He's a boy having to do a man's work-a frightful thing in any world. Someone gave Skeet Ulrich (of SCREAM fame) a shot of acting serum, because his portrayal of Jack Bull Chiles was subtle, nuanced, and perfectly suited to the pacing of the film. Jewel's feature film debut was strong-nothing spectacular. The one caveat I have with her is that snaggletooth; it is a distraction when she speaks.
An actor whose work I never question is Jeffrey Wright's. His Daniel Holt is tortured, burdened, but silently strong and empathetic. For another strong Wright performance view him as Dr. MLK, Jr. in the KING miniseries. Jonathan Brandis (from LADYBUGS) is unrecognizable as Cave Wyatt, and imbues the character with the proper sense of gravitas. James "Jim" Caviezel shines as Black John, and Mark Ruffalo's turn as Alf Bowden is brief but memorable.
A showstopper (and scene-stealer) is Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Pitt Mackerson. Showcasing a fine "Missoura" drawl, he's a menace, a threat to humanity, a bloodthirsty savage hell-bent on death and destruction, yet, he's a charmer, and the viewer can't take their eyes off of him. It would have been a treat to see him featured more in this film. His determination on suicide by heading into Newport "cause they got drinks there" is powerful. I'd like to take an Amazonian poll to see who would NOT have shot that pretty head off though after he shot Tobey Maguire's Jake Roedel.
A 4 star effort by Lee (the musical score-especially the banjo-could've been much stronger). Judge RIDE WITH THE DEVIL for yourselves.
Summary of Ride with the Devil
Great period pictures make you feel as if you've stepped into another era, heard its language, breathed its spirit, and come away with a fresh perspective on that time as well as your own. Ride with the Devil is one of those special films--why wasn't it more widely embraced by reviewers and filmgoers? Did it rely too much on our patience for slow accumulation of unforced rhythms and meanings (as opposed to The Patriot, which "moved" audiences with cattle-prod simplicity and manipulation)? Ride with the Devil--smart, handsome, tenderly awed by how individual lives get ambushed by history--is ripe for rediscovery.The Civil War of battlefields and plantation houses is nowhere to be seen here. Instead we see the war as an improvised and largely blundering but very bloody feud among neighbors in the border state of Missouri. In this bucolic war zone--more than a little reminiscent of the Balkans in the late 1990s--the Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility) traces the destinies of several young Southern bushwhackers (guerrilla fighters) as they experience violence, the seasons, and different kinds of love. Skeet Ulrich draws the aristocratic glamour role (and top billing), but he's overshadowed by Tobey Maguire as a first-generation American, the magnificent Jeffrey Wright (a shameful oversight at Oscar time) as a freed slave fighting beside his former master, and singer Jewel in a very natural acting debut as the young widow who graces all their lives. The title The Birth of a Nation was already taken, but by the end of this movie you feel it would have applied here. -- Richard T. Jameson
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