Ride with the Devil (film)
Ride with the Devil | |
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Directed by | Ang Lee |
Screenplay by | James Schamus |
Based on | Woe to Live On by Daniel Woodrell |
Produced by | Ted Hope Robert F. Colesberry James Schamus |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Frederick Elmes |
Edited by | Tim Squyres |
Music by | Mychael Danna |
Production company | |
Distributed by | USA Films[1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 138 minutes[2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $38 million[1] |
Box office | $635,096[1] |
Ride with the Devil is a 1999 American
The film was a
Ride with the Devil has been noted for its thematic exploration of politics, violence and war.[4] In 2010, The Criterion Collection released a restored high-definition digital transfer for the home media market, featuring an extended 148-minute director's cut of the film.
Plot
Jake Roedel and Jack Bull Chiles are friends in
One year later, they have joined the First Missouri Irregulars under "Black" John Ambrose, an informal unit loyal to the Confederate government of Missouri, alongside George Clyde, former slave Holt, and sadistic Pitt Mackeson, who despises the literate Jake. The Irregulars use guerrilla warfare against the Jayhawkers, supported by pro-Confederate citizens of Missouri. Jake spares captured Unionist Alf Bowden, his former neighbor, but news later arrives that Alf has killed Jake's father as revenge against the Irregulars.
Jake, Jack, Holt, and Clyde are sent to hide on the property of the Evans family. A young widow in the household, Sue Lee Shelley, becomes romantically involved with Jack, while Clyde leaves to romance a female friend nearby. Jake bonds with Holt, who reveals that his given name is Daniel and that Clyde, his childhood friend, bought him his freedom. An attack by Jayhawkers leaves the Evans' patriarch dead and Jack severely wounded, but Clyde abandons them to rejoin the Irregulars. Jake, Holt, and Sue Lee try to amputate Jack's injured arm, but he dies from complications of gangrene.
Jake and Holt escort Shelley to the Brown family homestead before riding to find Clyde and the Irregulars, and learn the Union army has hunted down many of their comrades. The Irregulars join forces with guerrillas led by
As the guerrillas make their escape, Ambrose accuses Jake of abandoning the Southern cause, and Union troops pursue them into the woods. Quantrill and Ambrose organize the men to feign retreat and form battle lines, holding off the pursuit. Mackeson shoots at Jake, and Holt is hit trying to return fire. Clyde rushes to his aid, but is shot through the throat and dies in Holt's arms. Wounded, Jake and Holt flee with their comrade Cave Wyatt and recuperate with the Brown family, while Sue Lee has given birth to Jack's daughter, Grace. Assuming Jake is the father, Cave urges him to marry her.
With Jack and Clyde gone, Jake and Holt reflect on their futures; Jake admits he does not want to rejoin the Irregulars and feels the war is turning against the Confederacy, while Holt confides that although he was not Clyde's slave, he feels "free" now his friend is gone. News arrives that Quantrill has fled to Kentucky and the surviving Irregulars are now outlaws, including Mackeson, who intends to settle the score with Jake. Once his guests are recovered, Mr. Brown brings home a minister, and the reluctant Jake is pressed into marrying Sue Lee, but comes to care for her and her child. Striking out for California with his new family, Jake cuts his hair, which he had sworn not to do until the war was over.
Along the journey, Jake and Holt encounter Mackeson, who is on the run with another surviving Irregular after the executions of Ambrose and Quantrill. The outlaws are prepared to ride into Mackeson's Union-occupied hometown, even though this means certain death. Mackeson accepts a cup of brewed chicory, but his unhinged manners lead Jake and Holt to draw their guns, and he rides off. Holt eventually parts ways with Jake while Sue Lee and the baby sleep, hoping to free his mother from slavery in Texas, and the two friends shake hands and exchange farewells.
Cast
- Tobey Maguire as Jake Roedel
- Skeet Ulrich as Jack Bull Chiles
- Jewel as Sue Lee Shelley
- Jeffrey Wrightas Daniel Holt
- Simon Baker as George Clyde
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Pitt Mackeson
- Jim Caviezel as Black John Ambrose
- Tom Guiry as Riley Crawford
- Jonathan Brandis as Cave Wyatt
- Mark Ruffalo as Alf Bowden
- Tom Wilkinson as Orton Brown
- Margo Martindale as Wilma Brown
- John Ales as William Quantrill
- Matthew Faber as Turner Rawls
- Celia Weston as Mrs. Clark
- John Judd as Otto Roedel
- Don Shanks as George
- John Durbin as Skaggs
- Zach Grenier as Mr. Evans
- Stephen Mailer as Babe Hudspeth
- James Urbaniak and David Rees Snell as Poker Players
Analysis
Film scholar Stephen Teo notes that the film approaches themes of "domesticity, the role of women, homosociality, and violence... with great sensitivity."[5]
Many critics have noted that the film does little to orient or guide its audience through the historical landscape in which it is set,[6] and instead presents events in a manner that is "unremarkable," "undemonstrative," and "somewhat ghostly."[3] Writer Andrew Patrick Nelson considers Ride with the Devil as being part of the revisionist Western tradition, though he concedes that it "has little of the self-consciousness that generally marks the form."[3] Nelson asserts that director Ang Lee often forgoes excessive attention to historical details, and instead attempts to immerse the audience in an experience that "is responsive to the daily realities and rhythms that surround the characters."[3] It is because of this that Nelson claims the film has more in common with "metaphysical" works of filmmakers such as Terrence Malick."[3]
Production
Casting and set design
The leading actors were required to go through three weeks of
Principal photography began on March 25, 1998. Filming took place primarily on location in Sibley, Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri.[7] Pattonsburg, Missouri also stood in as a primary filming set locale.[4] The set design production team removed telephone poles and utilized truckloads of dirt to cover existing asphalt and concrete.[4] Production designer Mark Friedberg created numerous indoor and outdoor sets of the time period to ensure and maintain historical accuracy.[4]
Music
The original motion picture music for Ride with the Devil, was released by the Atlantic Records music label on November 23, 1999.[8] The score for the film was orchestrated by Mychael Danna and Nicholas Dodd. Musical artist Jewel contributed vocals to the score with her song "What's Simple Is True", from her 1998 album Spirit.[9]
Ride with the Devil: Music from and inspired by the Motion Picture | |
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Film score by | |
Released | November 23, 1999 |
Length | 53:21 |
Label | Atlantic Records |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Opening Credits" | 3:01 |
2. | "Miss McLeod's Reel" | 1:41 |
3. | "Jayhawkers and Bushwhackers" | 3:20 |
4. | "Clark Farm Shootout" | 3:05 |
5. | "Fireside Letter" | 1:50 |
6. | "Sally in the Garden" | 1:21 |
7. | "Settling in for Winter" | 0:49 |
8. | "Ride to the Evans/Hilltop Letter" | 2:10 |
9. | "Sue Lee/Dinner at the Evans" | 1:28 |
10. | "The Ambush" | 2:52 |
11. | "George Clyde Clears Out" | 1:44 |
12. | "Jack Bull's Death" | 4:45 |
13. | "Old King Crow" | 2:06 |
14. | "Quantrill's Arrival/Ride to Lawrence" | 2:37 |
15. | "Sacking Lawrence" | 4:05 |
16. | "Don't Think You Are a Good Man" | 2:11 |
17. | "Battle and Betrayal" | 3:13 |
18. | "Freedom" | 2:42 |
19. | "A Chicken at the End of It" | 1:36 |
20. | "Finale" | 3:09 |
21. | "What's Simple Is True" | 3:36 |
Total length: | 53:21 |
Marketing
Novel
The basis for the film, Daniel Woodrell's novel Woe to Live On (originally published in 1987) was released as a movie tie-in edition, re-titled Ride With the Devil, by Pocket Books on November 1, 1999. The book dramatizes the events of the American Civil War during the 1860s, as depicted in the film. It expands on the inner-fighting between rebel Bushwhackers and Union Jayhawkers, with civilians caught in the crossfire.[10] The story relates a coming-of-age experience for Roedel as he emotionally comprehends the losses of his best friend, father and comrades. On a separate front, Roedel expresses love for his best friend's widow, and learns about tolerance from his contact with a reserved black Irregular.
Release
Ride with the Devil received its world premiere at the 25th Deauville American Film Festival in France on September 9, 1999. The following day it had its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada.[11] The film's UK premiere was at the opening night gala of the London Film Festival on November 3, 1999.[12]
Home media
Following its cinematic release in theaters, the Region 1 Code widescreen edition of the film was released on DVD in the United States on July 18, 2000. Special features for the DVD include; Jewel music video: "What's Simple Is True", the Theatrical Trailer, Production notes, Cast and filmmakers extra, and a Universal web link.[13]
The Criterion Collection released a restored special edition on DVD and Blu-ray on April 27, 2010. It includes a 148-minute extended cut of the film. Special features include; Two audio commentaries one featuring Lee and producer-screenwriter James Schamus and one featuring Elmes, sound designer Drew Kunin, and production designer Mark Friedberg; a new video interview with star Jeffrey Wright, and a booklet featuring essays by critic Godfrey Cheshire and Edward E. Leslie, author of The Devil Knows How to Ride: The True Story of William Clarke Quantrill and his Confederate Raiders.[14]
The film is also available in video on demand formats, as well.[15]
Reception
Box office
Ride with the Devil had an initial screening on November 24, 1999, in New York City, Kansas City, Missouri and Los Angeles.[7] For most of its limited release, the film fluctuated between 11 and 60 theater screening counts. At its most competitive showing, the filmed ranked in 37th place for the December 17–19 weekend in 1999.[16]
The film premiered in cinemas on November 26, 1999, in
Critical response
Among mainstream critics in the U.S., the film received generally positive reviews.
"From a technical perspective, Ride with the Devil is nearly perfect. The attention to detail invested by Lee and his crew shows. From costumes to props, everything has the unmistakable hallmark of authenticity. The only Civil War drama able to boast an equal level of historical accuracy is Gettysburg." |
—James Berardinelli, writing in ReelViews[23] |
Peter Stack, writing in the
The film was not without its detractors. Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert bluntly noted that the motion picture "does not have conventional rewards or payoffs, does not simplify a complex situation, doesn't punch up the action or the romance simply to entertain. But it is, sad to say, not a very entertaining movie; it's a long slog unless you're fascinated by the undercurrents."[30] In a primarily negative review, Lisa Schwarzbaum writing for Entertainment Weekly, called the film "an oddly unengaging one, not because of any weak performances (even crooning poetess Jewel acquits herself pleasantly in her film debut), but because the waxy yellow buildup of earnest tastefulness (the curse of the Burns school of history) seals off every character from our access."[31] Describing a favorable opinion, Russell Smith of The Austin Chronicle professed the film as exhibiting "unostentatious originality, psychological insight, and stark beauty". While following up, he stressed "There's an odd blend of stylization and extreme realism to this film. The dialogue is stilted, full of archaic $20-words and dime-novel flamboyance — all the more jarring when delivered by these teenaged bumpkin characters."[32]
"It's a film that would inspire useful discussion in a history class, but for ordinary moviegoers, it's slow and forbidding." |
—Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times[30] |
In 2013, the film was the subject of an essay in a collection of scholarly essays on Ang Lee's films, The Philosophy of Ang Lee.[35]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Ride with the Devil (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
- ^ "RIDE WITH THE DEVIL (15)". British Board of Film Classification. October 20, 1999. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Nelson 2013, p. 41.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ang Lee. (1999). Ride with the Devil [Motion picture] Production Notes. United States: Universal Pictures.
- ^ Teo 2017, p. 169.
- ^ Nelson 2013, pp. 40–41.
- ^ a b "Ride with the Devil (1999) Movie Details". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on May 9, 2006.
- ^ "Ride with the Devil: Music from and inspired by the Motion Picture". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ "Ride with the Devil (1999) Cast and Credits". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-671-03648-5.
- ^ Butler, Robert W. (September 12, 1999). "Praise flows at debut of 'Ride With the Devil' KC-filmed Civil War drama plays to emotions of Toronto film festival audience, critics". The Kansas City Star. p. A1.
- ^ "London Film Festival opens". BBC News. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018.
- ^ "Ride with the Devil (1999) – DVD Widescreen". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ "Ride with the Devil DVD – Special Edition)". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ "Ride with the Devil VOD Format". Amazon. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ a b c Domestic Total Gross. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ "November 26–28, 1999 Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ "December 10–12, 1999 Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ "January 7–9, 2000 Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ 1999 DOMESTIC GROSSES. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ a b "Ride with the Devil". Metacritic. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ "Ride with the Devil (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ ReelViews. Archivedfrom the original on November 10, 2019.
- ^ Stack, Peter (December 17, 1999). "Civil War's Toll in Microcosm]". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 18, 2002.
- ^ Hunter, Stephen (December 17, 1999). "When Johnny Doesn't Come Marching Home". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (November 24, 1999). "Ride With the Devil: Far From Gettysburg, a Heartland Torn Apart". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019.
- The San Francisco Examiner. Archived from the originalon April 30, 2011.
- Salon. Archived from the originalon March 4, 2016.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (September 12, 1999). "Ride with the Devil". Variety. Archived from the original on January 22, 2012.
- ^ a b Ebert, Roger (December 17, 1999). "Ride with the Devil". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019.
- ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (December 3, 1999). "Ride with the Devil". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017.
- ^ Smith, Russell (December 17, 1999). "Ride with the Devil". The Austin Chronicle. Austin, Texas. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
- ^ Sterritt, David (November 1999). Ride with the Devil. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ Steve, Simels (November 1999). Ride with the Devil:Review. TV Guide. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
- ^ "All's Fair in Love and War? Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil" in The Philosophy of Ang Lee, eds. Robert Arp, Adam Barkman, and Jim McRae (University Press of Kentucky, 2013), 265–290.
Sources
- Nelson, Andrew Patrick (2013). Contemporary Westerns: Film and Television since 1990. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-810-89257-6.
- Teo, Stephen (2017). Eastern Westerns: Film and Genre Outside and Inside Hollywood. New York: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-59226-6.
Further reading
This 'further reading' section may need cleanup. (August 2022) |
- Woodrell, Daniel (2012). Woe To Live On. Back Bay Books. ISBN 978-0-316-20616-7.
- Schrantz, Ward (1988). Jasper County, Missouri, in the Civil War. The Carthage, Missouri Kiwanis Club. ASIN B001J3JKDU.
- Livingston-Martin, Lisa (2011). Civil War Ghosts of Southwest Missouri. The History Press. ISBN 978-1-60949-267-0.
- Tibbetts, John C. (2007). The Literature/Film Reader: Issues of Adaptation. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5949-4.
- Arp, Robert; et al. (2013). The Philosophy of Ange Lee. University of Kentucky Press. ISBN 978-0813141664.
- Marcus, Alan (2010). Teaching History with Film: Strategies for Secondary Social Studies. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-99956-4.
- McCorkle, John (1998). Three Years with Quantrill. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-3056-3.
- Castel, Albert (2006). Bloody Bill Anderson: The Short, Savage Life of a Civil War Guerrilla. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-1434-6.
- Schultz, Duane (1997). Quantrill's War: The Life & Times Of William Clarke Quantrill. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-16972-5.
- McLachlan, Sean (2011). Ride Around Missouri - Shelby's Great Raid 1863. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-429-1.
- Connelley, William (2010). Quantrill and the Border Wars. Forgotten Books. ISBN 978-1-4510-0194-5.
- Monaghan, Jay (1984). Civil War on the Western Border, 1854-1865. Bison Books by University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-8126-4.
- O'Brien, Cormac (2007). Secret Lives of the Civil War. Quirk Books. ISBN 978-1-59474-138-8.
- Foreman, Amanda (2011). A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War. Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-50494-5.
- Mills, Charles (2002). Treasure Legends of the Civil War. BookSurge Publishing. ISBN 1-58898-646-2.
- Fellman, Michael (1990). Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri During the American Civil War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-506471-2.
- Eicher, David (2002). The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-84945-3.
- Nichols, Bruce (2004). Guerrilla Warfare in Civil War Missouri, 1862. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-1689-9.
- Collins, Robert (2007). Jim Lane: Scoundrel, Statesman, Kansan. Pelican Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58980-445-6.
- Bird, Roy (2004). Civil War in Kansas. Pelican Publishing. ISBN 1-58980-164-4.
- Ponce, Pearl (2011). Kansas's War. Ohio University Press. ISBN 978-0-8214-1936-6.
- Toplin, Robert (2002). Reel History. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-1200-9.
- McCrisken, Trevor (2005). American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-3621-7.
- Goodrich, Thomas (1992). Bloody Dawn: The Story of the Lawrence Massacre. Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-476-8.
- Benedict, Bryce (2009). Jayhawkers: The Civil War Brigade of James Henry Lane. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3999-9.
- Ross, Kirby (2005). Autobiography of Samuel S. Hildebrand: The Renowned Missouri Bushwhacker. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 978-1-55728-799-1.
External links
- Official website
- Ride with the Devil at IMDb
- Ride with the Devil at the TCM Movie Database
- Ride with the Devil at Letterboxd
- Ride with the Devil at AllMovie
- Ride with the Devil at Box Office Mojo
- Ride with the Devil at Rotten Tomatoes
- Ride with the Devil at Metacritic
- Ride with the Devil: Apocalypse Then an essay by Godfrey Cheshire at the Criterion Collection