Ride with the Devil (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ride with the Devil
Promotional poster for Ride with the Devil
Directed by	Ang Lee
Written by	Daniel Woodrell (novel), James Schamus (screenplay)
Starring	Tobey Maguire, Jeremy W. Auman, Scott C. Sener, Skeet Ulrich, Glenn Q. Pierce, Kathleen Warfel , Jeffrey Wright, Simon Baker
Editing by	Tim Squyres
Release date(s)	1999
Running time	138 min
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

Ride with the Devil is a 1999 American Civil War drama directed by Ang Lee. The film starred Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, Jeffrey Wright, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Ryan Richards and folk/pop singer Jewel.

The film was intended to be a summer blockbuster, costing over US$35 million to produce (a large sum for most Westerns). However, despite majority positive reviews by film critics it received negative press after screenings because of the portrayal of a Black Confederate guerrilla by Jeffrey Wright in a role based on Free Black John Noland who rode with Confederate raider Quantrill. It was released on around 140 screens in the U.K. for a limited run and made barely over £100,000. It was then released without any promotion on 8 U.S. screens for a limited run of only three days (January 20-22, 2000) fetching only $64,000. The scheduled home video release of the movie was delayed four months so the distributor could alter the cover art and remove Jeffrey Wright's image from the front video and DVD and as of 2003 had yet to turn a profit.

It is based on the novel Woe to Live On, by Daniel Woodrell and the screenplay was written by James Schamus.

[edit] Plot synopsis

Jake Roedel (Tobey Maguire) and Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich) are friends in Missouri when the Civil War starts. Jack Bull's dad is killed by Kansas Union jayhawkers. The two boys join the Missouri irregulars known as "bushwhackers" or "border ruffians" – informal units loyal to Missouri, not willing to fight someone else's war in Virginia. They meet George Clyde (Simon Baker) and his former slave Daniel Holt (Jeffrey Wright), whom he granted his freedom. They battle using guerrilla tactics and hide out during the winter months. Jack and Sue Lee (Jewel Kilcher), widowed daughter-in-law to the man that is hiding them, become lovers. When Jack dies following a skirmish, Jake escorts Sue Lee south to a safe farm. Following the deaths of a number of female relatives and wives of the guerrillas in the collapse of a warehouse where they were being held hostage by Union forces, the bushwhackers, led by William Quantrill, make a raid into Lawrence, Kansas. In the midst of the raid a quarrel arises between Jake and fellow bushwacker Pitt Mackeson (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). For the remaining part of the film Jake must watch his back for fear of his life. At the end of the film the two meet again. Pitt tells of their mutual friends who were hanged in Dover, Kansas, and in a roundabout way Pitt tells of his intentions to meet a similar fate in his nearby hometown, because he intends to go into town and have a drink. Afterwards Jake and Sue Roedel leave for California while Daniel Holt leaves for Texas to save his family.

[edit] External links

Ride with the Devil at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Films Directed by Ang Lee

Pushing Hands (1992) • The Wedding Banquet (1993) • Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) • Sense and Sensibility (1995) • The Ice Storm (1997) • Ride with the Devil (1999) • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) • Hulk (2003) • Brokeback Mountain (2005) • Lust, Caution (2007)