Ride With the Devil (1999)
72%RT Audience Score: 66%
Awards & Nominations: 1 nomination
A well-acted, eccentric Civil War film, Ang Lee’s Ride With the Devil is often more visually striking than it is emotionally engaging
Ride with the Devil is a movie that’s like a sandwich with too much bread and not enough filling. Some critics say it’s contemplative, others say it’s action-packed, but I say it’s just okay. The best part is the rivalry between Maguire and the young killer, but even that can’t save the movie from feeling a bit lackluster. It’s like a history lesson that you don’t really want to pay attention to, but you know you should. Overall, it’s not bad, but it’s not great either.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Lexington, Missouri, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for graphic war violence
Year of Release
1999
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital DTSS DDS
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English, German
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Sep 5, 2006
Genre(s)
History/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, Jewel, Jeffrey Wright, Simon Baker, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, directed by Ang Lee, written by James Schamus, History, Drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jeff Strickler, Rick Groen, Peter Matthews, Chris Vognar, Susan Stark, Todd McCarthy, David Lamble, Joe Leydon, Christopher Long, James Kendrick, Sean Axmaker, produced by Ted Hope, Robert F Colesberry, James Schamus, R MPAA rating, Civil War, Missouri Bushwackers, Union Jayhawkers, guerrilla warfare, revenge, murder, war widow, Quantrill’s Kansas raid, action movie, character study, combat scenes, fine-grained observation, hair-raising rivalry, Lawrence massacre, human condition, psychopaths, abstract themes, beautiful wild landscapes, families gathered over meals, battles
Worldwide gross: $635,096
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,140,015
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,564
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 124,320
US/Canada gross: $635,096
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,140,015
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,157
US/Canada opening weekend: $64,159
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $115,167
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,880
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $38,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $68,211,060
Production budget ranking: 616
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $36,731,656
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$103,802,700
ROI to date (est.): -99%
ROI ranking: 2,018
Tobey Maguire – Jake Roedel
Jewel – Sue Lee Shelley
Jeffrey Wright – Daniel Holt
Simon Baker – George Clyde
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers – Pitt Mackeson
Director(s)
Ang Lee
Writer(s)
James Schamus
Producer(s)
Ted Hope, Robert F. Colesberry, James Schamus
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (66) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (24)
Lee appears to have been torn between making a character study and an action movie, so both elements get short shrift.
November 6, 2002 | Rating: 1/4
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
TOP CRITIC
The intriguing (if not always successful) result is an oddly contemplative picture about a horribly bellicose time.
March 22, 2002 | Rating: 3/4
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
While the movie intermittently revs up for some showy combat scenes, its real mtier is a texture of fine-grained observation that brings history to life on the molecular level.
April 17, 2001
Peter Matthews
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
The film is less than the sum of its parts.
January 1, 2000
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News
TOP CRITIC
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4
Susan Stark
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
Admirably expressive.
January 1, 2000
Todd McCarthy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
The acting gem in this two-and-a-half-hour epic is the hair-raising rivalry between Maguire and a feral young killer.
June 12, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
Like too many other young men in too many other wars, Maguire’s Jake Roedel sees too much, and grows up too fast.
July 19, 2014
Joe Leydon
The Moving Picture Show
The Lawrence massacre provides no catharsis, only a sense of despair at the state of the human condition and at young men turned psychopaths.
May 1, 2010 | Rating: 7/10
Christopher Long
Movie Metropolis
the main characters, despite their various complexities, are never particularly compelling and therefore fail to draw us into (or help us make sense of) the film’s abstract themes
April 26, 2010 | Rating: 2.5/4
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
Bucolic scenes of men at rest in beautiful wild landscapes and families gathered over meals in manors and homesteads are shattered by battles…
April 26, 2010
Sean Axmaker
Seanax.com
‘It ain’t right; it ain’t wrong; it just is.’ That line, in a nutshell, pretty much sums up Ride with the Devil.
October 21, 2007 | Rating: 2/4
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com…
Plot
During the Civil War, Missouri Bushwackers engage in guerrilla warfare with Union Jayhawkers, and two friends, Jake and Jack, seek revenge for the murder of Jack’s father, but their mission takes a turn when Jack dies and Jake takes care of his widow and newborn before joining Quantrill’s famous Kansas raid in Ride with the Devil.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels review for Ride With the Devil.
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