Ride with the Devil

The best movie I've seen this year. more

Ang Lee's dark and sober fable might be the most interesting and least dogmatic view of the Civil War to wend its way into the multiplexes. more

The film is beautifully shot and filled with fine performances. more

In this, Lee's most ambitious and successful work yet, his celebrated gift for psychological shading and complexity is on proud display. more

Far too deliberate for many--I found its generally contemplative spirit, punctuated at regular intervals by some exciting battle sequences, superb. more

A gorgeous and enduring piece of work. more

Lee has made a brutal but sensitively observed film about the fringes of the Civil War. more

In its quiet way, Ride With the Devil is terrific. more

At a time when new westerns are in short supply, Devil a sight for sore eyes. more

The movie is longer and slower than necessary, but it explores interesting questions of wartime violence, personal integrity, and what it means to come of age in a society ripping apart at the seams. more

Thus reasoned young bushwhacker Jake Roedel, (Tobey Maguire) summing up the condition of his native Missouri, torn apart by savage guerilla warfare, as neighbor fought and killed neighbor during the Civil War. This outstanding movie manages to take much the same attitude as it tells the tale of this troubling period that has usually been handled in a much more partisan manner. The Civil War in Missouri was particularly terrible, as the loyalties and interests of the population split between the Union and the Confederacy. Few regular troops were committed to Missouri, and most of the... more

This is one of those rare movies where everybody got it right ---from the cinematography to the casting; from the musical score to film editing; from costume design to second unit directing this movie is nearly flawless. The directing by Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility) and the performance by a wonderful ensemble cast put this movie in a league with the great modern frontier movies like The Outlaw Josey Wales and The Long Riders. Set on the Missouri/Kansas border during the American Civil War, the movie faithfully recreates the story told by Daniel Woodrell in his wonderful novel, Woe To... more