Introduction

Ride with the Devil is a 1999 American revisionist Western film directed by Ang Lee and starring Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, Jeffrey Wright, Jewel in her feature film debut, Simon Baker, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, James Caviezel, Thomas Guiry and Jonathan Brandis.

Based on the novel Woe to Live On, by Daniel Woodrell, the film, set during the American Civil War, follows a group of men who join the First Missouri Irregulars, also known as the Bushwhackers—guerrilla units loyal to pro-Confederacy units of the state – and their war against Northern Jayhawkers allied with the Union army.

Outline

Jake Roedel and Jack Bull Chiles are friends in Lexington, Missouri when the Civil War breaks out (April 1861). Chiles’ family are wealthy planters, and Jake’s father, a German immigrant, warns him of anti-German suspicion from other Southerners. Jayhawkers set fire to the Chiles’ plantation and execute Jack’s father, but Jack escapes with Jake.

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 neighbour, 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 over winter, in a dugout on the property of the Evans family. A young widow in the household, Sue Lee Shelley Evans, becomes romantically involved with Jack, while Clyde leaves to romance Juanita Willard nearby. Jake bonds with Holt over captured letters, 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’ home burned, patriarch dead and Jack severely wounded. Clyde abandons them (supposedly to find a doctor) to rejoin the Irregulars and Captain Purdees. 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 (Cave Wyatt’s people) homestead before riding to find Clyde and the Irregulars. They learn the Union army has hunted down many of their comrades. The Irregulars join forces with guerrillas led by William Quantrill, who plans to raid Lawrence, Kansas. On 21 August 1863, the pro-South forces easily overcome the small garrison of troops guarding Lawrence, burn and loot shops and homes, and kill Union supporters and black freedmen. Avoiding the bloodshed, Jake and Holt find a nearby restaurant to eat breakfast, where they are threatened by Mackeson and force him to leave at gunpoint.

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 organise 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, who she calls Grace Shelley Chiles. 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, Reverend Horace Right, 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 (now 19 years old) cuts his hair, which he had sworn not to do until he was finished with the war.

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 of Newport, Missouri, 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 Wright as 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

Production

Casting and Set Design

The leading actors were required to go through three weeks of boot camp to prepare them for their roles. During shooting, Maguire hesitated under the gruelling heat and 16-hour workdays, but pressed on to complete the filming. The actors first trained shooting blank loads, and then live ammunition for action conflict scenes. More than 250 Civil War black-powder pistols were used during the production phase. Over 140 extras played Lawrence residents, and more than 200 Civil War re-enactors were brought in to relay their style of living to the filming sequences.

Principal photography began on 25 March 1998. Filming took place primarily on location in Sibley, Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri. Pattonsburg, Missouri also stood in as a primary filming set locale. The set design production team removed telephone poles and utilised truckloads of dirt to cover existing asphalt and concrete. Production designer Mark Friedberg created numerous indoor and outdoor sets of the time period to ensure and maintain historical accuracy.

Music

The original motion picture music for Ride with the Devil, was released by the Atlantic Records music label on 23 November 1999. 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.

Release

Ride with the Devil received its world premiere at the 25th Deauville American Film Festival in France on 09 September 1999. The following day it had its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada. The film’s UK premiere was at the opening night gala of the London Film Festival on 03 November 1999.

Box Office

Ride with the Devil had an initial screening on 24 November 1999, in New York City, Kansas City, Missouri and Los Angeles. For most of its limited release, the film fluctuated between 11 and 60 theatre screening counts. At its most competitive showing, the filmed ranked in 37th place for the 17-19 December weekend in 1999.

The film premiered in cinemas on 26 November 1999, in limited release throughout the US. During that weekend, the film opened in 50th place grossing $64,159 in business showing at 11 locations. The film Toy Story 2 opened in 1st place during that weekend with $57,388,839 in revenue. The film’s revenue dropped by almost 20% in its second week of release, earning $51,600. For that particular weekend, the film fell to 53rd place although with an increased theatre count showing at 15 theatres. Toy Story 2 remained unchallenged in 1st place with $18,249,880 (~$24.4 million in 2023) in box office business. During its final week in release, Ride with the Devil opened in 57th place grossing $39,806. For that weekend period, Stuart Little starring Geena Davis opened in 1st place with $11,214,503 in revenue. Ride with the Devil went on to top out domestically at $635,096 (~$1.09 million in 2023) in total ticket sales through a 6-week theatrical run. For 1999 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a box office performance position of 219.

Home Media

Following its cinematic release in theatres, the Region 1 Code widescreen edition of the film was released on DVD in the US on 18 July 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.

The Criterion Collection released a restored special edition on DVD and Blu-ray on 27 April 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.

The film is also available in video on demand formats, as well.

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 01 November 1999. The book dramatises 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. 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.

Trivia

• The scenes of the Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, Kansas were filmed in Pattonsburg, Missouri. Pattonsburg was flooded out during the great flood of 1993, and the town was relocated leaving many empty buildings and homes available.
• The novel upon which the movie is based opens with Jake participating in a lynching of a man in front of the man’s family. The man’s son tries to interfere, and Jake shoots the boy in the back. There is the sense that he does this in large part to gain the trust of the men in his group, many of whom see him as a foreigner, but he is criticised by some for shooting the boy in the back instead of facing him eye-to-eye.
• The looting and burning of Lawrence, Kansas occurred on 21 August 1863.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Ang Lee
• Producer(s):
  • Anne Carey … associate producer
  • Robert F. Colesberry … producer
  • Ted Hope … producer
  • David Linde … executive producer
  • James Schamus … producer
• Writer(s):
  • Daniel Woodrell … (novel)
  • James Schamus … (screenplay)
• Music:
  • Mychael Danna
• Cinematography:
  • Frederick Elmes … director of photography
• Editor(s):
  • Tim Squyres
• Production:
  • Universal Pictures (presents)
  • Good Machine
• Distributor(s):
  • Roadshow Films (Australia, 2000)(theatrical)
  • Rosebud (Greece, 2000)(theatrical)
  • Tobis StudioCanal (Germany, 2001)(theatrical)
  • Asmik Ace Entertainment BMG Video (Germany, 2001)(DVD)
  • Distribution Company (Argentina)
  • Entertainment Film Distributors Good Machine International (International Rights)
  • MCA/Universal Pictures (North America)
  • Nordisk Film (Sweden, 2001)(DVD)
  • Nordisk Film (Sweden, 2010)(DVD)
  • Odeon (Greece, 2001)(VHS)
  • RCV Film Distribution (Belgium)
  • RCV Film Distribution (Luxembourg)
  • RCV Film Distribution (Netherlands)
  • RTL Entertainment (Netherlands, 2016)(RTL8, TV)
  • Sagittaire Films (France)
  • The Criterion Collection (United States, 2010)(DVD)
  • The Criterion Collection (United States, 2010)(Blu-ray, DVD)
  • USA Films (United States)
  • Universal Pictures
• Release Date: 09 September 1999 (Deauville Film Festival, France).
• Running Time: 126 minutes.
• Rating: R.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

Video Link(s)