Story of movie Ride With The Devil Film :
Ride with the Devil is a 1999 American Civil War Western film directed by Ang Lee, and starring Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, Jeffrey Wright, and Jewel in her feature film debut. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by James Schamus, based on the book Woe to Live On, by Daniel Woodrell. Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jonathan Brandis, Jim Caviezel, and Mark Ruffalo are featured in supporting performances.
| Ride with the Devil | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ang Lee |
| Produced by | Ted Hope Robert F. Colesberry James Schamus |
| Screenplay by | James Schamus |
| Based on | Woe to Live On by Daniel Woodrell |
| Starring | Tobey Maguire Skeet Ulrich Jewel Jeffrey Wright Simon Baker Jonathan Rhys Meyers James Caviezel Thomas Guiry Tom Wilkinson |
| Music by | Mychael Danna |
| Cinematography | Frederick Elmes |
| Edited by | Tim Squyres |
Production company | Good Machine |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 138 minutes 148 minutes (Extended director's cut) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $38 million |
| Box office | $635,096 |
The events portrayed in the novel and film take place in Missouri, amidst escalating guerrilla warfare at the onset of the American Civil War. A dramatization of the Lawrence Massacre is depicted. Tobey Maguire stars as Jake Roedel, a Southern militiaman, who joins a group of marauders known as the Bushwhackers. The gang attempt to disrupt and marginalize the political activities of Northern Jayhawkers allied with Union soldiers. The film explores politics, violence and war.
The film was a co-production between Universal Studios and Good Machine. Principal photography began on March 25, 1998. Theatrically, it was commercially distributed by the USA Films division of Universal, and premiered in only six theaters nationwide in the United States on November 26, 1999 and for only three days, grossing a total of $635,096. Taking into account its $38 million budget costs, the film was considered a major box office bomb. With its initial foray into the home video market, the widescreen DVD edition featuring the theatrical trailer, scene selections, and production notes, was released in the United States on July 18, 2000.
The film failed to garner any award nominations for its acting or production merits from accredited film organizations. On November 23, 1999, the original soundtrack was released by the Atlantic Records label. The score was composed and orchestrated by Mychael Danna and Nicholas Dodd. Singer-songwriter Jewel also contributed a musical track from her second studio album Spirit.
In 2010, The Criterion Collection released a restored high-definition digital transfer for the home media market.
Screenplay
Jake Roedel and Jack Bull Chiles are friends in Missouri when the American Civil War breaks out. During the mayhem, Chiles's father is murdered by Kansas pro-Union Jayhawkers. The two men join the First Missouri Irregulars, also known as the Bushwhackers; informal units loyal to pro-Confederacy units of Missouri in 1861. They later meet George Clyde and former slave Daniel Holt, whose freedom Clyde has previously granted.
The Bushwhackers battle Jayhawkers using guerrilla warfare tactics while trying to evade capture. The men manage to hide out in a coarsely-built shelter on the property of a pro-Confederacy family, the Evanses. A young widow in the household, Sue Lee Shelley, becomes romantically involved with Chiles. When Chiles dies of gangrenous wounds received during a skirmish, Roedel escorts Shelley to a refuge dwelling where another pro-Confederate kindred, the Brown family, reside.
Following the collapse and destruction of a makeshift prison holding the female relatives of guerrillas, a complementary clan of Bushwhackers led by William Quantrill plot a revenge attack against the Union and raid Lawrence, Kansas. In the midst of the offense, a quarrel arises between Roedel and fellow Bushwhacker Pitt Mackeson. Roedel, a German American, was born in Germany but raised by his immigrant father in Missouri. He suffers from sporadic anti-German suspicion from other Southerners, because the German population in the state is largely sympathetic to the Union. In an episode of hostility, Mackeson purposely shoots Roedel in the leg shortly after the raid on Lawrence, while retreating from a counterattack by Union forces. The perceived prejudice contributes to Roedel's sympathy to the plight faced by Holt, a former slave coping with racism.
Meanwhile, Shelley gives birth to Chiles's daughter. Holt and Roedel, both wounded, recover at the same residence that took in Shelley occupied by the Brown folk. The Browns, who mistakenly suppose Roedel is the child's father, pressure Roedel to marry her, which he is reluctant to do. However, after spending time with Shelley and the child, Roedel begins to have feelings for both of them. At the same time, Anderson and many other Bushwhackers have been killed, taken prisoner or otherwise rendered inactive. Pitt Mackeson has gathered some survivors into a gang which no longer fights the Yankees, but instead robs, murders and plunders Unionists and Southerners alike. Word comes from one of Roedel's compatriots that Mackeson and his gang are headed South and plan on visiting Roedel soon.
One day Mr. Brown takes Holt to town and returns with a reverend and Roedel, after realizing he does love Shelley and she him, marries her in an abrupt wedding. Roedel's feelings toward Shelley are further deepened by a tender wedding night together. Later, proclaiming himself finished with war, Roedel gives up being a Bushwhacker and takes his new family to California. On the way, they meet Mackeson and the last of his men, Turner, who is ragged and injured, the both of them on the run. They report Black John and Quantrill are both dead and agree with Roedel the war is lost. Mackeson tells them of his plan to ride into Newport despite the fact the town is full of Federal soldiers and certain death awaits him and Turner. Mackeson's strange manner causes Roedel and Holt to hold guns on him and Turner, but the two ride off without violence.
Holt rides with Roedel and his family toward California, until their roads part, and then Daniel tells Jake farewell, while Shelley and the baby sleep. Holt leaves for Texas, a free man, to find his long lost mother.
- 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
- Celia Weston as Mrs. Clark
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 grueling 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 March 25, 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 utilized 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 and soundtrack
The original motion picture music for Ride with the Devil, was released by the Atlantic Records music label on November 23, 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.
| Ride with the Devil: Music from and inspired by the Motion Picture | |
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| Film score by Mychael Danna | |
| Released | 11/23/1999 |
| Length | 53:21 |
| Label | Atlantic Records |
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