Rating: 
Summary: Found in the discount section
Review: This would have normally been a movie I would not rent. Basically because it was in the $.50 rental section of our local video store. I am really glad I did!
This is a great film on the Civil War and tells the story from a very different perspective than previous mini-series and movies. A few portions of the film drag slightly, but not enough to break the tension of the story line. There is also some very graphic battle scenes alnog with the aftermath.
This is one of those movies that has been overlooked by many, including myself.
Whether you love American history or not, this film is worth the watch. I Highly recommend!
Rating: 
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: Plodding in parts and somewhat banal, I didn't enjoy this movie. Perhaps I had higher expectations of it but I thought more could have been done with it. Dialogue was somewhat poor and the pace slow.
Rating: 
Summary: Did anyone else notice...
Review: Judging from the nursing scene, Jewel seems to sport a unlikely full body tan for a civil-war era southern gal who regularly wears high-collar dresses. I guess they chafe so much she just had to sunbathe topless behind the barn after she milked the cows. Her acting was good, too, for a pop singer.
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Summary: One of the best !
Review: I very much enjoyed this movie after I incidentally came across it looking for a movie to rent.This movie is about the First Kansas Irregular, the Bushwhakers who lead a fight of their own against the so much hated Unionists ( Jayhawkers) during the civil war. You follow Jake Roedel's and his friend Jack Bull Chiles' journey from the time they join the Bushwhakers when they are only boys (16) all the way to the end. Tobey Maguire as Jake gives a powerful performance.
I think this is one of the best movies set in the civil war era;
sadly this movie has been overlooked and does not get the credit it deserves.
Rating: 
Summary: Un-Civil War
Review: Based on the novel "Woe to Live On" by Daniel Woodrell, 'Ride with the Devil' opens as the American Civil War is brewing and best friends Jake Roedel (Toby Maguire) and Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich) find themselves in the middle of it when Union marauders destroy Jack's family plantation. They join the Bushwhackers, a group of guerilla-style fighters, and fight side-by-side until some of the Bushwhacker members begin to distrust Jake. Jake becomes more and more isolated from the gang as he strikes up a friendship with Holt, a former black slave who fights along side the Bushwhackers. Jake Roedel (Tobey Maguire) is the son of a German immigrant unionist. Despite this heritage, the boy sympathizes with the confederate cause, it is not clear just why he does so other than the fact his friends are confederate sympathizers. As Jake, Tobey Maguire is the movie's weak link. While the other actors are able to deliver lines in period appropriate English Maguire only manages to mangle his. His speeches come out as stilted and sound as he is reciting directly from cue cards. Maguire also seems to have the same expression on his face, one of mild bewilderment, through the entire picture. Singer/actor Jewel provides a surprisingly good performance playing Sue Lee Shelley, Jake's love interest in the film. Skeet Ulrich, Simon Baker-Denny and Jeffrey Wright also put in very good performances. The attempted romance between Jewel and Maguire feels more like a last minute add on rather than something original to the story.
As the film progresses it increasingly stresses the pointlessness of the Bushwhacker's struggle. The only thing they are accomplishing is killing people; they accomplish this with startling regularity. There guerilla actions have no impact on the war. This fact comes slowly to the characters and manages to disillusion a few of them.
From a technical perspective, Ride With the Devil is nearly perfect. The attention to detail invested by Lee and his crew shows. From costumes to props, everything has the unmistakable hallmark of authenticity. The only Civil War drama able to boast an equal level of historical accuracy is Gettysburg. The movie also looks great but ultimately leaves one empty. A good movie marred by a bad performance by Maguire
Rating:
Summary: The Civil War in different trenches
Review: Ride with the Devil is a wonderful and sometimes painful telling of a brutal theater of the Civil War. It was in the border states before and during the war that many outlaws were made -- the James brothers, Quantrill, Bloody Bill Anderson, and many others. Very rarely are they shown within the context of that war. Here is told the violence of the massacre of Lawrence, Kansas, and the brutality of Union forces in the state of Missouri. The story centers around four young men (Tobey Maguire as Jake Roedel; Jack Bull Chiles played by Skeet Ulrich; George Clyde played by Simon Baker; and his former slave Holt played by Jeffrey Wright) who are forced to fight for their land and their lives against Union forces. Along the way they meet a young widow, Sue Lee Shelley, played by Jewel. Joining up with William Clarke Quantrill, the young men learn the horrors of war and the price it often extracts. The battle scenes are intense and well done. It might be said that the story is shallow. However, a better observation might be that, except for the action, the rest of the movie is downplayed, making the characters seem more human, more real than if they were played larger than life. It is a simple story of ordinary people living their lives in the center of a chaos over which they have no control. People who enjoy this movie might also enjoy Gettysburg or The Red Badge of Courage (both book and movie). Seeing such a movie might also lead to reading nonfiction books about the border states that played an important part in the war.
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Summary: American history you didn't know existed...!
Review: Ride With The Devil is a great movie that brings a part of American history that few know exist. The divided state of Missouri becomes a land for Confederate and Union Guerillas during the Civil War which allows for destruction, murder, mayhem and disorder. Several young friends join up with a band of Confederate sympathizers to defend their homelands who raid various towns of Missouri and Kansas. These friends face danger everyday from Union Jayhawkers and Union Cavalry looking to rid Confederate raiders from existance. This movie has been written from actual historic situations made famous by notorious guerilla Bloody Bill Anderson. Many of the raids and fights in this movie are taken from history to display how chaotic life was for a state that wasn't Union or Confederate. Never short on action or violence, it covers the lifestyle and focusses on the many fears and realities faced by the people of these lands during the Civil War. Fortunately Hollywood didn't turn this serious issue into a action-packed unrealistic movie with silly stunts or 'one-liners'. No ridiculous effects or modern western movie stupidity is brought forth either! I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested about reading about a divided state in the Civil War where blood flowed endlessly! 5 STARS!
Rating: 
Summary: pretty dull
Review: even the fact that jrm was in this film, didnt endear itself to me! it is sooo dull!
Rating:
Summary: Solid Drama from Ang Lee
Review: The War Between the States was perhaps the darkest hour in the history of America; a war that pitted brother against brother and family against family and left scars that even today have not yet healed, and in all probability never will. And, as in any story about any war, beyond any historical significance it is the personal discord behind the greater conflict that creates the emotional impetus that makes it involving. It is the human element that renders the context necessary to give it perspective, which is what director Ang Lee provides in "Ride With the Devil," a Civil War drama in which he focuses on the personal travails within the broader depiction of the War itself, and along the way manages to include an examination of one of the bloodiest chapters of the War, the infamous raid on Lawrence, Kansas, by Quantrill and his raiders, which he succeeds in presenting quite objectively from the Confederate point-of-view. In 1863, the Union influence predominates in the State of Kansas, and even across the border in neighboring Missouri, those with Confederate loyalties are finding it increasingly difficult to hold out against the encroaching Northerners, especially without the aid of what could be considered any "regular" Confederate troops. And when things begin to really heat up around their own town, Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich) and Jake Roedel (Tobey Maguire) form a band of their own and join in the fray, doing damage to the Union cause wherever it is practicable. Jack Bull and Jake do not like the War and do not like killing; but they are standing up for what they believe to be right. There are others, however, even among their own, men like the young Pitt Mackeson (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), who will use the conflict as a vehicle for personal gain and as nothing more than an excuse to express their own violent nature through unnecessary brutality, perpetrated in many instances against innocent victims. And so, for Jack Bull and Jake, as well as many just like them, it becomes a time in which loyalty and moral judgments will be sorely tested; a time during which their souls will be tempered in blood. And they will have to ride with the very Devil himself, against seemingly insurmountable odds. As with all of his films, director Ang Lee approaches his story through an incisive, yet subtle examination of the traditions, cultural aspects and moral attitudes of the people and times he is depicting. And in so doing, Lee provides his audience with at least some understanding of his subject that goes beyond the actual story and ultimately offers, perhaps, a deeper grasp of the motivations that propel his characters and the drama in which they are engaged. Whether it's the traditions and customs that account for the relationship between a father and his daughters ("Eat Drink Man Woman"), the effects of class distinction ("Sense and Sensibility"), the honor and code by which a warrior lives and dies ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") or the moral ambiguities fostered by a lack of all of the above ("The Ice Storm"), Lee infuses his films with insights into the human condition that take them to a higher level. This film is no exception; and (as he does with all his films), Lee presents his story with the aid of breathtaking cinematography (in this film, by Frederick Elmes, who also did "The Ice Storm" brilliantly), which under his guidance is nothing less than visual poetry. It's that special Lee touch, and it adds a wistful, reflective sense to whatever story he is telling, which is one of the elements that make his films so memorable. As Jake, Tobey Maguire initially brings a sense of youthful innocence to the film that contrasts so effectively with the maturity he conveys later on as the story develops, and his character along with it. Most importantly, Maguire convincingly and believably responds to the events that unfold around him, which adds to the credibility of the overall film and underscores the realism of the presentation: His stoic acceptance of death and the news of those "murdered" in the various skirmishes and battles; the moral propriety to which those he encounters adhere, even in such troubled times; the betrayal, which because of the nature of the conflict is almost commonplace; and the loyalty and beliefs to which he and his companions cling adamantly. It is all of this that Maguire achieves through his performance, and it is no small accomplishment. It is, however, the kind of studied, understated performance that is often taken for granted, which is unfortunate; work like this is worthy of acclaim, and should be recognized. Skeet Ulrich is effective, as well, as Jack Bull, and Jewel (in her motion picture debut) turns in an engaging performance as Sue Lee Shelley. It is Jeffrey Wright, however, who stands out in a notable supporting role as Daniel Holt, as well as Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, who brings a chilling Christopher Walken-like menace to his role of Pitt. Also, in what amounts to a cameo role (one scene), Mark Ruffalo leaves an indelible impression with very little screen time. The supporting cast includes James Caviezel (Black John), Simon Baker (George Clyde), Tom Guiry (Riley), Tom Wilkinson (Orton Brown), John Ales (Quantrill), John Judd (Otto Roedel) and Kathleen Warfel (Mrs. Chiles). The Civil War will forever be an open wound upon the nation; but hopefully, as time goes on, it will be through the objective contemplations of filmmakers like Ang Lee and films like "Ride With the Devil" that will ultimately help to close the schism and promote healing. In light of more recent events, it is something that is sorely needed, worldwide. Film is a powerful medium; it can be educational as well as entertaining, and perhaps in the future more filmmakers, like Ang Lee, will embrace and promote a sense of unity through the sensitive depiction of the events and attitudes that make us what we are.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing and truly touching story!!!!
Review: Ride with the Devil tells an amazing and touching story about the lives of men who fought sometimes with neighbors that they grew up with. Men that were called the Bushwhakers and the Jayhakers. These were men that lived in the border states where half went to fight for the North and the other half, the South. This movie really gets into the hearts and minds of men during the Civil War.
Ride with the Devil is one of those rare movies where they got everything right. With only a few faults that keep it from being perfect, it is an awesome movie. The direction, the cinimatography, the acting, the story, the plot, everything is just amazing. I know that this movie is one that many people have not heard of, and I am further aware the it hasn't gotten the credit it deserves. But if you ever get the chance, see this movie.
Be warned- There are some things in this film that are not appropriate for children. Please take the rating seriously.
I won't tell you any parts of the story because I may ruin it for you. All I will say is that it is a great story that informs you alot of what men had to go through while fighting; for what they believed in, what they dreamed of and hoped for.
I know I rated this movie above but for my personal rating, I give it a 10 out of 10.
Don't miss this movie!
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