I was looking for something with a Civil War setting. I was amazed that the film covered so much of Bleeding Kansas" and the role of bushwhackets, jayhawks, and farm folks attempting to survive the brutality.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Director Ang Lee follows up the critically acclaimed THE ICE STORM with this look at the bloody, intense conflict between the pro-Confederate Bushwackers and the pro-Union Jayhawkers in Missouri during the Civil War. Pitting neighbor against neighbor, the war in the frontier state tested personal loyalties and often created strange alliances. The film, based on Daniel Woodrell's book WOE TO LIVE ON, follows the conflict through the eyes of two outsiders: a German immigrant's son (Tobey Maguire) and a free black man (Jeffrey Wright), both of whom fight for the Bushwhackers even though they are looked down upon by their fellow guerrillas. The acting is strong all around, the setting realistically grim and absorbing, and Frederick Elmes's photography is, as always, top-notch. Pop singer Jewel appears onscreen for the first time, playing a plucky Southern woman. A nuanced examination of the bonds of obligation, RIDE WITH THE DEVIL anticipates Lee's high-flying CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, both in theme and in pulse-pounding action. The film contains many standout action sequences, including a historically accurate re-creation of William Quantrill's infamous raid on Lawrence, Kansas.Read full review
Tobey McGuire,more recently known for his Spiderman films,is cast as a (what???) Civil War guerrilla who joins William Clark Quantrill in his famous/infamous raid on Lawrence,Kansas,and very nearly is killed himself for refusing to kill a family who help him and his friends,marries the widow and single mom of a friend and goes on the run,pursued by federal troops as well as former guerillas,as he struggles to begin a normal life during the last days of the war. Is it good,bad,indifferent? I'd say it was interesting,but I dont see McGuire as a rebel soldier.But Audie Murphy played Jesse James who for a time rode with the aforenamed rebel leader,so why not Spidey?
I can't tell you how many times I have watched this movie. Civil War movies like this one are hard to come by. The actors make you care about their characters. The director did a fantastic job of making this movie realistic. When the guns were fired, they sounded like you were right there with them! Tobey Macguire was fantastic in the lead role. He was real! And as Jake's nemesis, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, really out did himself! The lines in this movies were brilliant and to many people a Civil War movie couldn't be brilliant, but if you really watch this one - you will feel it. A love story entangled in the life of young boys trying hard to be men in a uncertain world. There are absolutely no boring parts in this movie!!!!
This movie had more to offer besides war. It had family. A very difficult time period those 2 states who had mixed feelings about the war, slavery. Confederate soldiers had some help with food ect; By southern families. Some throughout the winter........
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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