Ride with the Devil
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Synopsis
With this new director’s cut, Ang Lee reconstructs his original vision for Ride with the Devil, a harrowing, unorthodox Civil War epic. Set during the Kansas-Missouri border war, the film follows Jake (Tobey Maguire) and Jack Bull (Skeet Ulrich), who join the Confederate-sympathizing Bushwhackers after Jack Bull’s father is killed by abolitionist Jayhawkers, and find an unusual ally in Holt (Jeffrey Wright), who’s fighting for the South despite being a former slave. A rumination on identity and loyalty, both political and personal, Ride with the Devil is a provocative challenge to preconceptions about America’s bloodiest conflict.
Picture 6/10
The Criterion Collection presents Ang Lee’s new director’s cut of Ride with the Devil in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this dual-layer disc. The picture has been enhanced for widescreen televisions.
The transfer on here is okay, sharing some of the same problems as the Blu-ray; it comes off looking soft throughout much of the film, lacking in real detail and definition. Artifacts are fairly common, the transfer containing plenty of noise and some edge-enhancement, and there can be a sort of fuzzy, murky look. Colours look okay overall, with some decent greens and reds, but nothing too striking (and nowhere near as striking as the colours presented in the Blu-ray edition.) But while the transfer is so-so the print itself is very clean with nothing noticeable in the way of damage.
The transfer has its share of artifacts but I think my biggest surprise with the transfer (though I guess it’s now less of a surprise after viewing the Blu-ray edition) is how soft and fuzzy the image looks. The film’s photography, which is quite stunning, deserves a little better.
Audio 8/10
The film comes with a rather nice Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track. Though it’s certainly more of a talky film there are a few decent action sequences spread throughout and the sound field is used rather nicely. Some of the action sequences present fairly loud gun shots, roaring hoofs from charging horses, and rebel yells, all of which move naturally between the speakers, presenting some decent splits, with bullets whizzing by in a couple of sequences.
The track as a whole is also clean and doesn’t present any distortion or harshness, and is free and clear of noise. Dialogue is crisp and sharp, and the music, which is fairly epic itself, not at all subtle, fills out the environment with excellent range. In all it’s a strong track that makes great use of your sound system.
Extras 6/10
Though we do get two commentaries for this edition supplements leave a little to be desired because of the lack of some more historical information.
But first worth mentioning is the fact that Criterion’s DVD and Blu-ray editions both include the director’s cut of the film. I hadn’t seen the film in probably ten years so it was hard for me to recall the differences, but a few stood out, including the addition of a scene centered around a former Bushwhacker who lost his leg and then it looks as though the Lawrence Massacre sequence was expanded. Listening to the commentaries confirmed this, and other scenes were pointed out in these tracks. I was actually shocked at what had been previously cut out of the film and really question those decisions. Some of the sequences cut really help explain the conflict in the film, including an early addition during a dinner that basically lays out everything, and the additions also help the plot and characters. I wasn’t fond of the film when I originally saw it and for years I considered it Lee’s weakest, but seeing it again in this cut (now for a second time on this DVD) I found I did enjoy it quite a bit more and have a higher opinion of it. It still has some issues and its middle section still moves at a leaden pace, but it feels to make a bit more sense, its characters aren’t as shut off, and the overall pacing appears to have improved. For those that originally dismissed it they may want to give it at least a rental to give it another viewing.
Having a newly found appreciation for the film I moved on to the supplements. Two audio commentaries are the primary features here. The first features director Ang Lee and producer-screenwriter James Schamus, who also did the commentary for the Criterion edition of The Ice Storm together. I rather liked that one because the two were fairly loose and passionate and the same can be said here. They talk about the book on which the film is based, how Lee came across it, and his desire to cover what he considered a very American story, most intrigued by the fact that former slaves actually did fight for the south. The two talk about the themes in the film, primarily the idea of characters “enslaved in a relationship” and they see it as more of a coming-of-age story than a Civil war picture. They continue by sharing their thoughts on the various cast members, praising them (though I found it funny that Jim Caviezel and Mark Ruffalo, who both appear in the film for a few minutes each, seem to get more love than Skeet Ulrich,) also explaining the casting of Jewel (he was fascinated by her crooked teeth which he thought fit the period) and also talk a bit about the actual history and their desire to remain authentic, even defending the language which did receive a lot of criticism during its initial release. Lee also expresses his disappointment about the handling of the film, which was released when its primary studio was going through financial difficulties, and he talks about why he made the edits he did, though he regretted it later. But his biggest upset was not that there were people that didn’t like the film but that people never really got to see it. It’s a nice track and moves briskly, worth listening to for those that like the film.
The second commentary was a bit of a surprise. Featuring director of photography Frederick Elmes, sound designer Drew Kunin, and production designer Mark Friedberg I thought it would be a heavily technical commentary but it’s actually quite a bit more than that. While they do cover various technical aspects such as the photography, the sets, the influences from photographs from the period, and the quest for authenticity, the participants also get heavily in to the actual history portrayed in the film, giving details and back story for some of the non-fictional characters that appear in the film and the actual politics that led to the conflict. They also express their disappointment in how poorly the film did, and offer their defenses and their theories on why the film didn’t do well, again blaming the studio’s financial problems. I rather liked it, probably a little more than the previous track, as it really covers every aspect of the film, even a little better than the director track. One thing that’s obvious in both tracks, though, is that all the participants feel this film deserves a better audience and they all seem to feel this new Criterion edition will do just that.
The only other supplement on the disc is an interview with actor Jeffrey Wright. It’s unfortunately very brief, running only 14-minutes, but it’s good. He talks about what intrigued him about the film, admiring its more complex handling of the subject of race, gives a decent analysis of his character, talks about his admiration of the film, ranking it high in his filmography, and he also expresses his disappointment about how the film did during its release. It’s a nice interview, Wright even talking about his own family history, though I wish it were longer.
And that unfortunately covers it for disc supplements. The booklet that accompanies the edition contains an essay on the film by Godfrey Cheshire, along with some historical essays on the Kansas-Missouri conflict and then a bit of a bio on William Quantrill, respectively by Cheshire and Edward E. Leslie. The booklet makes for a fascinating read, if only it gives a decent history lesson.
While the booklet does fill that bit of a historical gap in the supplements, I would have liked it if Criterion had done something similar to what they did with The Last Emperor and The Leopard, where they offered supplements that put the films in their respective historical contexts. Lee also mentioned there was more footage from the Lawrence Massacre he didn’t put back in so those could have been added as deleted scenes. I suspect the reasoning behind the lack of much anything else has to do with Criterion trying to keep the Blu-ray edition down to one-disc, the film taking up a large amount of space on that edition. Unfortunately that decision also affects the DVD. The commentaries are decent, as is the interview, but there feels there could have been a lot more.
Closing
I do like the film a lot more in this new edition, though despite the amount of praise everyone heaps upon it in the commentary tracks I feel it’s still one of Lee’s weaker films. But I think those that initially dismissed it may want to try it again by giving this new DVD (or Blu-ray) a rental. As a whole, though, this edition does feel like a missed opportunity in the term of supplements, and its transfer leaves a little to be desired.
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