MO Humanities: Ride with the Devil (1999)
During the American Civil War, two friends join the Bushwhackers, a militant group loyal to the Confederacy. (R, 148 min.)
Showtimes
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
7:00 PM
The Story of Us: Missouri Through Film is a series featuring films that are culturally important to Missouri in general, and the Ozarks in particular. This FREE series is sponsored by the Missouri Humanities Council and presented in partnership with Drury University. There will be a discussion following the film with a member from our Springfield community.
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. [Criterion]
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, Jewel, Jeffrey Wright
Director: Ang Lee
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, War
"Ang Lee is amazing."
— Peter Brunette, Film.com
"A remarkably beautiful film."
— Jon Popick, Planet S Magazine
"Moving, gorgeously filmed."
— Steve Simels, TV Guide
"It is fresh and insightful, and it is visceral cinema."
— Bruce Kirkland, Jam! Movies
"Simply put, a gorgeous and enduring piece of work."
— Gemma Files, eye WEEKLY
"Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil is a film of monumental ambition."
— Gary Mairs, culturevulture.net
"From a technical perspective, Ride With the Devil is nearly perfect."
— James Berardinelli, ReelViews
"Ride With the Devil works on the simple level of action and classic drama."
— Steven Boone, Citysearch
"The production of the film is outstanding; the settings, costumes, imagery, and soundtrack add a strong dose of reality to the characters."
— Athan Bezaitis, Filmcritic.com
"An impressive cast energizes Lee's smartly balanced themes of innocence and treachery."
— Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle
"A sublime contemplation of the American character at a particularly revealing time in our struggle to become a nation."
— Eleanor Ringel Cater, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Lee and his team bring the period and place to life brilliantly, in its every frontier main street, homely speech pattern, and burnt gunpowder fog."
— Michael Atkinson, Mr. Showbiz
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