Antique Bottles in American Cinema: "Ride with the Devil"
| It's pretty
hard to love pontiled sodas and not be a fan of movies about
the Civil War. "Gettysburg" has always been a favorite of mine. I just recently watched "Ride with the Devil"
starring Skeet Ulrich and Tobey Maguire. Comcast on-demand
subscribers should be able to catch this flick for the remainder
of the month (maybe longer), and I highly recommend it !
Besides the fact that this tale of Missouri "Irregulars"
shows a side of the war seldom seen in the cinema, I was just
delighted to see authentic, period bottles used as props.
This almost never
happens, as collectors know, and it is always a little disappointing to
see really bad reproductions used in scenes that would otherwise seem
credible. |
|
Now, if soldiers in those days drank as much whiskey as these fella's did
(at least in the beginning of their campaign), it would be hard to tell
just who won the war when it was all over, but in "Ride with the
Devil", they drink it in style--not just from authentic Washington-Taylor flasks, but deep emerald green ones to boot. In the
trailer,
you'll catch a brief glimpse of Skeet Ulrich swigging it out of that flask about a third
of the way through, though in the actual movie, the image is
much clearer. And I would say that he's holding the genuine article. No
Wheaton Nuline crap here.
Later in the movie, he's quaffing from what I'd swear is a
genuine deep olive Traveler's Companion, but you'll have to see the
actual movie for that one. I wonder if Jeff Wischmann was the prop
manager for this flick ? These are both "right on the money" for this
period when you consider that bottles blown between 1855 and 1860 were
no doubt commonly used during the years of the war.
Historical Bottle collectors will really get a kick out of seeing
these same bottles that we've often mused over the people, places and
things that they were once a part of, being depicted in just the way
we've always imagined.
Favorite dialogue from
the movie:
Mr. Evans: You ever been to Lawrence KS young man?
[scoffs] Jack Bull Chiles: No, I reckon not Mr. Evans.
I don't believe I'd be too welcome in Lawrence.
Mr. Evans: I didn't think so. Before this war began, my
business took me there often. As I saw those northerners build that
town, I witnessed the seeds of our destruction being sown.
Jack Bull Chiles: The foundin' of that town was truly the
beginnin' of the Yankee invasion.
Mr. Evans: I'm not speakin' of numbers, nor even abolitionist
trouble makin'. It was the schoolhouse. Before they built their
church, even, they built that schoolhouse. And they let in every
tailor's son... and every farmer's daughter in that country.
Jack Bull Chiles: Spellin' won't help you hold a plow any
firmer. Or a gun either.
Mr. Evans: No, it won't Mr. Chiles. But my point is merely
that they rounded every pup up into that schoolhouse because they
fancied that everyone should think and talk the same free-thinkin'
way they do with no regard to station, custom, propriety. And that
is why they will win. Because they believe everyone should live and
think just like them. And we shall lose because we don't care one
way or another how they live. We just worry about ourselves.
Jack Bull Chiles: Are you sayin', sir, that we fight for
nothin'?
Mr. Evans: Far from it, Mr. Chiles. You fight for everything
that we ever had, as did my son. It's just that... we don't have it
anymore.
FAVORITE REVIEW |
Anyway, this is a great movie for Civil War buffs and bottle
collectors alike. Kudos to Ang Lee !
|
