The Devil Came on Horseback
The Devil Came on Horseback
| 19 January 2007 (USA)
Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream thousands of hit movies and TV shows

Start 30-day Free Trial
The Devil Came on Horseback Trailers

While serving with the African Union, former Marine Capt. Brian Steidle documents the brutal ethnic cleansing occuring in Darfur. Determined that the Western public should know about the atrocities he is witnessing, Steidle contacts New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof, who publishes some of Steidle's photographic evidence.

Reviews
Tacticalin

An absolute waste of money

Ketrivie

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

View More
Bluebell Alcock

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

View More
Marva-nova

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

View More
gordon burkholder

For a film about a genocide, it starts interestingly enough and then stalls out due to a terrible editing job. It jumps around from mostly random clip to mostly random clip, without any overarching narrative other than the Janjaweed and the Sudanese government are killing people in Darfur.Some of the footage was quite compelling, but the viewer is not shown enough.The film wastes time by focusing too much on the frustrations of the photographer as he tries to rally the American public on the issue. It becomes the "Brian Steidle Goes to Washington" show - and surprise! The gear of justice turn slowly, and too much time is spent on Brian and his ennui, his intense yearn for action...The film should have focused more on Darfur and Brian's photography work there Brian's media work in the US and Europe.Darfur is an important issue, and someone who is as committed as Brian Steidle deserves a better editor who can weave a much more compelling narrative.

View More
lissamcgraw

I watched this documentary with my 14 year old son and we both cried. What an atrocity, what a shame that this is happening while we are all celebrating Xmas. Why is nothing being done? Thank you Brian for bringing this to our attention....and shame on us if all we do is criticize how Brian made the movie!!!!! Do something folks! Do something.We started by going to the website and purchasing shirts and wristbands to be given out at my son's school.. and we are writing to the President and other officials....and we are doing our research on how best to help. Don't just write a review....save some lives. We can all do something.

View More
rasecz

To those who have seen this film and care deeply about Darfur this comment will feel uncaring, even heretical. Rest assured that I do care about Darfur, but I can't escape the fact that this documentary is not really about Sudan, it's about a person -- Brian.Brian volunteered to be a military observer in Sudan to observe the cease fire of 2004. He witnessed many of the horrible events that happened that year. Many photographs were taken. Many are damnable of an uncaring Sudanese government. We are shown a few, but not enough. The film is very disappointing in that respect. It gives reason to those who claim that Brian's dossier does not constitute a strong enough case.The first half is a rough chronology of Brian's stint in Sudan. It is described in words. What is on the screen is a random assemblage of footage that is flashed without context. Sure, dead bodies are dead bodies, burning villages are so, kids do play ball, Brian folds his tent, etc. The problem is that this material is edited so poorly that it becomes a mess of images. There is no focus. Images and words are often disconnected. We are quite often not sure what we see.The editing improves when Brian goes to Chad. Finally we get a cohesive narrative that holds together visually. The short visit to Rwanda is also properly handled.Overall it is a disappointing documentary. A missed opportunity to build a stronger case for saving Darfur and also a disservice to the work Brian has done to expose the crimes that are being perpetrated. The excessive focus on Brian and less on his photos ends up painting this as an ego trip.

View More
JustCuriosity

This amazing film screened at the SXSW Film Festival and was extremely well-received. The film is a remarkable picture of the tragedy that is unfolding in Africa and being ignored by both America and the rest of the world. The story is told thru the eyes of former American Marine Captain, turned international monitor, Brian Steidle. Steidle is the reluctant hero drawn into the events of Darfur almost by accident. As his eyes are opened to the ugliness of what is happening in Darfur he opens our eyes as well. The photographs are amazing and nightmarish. The tragic message is that we haven't learned from the Holocaust and more recently Rwanda is also clear and deeply haunting. This film is significantly better made than the somewhat amateurish film, although still interesting and informative, Darfur Diaries. It is filmed with both heart and skill. Steidle, who has also written a book by the same name, is the perfect guide to draw us out of our apathy and into the heart of this deep unfolding tragedy. His palpable feeling of anger and helplessness as he watches genocide is palpable and heart-breaking. The film is also an indictment of the failure of the US and other Western governments to act to address this humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding now for 4 years. The U.S. has called these events "genocide," but has done nothing substantive to provide for a UN peacekeeping force to address the tragedy. This is the type of film that must be widely scene if Americans are to awaken from their slumber and respond to this horror of murder, rape, massacre, slaughter, and dislocation that is being committed by Sudan's government against its own citizens. Perhaps there is still a chance to save even more people from dying if Americans are willing to pay attention to what is happening. I hope that Americans take the time to see this important and compelling film about the greatest tragedy of our times.

View More