Critic Reviews
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Joshua Katzman, Chicago Reader
Filmmakers Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg chronicle his burgeoning activism in the face of the U.S. government's indifference as the government of Sudan works systematically to eradicate black Africans from the region.
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Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
The gripping documentary The Devil Came on Horseback traces the change of heart that compelled Steidle to break military discipline in 2005 and offer his secret photographic evidence of Sudan's vicious ethnic cleansing to the New York Times.
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John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
The Devil Came on Horseback is a documentary account of Steidle's ongoing efforts to educate the world about the violence he witnessed as an unarmed military observer for the African Union in 2004.
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Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times
On all counts, the co-directors of this persuasive documentary set the right tone.
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Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
A dynamic, shockingly graphic story of the horrors of Darfur.
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Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
With an estimated 400,000 dead since 2003, and 2.5 million Sudanese left homeless in the wake of the genocide, ignoring the story doesn't seem like a humane option.
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Jeffrey Chen, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
This documentary stares truth in the face in more ways than one.
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S. James Wegg, JWR
To balance the chilling reality of the powerful having their unabated way with the miserably weak, the faces of carefree children mugging into the camera is a welcome balm on the wounds of systemic depravity.
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Sam Jordison, Film4
Clumsy filmmaking and political analysis do not detract from the horror of the events the film bears witness too, nor the importance of its message.
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Matt McNally, BBC
The Devil Came On Horseback sets out to shock. The images caught by Steidle's camera will stay with you long after his personal story - given too much time in relation to events - has faded from memory.
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Tim Evans, Sky Movies
Steidle's documentary evidence - shot where no journalist can set foot - makes for grim viewing.
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Owen Williams, Empire Magazine
A decent attempt at outling the crises but crucially lacking much depth.
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Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Powerful, impressively directed and desperately moving documentary that highlights one of the world's most vicious injustices and the shocking refusal of Western governments to do anything about it.
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Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
This documentary tells us two things. It's very bad in the Darfur region of the Sudan and the U.S. isn't doing a damned thing to stop the genocide there.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Gripping, heartfelt and eye-opening film.
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Marlow Stern, Manhattan Movie Magazine
we feel Steidle's inner turmoil as he cries uncontrollably at the thought of the genocide he was powerless to prevent
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Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
In a way, "Devil" is two horror stories, the first is what Steidle saw in Darfur, the second what he saw when he left.
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Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
When you see a hero like Steidle feeling guilty because he couldn't do more -- well, it's hard to feel anything but admiration for him and the movie.
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Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
The collection of images that make up the first forty-odd minutes of the film are among the most horrifying I have seen in all my life.
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Marrit Ingman, Austin Chronicle
The film's approach suits an audience broader than the usual documentary crowd, though it's worth mentioning that those pictures can really stay with you.
Read all 20 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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If you already felt the devastation in Darfur was too complex to easily change, this documentary won't help. We follow a former Marine who, by a damning stroke of fate, found himself with the duty to document each case of genocide. Captain Steidle, raised in a strong military… More
If you already felt the devastation in Darfur was too complex to easily change, this documentary won't help. We follow a former Marine who, by a damning stroke of fate, found himself with the duty to document each case of genocide. Captain Steidle, raised in a strong military family, came in as a former Marine who had seen his share of combat. He's the only American who witnessed, for 6 months, the merciless violence. It has broken him, and in one scene we see him grieving, overwhelmed by his powerlessness to stop, even just once, what he had seen. After we see him testify to us through the media and meet with our leaders, it seems by the film's end that everyone is powerless, and we all just have to watch it.
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An excellent, well-shot, and cautious documentary which has some truly shocking, and heart-wrenching, moments. It speaks powerfully not only about its own subject, but the conspicuous and utterly horrifying lack of attention it was given, all seen through intensely personal moments.… More
An excellent, well-shot, and cautious documentary which has some truly shocking, and heart-wrenching, moments. It speaks powerfully not only about its own subject, but the conspicuous and utterly horrifying lack of attention it was given, all seen through intensely personal moments.
Easy to comprehend, but daunting to fully understand, this documentary has no answers, only emotions and images... and that is what makes it powerful. Like him, we are forced to sit and watch helplessly by the sidelines, and we can easily understand his frustration and pain.
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if you want to know more about the situation in darfur this is a great place to start. told by a former marine who volunteered as an unarmed observer in sudan and witnessed all out genocide by the government backed janjaweed militia. it's as if we had the chance to redeem… More
if you want to know more about the situation in darfur this is a great place to start. told by a former marine who volunteered as an unarmed observer in sudan and witnessed all out genocide by the government backed janjaweed militia. it's as if we had the chance to redeem ourselves for rwanda and failed yet again. total respect to brian steidle who fought to get this story out and wake up the world to another ethnic cleansing. this is a horrific and very important film. if you want to see the face of evil, welcome to hell
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[font=Century Gothic]"The Devil Came on Horseback" is a powerfully damning documentary about Brian Steidle, a retired U.S. Marine Captain, who in 2004 signed up to monitor the ceasefire of the 20-year civil war in Sudan between the Arab north and the Christian and Animist… More
[font=Century Gothic]"The Devil Came on Horseback" is a powerfully damning documentary about Brian Steidle, a retired U.S. Marine Captain, who in 2004 signed up to monitor the ceasefire of the 20-year civil war in Sudan between the Arab north and the Christian and Animist south. The Arabs have most of the power in the country, while the people of the western Darfur region who are represented by two rebel groups wanted a role in governing their country. Following a rebel attack, the Janjaweed militia aided by the government initiated a genocide in Darfur which was intent on wiping out all the black Africans in the region. Steidle volunteered to monitor the situation armed with only a camera and a notepad. [/font]
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[font=Century Gothic]The film puts the atrocities in Sudan in focus while also perfectly capturing Steidle's frustration at not being able to help actively. But his photographs which are eventually published do shed light on these atrocities.(His camera accomplishes much more than a gun ever could.) Even then, the world mostly stood by and watched. Also, there is a very keen sense of how Steidle's life, as an accidental activist, has changed since he had been given a mission.[/font]
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[font=Century Gothic]What is needed in the world today is a change in the priorities of foreign policy away from one of political convenience and profit(Sudan is rich in oil) to one favoring human rights. We are all one people on this planet, and are deeply responsible for each other. In general, the world needs to embrace love instead of fear.[/font]
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A better film to make the case for intervention in Sudan than the Hollywood star laden Darfur Now. With the notion that photos often provoke emotionnal responses and positive reactions, Brian Steidle spreads the word about atrocities throughout the world..with some encouraging… More
A better film to make the case for intervention in Sudan than the Hollywood star laden Darfur Now. With the notion that photos often provoke emotionnal responses and positive reactions, Brian Steidle spreads the word about atrocities throughout the world..with some encouraging results.
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Darfur doc, while well-assembled, can't help but grow numb.
Read all 6 featured audience ratings
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