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These days, Ang Lee is generally regarded as one of the most well-respected and acclaimed directors working in film - well, before Taking Woodstock](Taking Woodstock (2009) - Movie | Moviefone), anyway. But a decade ago, he hadn’t yet made Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, his commercial breakthrough - although Sense and Sensibility](Sense and Sensibility (1995) - Movie | Moviefone) was an arthouse hit - and was essentially one of many promising talents who made interesting films that attracted critics and awards but had audiences staying away in droves.
To be fair, I’d been a fan of his since Eat Drink Man Woman](http://www.moviefone.com/movie/eat-drink-man-woman/27300/main?icid=movsmartsearch), a film which I still count among my favorites of all time, and was rapturously in love with The Ice Storm](The Ice Storm (1997) - Movie | Moviefone). But I admit that until very recently, albeit perhaps not without good reason, I never saw Ride With the Devil](Ride with the Devil (1999) - Movie | Moviefone). The truth is that very few people did, at least during its theatrical run. But thanks to a glorious (as the rest of theirs) new Blu-ray from the good folks at Criterion, I finally watched the film, specifically to see whether it was unjustly forgotten or absolutely worth getting. Hence, this week’s “Shelf Life.”