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| The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford [2007] | ![The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NMHP2E%2BQL._SL160_.jpg)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 52 reviews)
Sales Rank: 197
Category: DVD
Actors: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Mary-louise Parker, Sam Rockwell, Brooklynn Proulx
Director: Andrew Dominik
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Studio: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Label: Warner Home Video
Format: Pal
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Media: DVD
Running Time: 155 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 7321900763738
ASIN: B000Y8G0OS
Release Date: March 31, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Amazon.co.uk
Of all the movies made about or glancingly involving the 19th-century outlaw Jesse Woodson James, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is the most reflective, most ambitious, most intricately fascinating, and indisputably most beautiful. Based on the novel of the same name by Ron Hansen, it picks up James late in his career, a few hours before his final train robbery, then covers the slow catastrophe of the gang's breakup over the next seven months even as the boss himself settles into an approximation of genteel retirement. But in another sense all of the movie is later than that. The very title assumes the audience's familiarity with James as a figure out of history and legend, and our awareness that he was--will be--murdered in his parlor one quiet afternoon by a back-shooting crony.
The film--only the second to be made by New Zealand-born writer-director Andrew Dominik--reminds us that Dominik's debut film, Chopper, was the cunningly off-kilter portrait of another real-life criminal psychopath who became a kind of rock star to his society. The Jesse James of this telling is no Robin Hood robbing the rich to give to the poor, and that train robbery we witness is punctuated by acts of gratuitous brutality, not gallantry. Nineteen-year-old Bob Ford (Casey Affleck) seeks to join the James gang out of hero worship stoked by the dime novels he secretes under his bed, but his glam hero (Brad Pitt) is a monster who takes private glee in infecting his accomplices with his own paranoia, then murdering them for it. In the careful orchestration of James's final moments, there's even a hint that he takes satisfaction in his own demise. Affleck and Pitt (who co-produced with Ridley Scott, among others) are mesmerising in the title roles, but the movie is enriched by an exceptional supporting cast: Sam Shepard as Jesse's older, more stable brother Frank; Sam Rockwell as Bob Ford's own brother Charlie, whose post-assassination descent into madness is astonishing to behold; Paul Schneider, Garret Dillahunt, and Jeremy Renner as three variously doomed gang members; and Mary-Louise Parker, who as Jesse's wife Zee has few lines yet manages with looks and body language to invoke a well nigh-novelistic back-story for herself. There are also electrifying cameos by James Carville, doing solid actorly work as the governor of Missouri; Ted Levine, as a lawman of antic spirit; and Nick Cave, composer of the film's score (with Warren Ellis) and screenwriter of the Aussie western The Proposition, suddenly towering over a late scene to perform the folk song that set the terms for the book and movie's title.
Still, the real co-star is Roger Deakins, probably the finest cinematographer at work today. The landscapes of the movie (mostly in Alberta and Manitoba) will linger in the memory as long as the distinctive faces, and we seem to feel the sting of its snows on our cheeks. Interior scenes are equally persuasive. Few westerns have conveyed so tangibly the bleakness and austerity of the spaces people of the frontier called home, and sought in vain to warm with human spirit. --Richard T. Jameson
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| Customer Reviews: Read 47 more reviews...
 Brillant May 14, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
We loved this film.Brad Pitt was wonderful as Jesse James. This film was not a typical western with shootouts etc. Thats why the film worked so well. The reason we gave it 4 stars is because it was a little slow.
 so slow..........and boring....................... May 13, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
we switched off after 15 mins lucky it was a rented DVD it is probably one of the worst films i have seen.
 Live the film May 8, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Acting, that's what makes some films great and some dire, not special effects. In this film Jesse is not the hero in fact the villain. If you want shoot 'em ups then don't bother, this film runs deep, remarkable acting dare I say the 'thinking man's western' watch and be moved.
Slow moving but packed with detail. Recommended May 8, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you're looking for the more traditional western then don't watch this; however, if you're looking for a thoughtful, extremely well shot & well developed film then this is a "must see".
There is economic yet effective use of a commentary running through the film which adds to the feeling of authenticity.
Pitt is perfect & exudes sheer menace in his role of Jesse James. Similarly, his colleagues give off a palpable air of panic & tension in his presence.
The film reaches the inevitable shooting of JJ but does not end there as there are some interesting insights into how Robert Ford handled his new found fame.
Rent it, settle into a comfy chair & enjoy.
 A great piece of story telling, shame about the length May 8, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm not one to mind a long film provided the content remains engaging throughout. However in the case of Jesse James the content does not hold up to the full 2:30 running time.
The two main roles played by Pitt and Affleck are very engaging, with Bob Ford being played superbly by the young actor. I'm not overly keen on westerns however the story of James' fall and Ford's subsequent desire is a refreshing change from the "men with funny hats save the day" ethos to which I generally regard most westerns.
If you can sit through the slow pacing and frankly over conceptualized plot, the film rewards with a great ending and a real lingering after-effect few modern films reward with. It's nice to see a western grounded in gritty reality, I only wish they had made it easier to watch.
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