Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Westerns
Rating: R
Release Date: 5-FEB-2008
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1084 in DVD
• Brand: PITT,BRAD
• Released on: 2008-02-05
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 160 minutes

Amazon.com
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 backshooting 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 (2000), 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 mesmerizing 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 wellnigh-novelistic backstory 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 costar 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

Customer Reviews

a lengthy reminder that brad pitt can truly act
i watched this film over two evenings . initially , i felt this beautifully shot and universally well acted film (with an excellent narrative) was glorifying a group of men who were substantial turds . i had reservations about the need for the long running time and seemingly glacial pace the film was taking . on the second night i saw more clearly how (as other folks write here) the narative and arc were very nutral and dispassionate . it truly was an awesome year for CASEY AFFLECK (what with his brother's brilliant directorial project "GONE BABY GONE") comming out the same year . some will not care for the picture at all i suppose . put me in the other catagory . i was reminded that pretty boy BRAD PITT can really act (outside the vanity projects GEORGE CLOONEY injects him into) and treated to a well above average story telling that will probably continue to grow upon reflection . most aspects of the film are quite outstanding . it may test your endurance , but it will reward the patient .

Non-judgemental
An objective account. There are no heroes. All the characters are villainous. They appear to be in the grip of circumstances beyond their control, however.

Low-Key Movie Driven By Evolution Of Character
Quiet, subtle, and nuanced, this movie is a work of art for those interested in cinematography, story, and acting. Anyone hoping for a "popcorn" movie will be sorely bored and disappointed.

The title says it all, for it focuses more on the motivations of Casey Affleck as Robert Ford than it does on the exploits of Brad Pitt as Jesse James. In fact, the film is a classic character study, moving us from Robert Ford's infatuation with James to his utter resentment of the man, despite their becoming partners (of sorts).

Clocking in at two and a half hours, the story takes its time peeling away layer after layer of Ford's insecurities and James' paranoia as it offers beautiful shots, lovely scenery, and props and costumes that are seemingly spot-on.

The acting is magnificent, by the way. Don't look for any robust chest-thumping-this is the stuff of delicacy. Affleck's character is a coward, as the title reminds, and Affleck does a wonderful job through body language, facial expression, and voice inflection of seriously creeping the audience out. He makes his character so uncomfortable to watch, so truly awkward, that he really won me over as a skilled actor.

In fact, James' gang was terrified of him, and each actor in the gang seemed genuinely fearful. Affleck was by far the best, but they all squirmed in such understated mannerisms around Pitt that I found myself on edge. Perhaps Pitt was given the least amount to work with because James is something of a legend, but his acting really paled in comparison to Affleck. I have to give Pitt credit, though, because while he may not be the strongest actor, he certainly chooses to take part in excellent movies.

The title tells exactly what happens near the end of the movie, but they (including Pitt) offer a very interesting interpretation as to why James put himself in the position he did. Pitt's dialogue, if you read between the lines ... Well, I don't want to spoil anything for you. Let's just say there is ample material for a character study of James' psychology.

If you're looking for a Wild West shoot-out with daring robberies and nefarious misadventure, look elsewhere. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a low-key movie driven by the evolution (or perhaps devolution) of character. It is fascinating, but it is meant for those with patience and an appreciation of story and art.

~Scott William Foley, author of The Imagination's Provocation: Volume I: A Collection of Short Stories