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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/51ImjAQLjqL._SL75_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Andrew Dominik
Actors: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Mary-louise Parker, Sam Rockwell, Brooklynn Proulx
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £20.99
Buy New: £5.44
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Avg. Customer Rating:  70 reviews
Sales Rank: 100
Format: Pal
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 155
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 7321900763738
ASIN: B000Y8G0OS
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: March 31, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New & Sealed, Shipped From The UK
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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 65 more reviews...
 Cure for Insomnia July 17, 2008
I have watched hundreds of films and I can wholeheartedly say this is the most boring EVER. Well filmed, well acted but totally dreary. I really wish I had not wasted my money on this Blu-Ray.
 A gorgeous hypnotic odyssey July 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I felt in two minds about watching this film , half expecting it to be dolorous ,sombre, dull art-house exercise requiring resolute cinematic stamina . Not for the first time I was completely wrong .The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford is as gorgeous and hypnotic a film as I have ever seen .
The title does of course give way what is going to happen in this film but the real drama comes from the way the narrative explores the relationship between the two men and how circumstances dictate what fates befall both of them.
When we meet them both its September 1881 and they are both preparing to rob a train as part of the infamous James gang . Most of the gang we are informed by the films lyrical voice over ( Hugh Ross)are either dead or in prison but the two remaining James brothers Frank (Sam Shepard) and Jesse(Brad Pitt) are leading the heist. Also part of the gang are the Ford brothers Charley (Sam Rockwell) and Robert (Casey Affleck) Robert has a fan worship thing going on with Jesse and this marks the start of their bond , though not before the more worldly wise Frank says of Bob Ford "I don't know what it is about you, but the more you talk, the more you give me the willies."
It's a perspicacious comment as Bob is a bit creepy and is brilliantly portrayed by Affleck as such - ostensibly a sort of cowboy stalker. Jesse finds him amusing at first then comes to trust him before an all round paranoia and brooding malevolence takes over his character . These two borderline psycho's are well matched in many respects but the film adapted by director Andrew Dominick from the book by Robert Hansen takes its time in getting under the skin of these two characters so we understand implicitly how Ford comes to shooting Jesse James .This is complex and fully requires the lengthy running time in order to do it full justice.
Interestingly the film also explores Fords life post the shooting where he becomes a media celebrity in his own right yet is wracked by guilt and is thoroughly miserable.
The acting is top-notch throughout. Affleck as I alluded earlier is spookily good while Pitt is someone I often find irritating because he mumbles, but in this he's terrific- veering convincingly from wide eyed boyish enthusiasm to menacing glowers or explosive rage. Paul Schneider as gang member Dick Liddil a laconic poetry spouting lothario is especially good, though Mary Louise Parker as James wife Zee is given an underwritten role.
The real star of the film though is the cinematography of Roger Deakins, whose work with the Coen brothers has garnered plaudit's .He gives the film a sepia nostalgic glow but captures the landscape , vast fields of swaying corn or barren snow covered homesteads , magically. The landscapes become more frigid echoing the increasingly frosty relationship between the characters. The scene of a train robbery at night is one of transcendental and startling beauty. The soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis is eerily spot on too.
Yes this film is slow but it's also thoroughly engrossing . It is truly insidiously compelling and though many will feel it's padded out , which is often my opinion of many films,I feel that not a frame is wasted in this movie. It truly is a masterpiece of the cinematic art -an all too rare commodity nowadays. Hugely commendable .
 Brad Pitt can only act if he eats July 14, 2008
Short review this - Brad Pitt can't seem to act unless he's got something to do. Whether that's eating, peeling an apple, twiddling his hat, it's all distracting. I tried watching this a few times, but couldn't make it past 60 mins. Hoped this was something as brooding as The Unforgiven, but it wasn't. Didn't do it for me, sorry.
A long boring film with no soul July 3, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A long boring film with no soul.
Brad Pitt is not menacing enough, the mumbling of petty criminals did not engage me in any way.
Very very boring
Riveting... June 29, 2008
I'd like to begin by saying i'm a big fan of Western movies. I absolutely Love em'. However this film is not exactly what I would call a Western in the traditional sense. It's not like any Clint Eastwood or John Wayne effort. I would go as far as to say that if you want the sort of western which has plenty of gun fights, bar brawls, droll one-liners or hoards of Indians swarming down hillsides to fight the cavalry this film probably isn't for you. However if you have an interest in learning a bit about the history of Jesse James & witnessing some truly first-rate acting then this film will blow you away.
I don't feel the need to write a hugely detailed review. What I will say is that Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck & Sam Rockwell really do a first-class job acting-wise. I was especially surprised by Brad Pitt as the previous films I had seen him in had not really convinced me but I feel he really outdid himself with this film. Casey Affleck was truly fasinating as Robert Ford & he really had me feeling sorry for the man by the end of the film. I think the media & general public were hard on him. The settings are beautiful. The story & character development are gripping & interesting.
The film is long but does not detract from the story. I especially like the fact that the film was historically accurate & that the director took time at the end of the film to tell us about the fate of Charlie & Robert Ford.
Overall an excellent addition to anyones DVD collection & certainly a film I will watch time & time again.
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