The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford R

Beyond the myth lies America's greatest betrayal
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Format:  DVD
item number:  FHVC
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DVD Details

  • Rated: R
  • Run Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
  • Video: Color
  • Encoding: Region 1 (USA & Canada)
  • Released: February 5, 2008
  • Originally Released: 2007
  • Label: Warner Home Video

Performers, Cast and Crew:

Starring &
Performer: , , , , &
Directed by
Narrated by
Screenwriting by
Composition by &
Produced by , , , &
Director of Photography:
Executive Production by , , &

Entertainment Reviews:

Certified Fresh77%

TOMATOMETER
Total Count: 175

Upright75%

AUDIENCE SCORE
User Ratings: 98,084
Rating: 4/4 -- An essential American Western that deserves to be ranked among the greats. Full Review
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
Jun 6, 2019
5 stars out of 5 -- [I]t's awash with melancholy and ennui, love and betrayal, obsession and paranoia and arrives like manna from movie heaven....An instant classic, with poetic visuals...
Total Film
Nov 1, 2007
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is the story...of the moment in America when myth was murdered by mere celebrity and we were left, perhaps forever, with only the latter's meager consolations. Full Review
The New Republic
Sep 18, 2008
Rating: C- -- When Ford finally pulls the trigger, it's a relief as the flick's final ten minutes spin into actually interesting terrain Full Review
I.E. Weekly
Feb 22, 2008
5 stars out of 5 -- [A] slow, meditative poem that harkens to the verdant sprawl of Terrence Malick's DAYS OF HEAVEN.
Empire
Oct 19, 2007
Rating: 2/5 -- Compared to Walter Hill's 1980 movie The Long Riders, also about the James gang, this feels an underpowered affair. Indeed, compared to Dominik's own previous movie, Chopper (2000), it is impossibly meek. Full Review
Independent (UK)
Nov 30, 2007
Moseying along for 160 minutes, this revisionist western by writer-director Andrew Dominik makes a wan attempt to present the Jesse James legend as the dawn of celebrity culture in America. Full Review
Chicago Reader
Jan 4, 2008

Product Description:

Based on the 1983 novel by Ron Hansen, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD captivatingly depicts the final few months of the legendary Jesse James's life. He was 34, and his days of ruthless robbing had dwindled, yet his fearsome reputation continued to swell. With an abundance of nickel-books retelling his brutal gun-slinging adventures, James (portrayed by Brad Pitt, in one his most convincing and moving roles) had become a symbolic hero for many Americans, and a dazzling tabloid icon for the 19th-century media. A particular young man seduced by the wonderment of James, the shifty Robert Ford (a breakthrough performance by Casey Affleck), wormed his way in as a James groupie, in the hopes of snagging a coveted spot alongside his brother Charley (played by the always affable Sam Rockwell) as one of the bandit's cronies. Ford, fiercely insecure and painfully aware that he would never be taken seriously by James (who, ever-plagued by paranoia and skepticism, found Ford's earnest obsession a bit unsettling), grew increasingly angry with his idol, leading to a destructive path that ultimately ended in the anticlimactic death of Jesse James--and brought the treacherous Robert Ford the notoriety he had always wanted.

Although this film takes place in the late 1800's, its eerie relevance to modern-day celebrity-obsession scandals is astounding, and adds a fresh scope to what could be viewed as just another cinematic western. Director Andrew Dominick (CHOPPER) furthers the film from its genre by banishing clichéd bullet-infested showdown scenes, instead embracing the relationships and interactions of the outlaws, and creates a mood of brooding and contemplation with exceptional camera angles and lighting. His intensely sophisticated approach to filmmaking illustrates the darkest corners of the characters, and insightfully provides a deeper, heartfelt portrayal revealing what the men might have been like behind their masks.

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Product Info

  • Sales Rank: 2,203
  • UPC: 012569763739
  • Shipping Weight: 0.25/lbs (approx)
  • International Shipping: 1 item

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