Product Description

Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Molly Parker, Sam ShepardDirector: Andrew Dominik

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3067 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Westerns
• Released on: 2008-03-31
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 155 minutes

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

Special Features
Includes the documentary Death of An Outlaw that examines the life and death of the real Jesse James and includes interviews with all the key cast and filmmakers

Synopsis
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 scepticism, 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.

Customer Reviews

Great Film, great BD
At 160 minutes this is a long film, but it didn't seem long, which must be a good sign. It is not a typical Western - certainly not a film my dad would go for, an old-school Wayne and Eastwood fan. This film is much more of a character study, based primarily around Jesse James and Robert Ford. Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck are both excellent in the lead (?) roles. Affleck's nomination as supporting actor is deserved if questionable. For all Pitt's senior acting status, there is certainly a case to be made for saying that the lead role was Affleck's and that the film is more about Ford than James. Still, I don't suppose running against Daniel Day Lewis would have improved Affleck's chances of bringing the Oscar home, he is good but not that good.

A review on here bemoans the 160 minutes on 25 GB approach and criticises artefacts and what not. Personally, I thought that this was a very good Blu-Ray and that you won't see imperfections unless you go hunting for them. The cinematography is beautiful and Blu-Ray does full justice to this in my opinion.

The film features excellent dialogue, well-judged musical accompaniment, and top-notch characterisation. Brad Pitt is surprisingly unsympathetic as Jesse James at times, and the character so maligned in the title will manage to make most viewers think better of him than they expect to. Of course the title limits the potential for surprise as to the major plot outcome, but the film remains gripping nonetheless.

Highly recommended, truly grown-up cinema, in my book better than "No Country for Old Men" and a much more finished and accomplished (if less ambitious) film than "There Will Be Blood".

Probably Best Film of 2007
Assassination of Jesse James follows a trio of Westerns(well,a quintet counting 3:10 to Yuma and Seraphin Falls)released in 2007.The thing is,all of them are not traditional Westerns,they either have a Western setting or feel to it but still far away from the Typical Western.These films are No Country for Old Men,There Will be Blood and of course this one.All of them are beautiful,all were slow paced,all were long,all of them were brilliant,which makes this perhaps the year of the Western,even though people hardly realised that they were in fact that.
Even though 3:10 to Yuma was a lot of fun it was undoubtetly an easier film for the public to like,fast paced,action oriented,cool,but still a far more compromised and not-as-brave movie as this one,which brigs the feel of the likes of Terence Mallick,P.T Anderson,and the Cohens(all of them acquired tastes for the more mature filmgoer)in its scenery,beauty,music,humor,pace and actual narration.As such every scene of the movie is in its right place,plot strands that you might think could be left out are actually essential to the central plot and work like clockwork,performances by the actors(including Cassey,Pitt and Rockwell)are brilliant,cinematography is some of the best I seen(by Cohen's fave Roger Deakins),music is some of the most touching I've ever heard(by musician Great and Western buff Nic Cave,fresh of The Proposition)sets,costumes,sound...this film says quality in every place and to me it should've been nominated for a heck more Oscars,and as it stands,along with There Will be Blood and Country for Old Men,is the best of the year and one of the Best Westerns ever done.But,if you're looking for action search elsewhere.


As for the Blu Ray itself its a huge disappointement,not only are there barely any extras,the transfer is heavily compressed in a single 25 Gig layer(it's a 160 minute film)and as such exhibits a big amount of edge halos,black crush,digital artifacts and unatural grain that really spoils the gorgous cinematography.granted,given it's style it was not the sharpest of pictures to begin with,but it looked a lot better in the cinemas,there is a sharpness on the disc if you look for it but unfortunately the artifacts make this a far too digital transfer and not as film-like as it could.Sound on the other hand,even at normal DD,sounds excellent and portrays the subdued but strong soundscape and music perfectly

The Closer to Caesar the Greater the Danger
In 1928 a long forgotton Western star called Fred Thomson made a film called "Jesse James". It portrayed the James boys as loyal confederates fighting for righteousness. But there were still people in Missouri who had not forgotten the depredations of the James gang. They had good reason to remember the wanton evil. As a result the film was shunned and Thomsons career ended in ruin. Ten years later and Roy Rogers was making a singing Western about the James boys. Times had changed and nobody batted an eyelid.

I am biased. I like Westerns more than any other type of film. I can't get enough of them. It drives my family mad. But it is an innocent hobby and I have not had to seek therapy yet. So is this a good Western? Well yes I think it is. Certainly the best for a long time. Lets not go overboard here. It is not up there with "The Wild Bunch", "The Searchers" or the unheralded "The Grey Fox" that starred the late great Richard Farnsworth, but it is a very good film and I applaud the director for his efforts. The recent Western "3.10 to Yuma" was fun. It lost a bit of street cred with Christian Bales one legged hero who should have represented China in the Olympic gymnastics competition. Yes fun but not serious competition. Oh and then there was "Seraphim Falls". Again a good effort but marred by that bizarre ending. Is there anybody out there who can tell me what it was all about? No competition there either. "The Missing" was a better effort but marred with the silly sorcery bit. No this film stands above the other recent Westerns.

Why do I like it. Well I am also biased towards good cinematography and this film has that in abundance. It is beautifully shot. I like the way the film examines life within the outlaw fraternity. Jesse James in real life was a thug and a cold blooded killer, as I have already alluded to, and that is how he is portrayed. Warts and all. As is often the case in these gangs, then and now, it is survival of the fittest and the individual who commands most fear often rules. It is this fear that is so well conveyed. The cold blooded murder from behind of one of Jesses cohorts and the inevitability of it all has a truthful ring to it. Casey Afflecks Robert Ford also rings true. I love the scene where he is caught like the naughty schoolboy with all his Jesse James clippings. A real anorak if ever there was. The brief gunfights are spot on with one man diving out of the window and others missing again and again from close range. Thats how it really was. Messy and nasty. Just like the gang. Pitt is actually good in the role which was a pleasant surprise and Casey Affleck deserved the plaudits he received. I would like to have seen more of Sam Shepherd who I never tire of.

The film itself bears more than a passing resemblence to some mafia/gangster films where psychopathic killers rule the roost. "The Departed" springs to mind. The quote "the closer to Caesar the greater the danger" has resonance. Do not go to this film with the expectation of action packed fun. As you will have surmised that just does not happen, and it is all the better for that. It has a strange,brooding menace about it. You know the ending much like "Death in Venice", so it is all credit to the director to make a good film out of the material. The first good film about the brothers. Sorry Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda if you are up there watching me type this, and I do not suggest you watch the Roy Rogers film to make comparisons. I found the length of the film was not a problem. Quality goes the distance. This is a very well structured and thought provoking film. A fascinating study of evil and a very watchable film. Highly recommended.