Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1242 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-03-31
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: Colour, Dolby, PAL, Subtitled, Surround Sound
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 153 minutes

Special Features
This limited collector's edition of The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford contains the following extras:

- A hard-back premium packaging with a 44-page book all about the film, the legend and the characters
- A bonus disc featuring 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.


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 cliched 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.

Customer Reviews

Unbelievably boring!
Strange how many people find a short condemnation of something unhelpul.
Both my wife and I agreed that this was the most tedious film we have ever watched through to the finish. Much of the dialogue needed to be read in subtitles. The pace was deadly slow. This was a case where real life produced a wholly unattractive set of characters doing awful things. How ironic that the murder of a brutal thug should be followed by universal condemnation of his killer who in turn was murdered by someone susequently granted a pardon!
Historic curiousity attracted me to the film. I should have stuck to Wickpedia.

Beautiful Movie
This film is fantastic. It is beautifully shot and I was utterly captivated for the whole two and half hours. A lot of criticsm has been levelled at this film for being overly long and very slow. I don't entirely disagree. It IS long and it doesn't move at a great pace, but then does every film have to do that to make it good? No. This came out at the same time to 3.10 To Yuma, that film is a thrill ride from start to finish, but in twenty years time I know which one will be held up as the classic. The performances by Pitt, Affleck and Rockwell are outstanding, the narrator (whoever it may be?) suits the feel of the film brilliantly by speaking with a rather world weary inflection in his voice. The cinematography is second to none. In fact I like this film so much I'm off to watch it again! Bye.

Indeed
That was possibly the biggest let down in the history of film. I enjoyed Waterworld more!