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The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford [Blu-ray] [2007]


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Editorial
Product Description

Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Molly Parker, Sam Shepard

Editorial
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

The Most Beautiful Film Ever Made
Review date: 2008-06-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

I've been thinking of a good way to start my review, I've been pondering many opening sentences, but none of them are close enough to the point, so I've decided to just say that this film is perfect in all aspects. When the credits started to roll I didn't move at all, I sat staring at the screen just thinking about what I just watched. I was trying to understand if what I just saw was really that good, or if I was just thinking it was. The film runs at almost three hours, but never looses your attention for one second. It moves forward through dialog that is poetic, but increasingly haunting at times.

First off, the performances. Brad Pitt as Jesse Jame makes you feel that he is a vulnerable person, and then at the next second he'll make you completely change all your feelings for him. He doesn't talk much in the film, but is none the less flawless. Casey Affleck as Robert Ford is in his best performance ever, makes you hate him. His character is very shaky, very nervous at times, but always seems confident of what he's doing, whether it's right of wrong. He steals most of the scenes he's in. The biggest surprise however for me was Sam Rockwell as Charley Ford, Robert's brother and Jesse's right hand man. At the beginning of the film, you think that Charley is the stupid brother and that Robert is intelligent beyond any standard Charley could reach. At the end of the film though, the roles switch. You realize that Robert has been making all the dumb decisions, and Charley has been trying to save him by covering them up and usually taking all the crap for it. His last scene was intense and beautiful. One other performance to talk about is Paul Schneider as Dick Liddil, an outlaw womanizer. His performance is somewhat comedic, but in some scenes he can be the backbone for the drama. I can easily see Pitt getting a Best Actor nomination while Affleck pulls in the Supporting Actor for the win.

The musical score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis is on par with Clint Mansell's classic Requiem for a Dream score, if not better. In the films most horrific scenes, the music turns them into something beautiful. You'll want to sit through the end credits just to hear it one more time. The music will draw you back to the film to see it again. The score also fits the tone for the most of the scenes.

Andrew Dominik's direction is perfect. He uses the camera in such a unique way that you never miss anything that happens. In one of the film's best scenes, he places the camera so that you can only see Pitt's silhouette become meshed into a train's smoke and then reappear seconds later as it pops out. Dominik also wrote the entire script by himself, which really shows how versatile he is. He originally wrote the film into a 3hr and 50min cut that the studio made him trash. I can't wait to see that cut.

The best thing in the film though, is Roger Deakins' cinematography. That is what you gives the feel for the film. The blurry landscapes, the wheat fields that Pitt gracefully moves through, and the greatest train robbery scene ever on film. It perfectly portrays the landscapes of the old 1800's and everything that took place there. The film is consistent with providing one memorable scene after the other. When the assassination finally happens, you'll be sitting in your chair gawking at the screen in amazement of how sudden it happens.

I am very proud to say that this is now my favorite film of all time, and my definite choice for Best Picture of the year. It brings new flavor to the art-house scene and never lets you down. I recommend this film to everyone. It truly is a beautiful film.

I give it a 5 out of 5

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Reviews


The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Review date: 2008-05-29 Rating: 10 out of 10

Ok so I just recently watched this movie for the second time and felt compelled to write about it.

I enjoyed this movie a huge amount, certainly one of my favourite films of recent years. The story follows the last few months of the notorious outlaw Jesse James life. Obviously the title of the film and notariaty of the main character leaves the ending of the film clear for all to see. It's fascinating to watch the steps that lead up to his murder, and to get what feels like a very realistic look into his life. The way in which Robert Ford attaches himself to the James gang and idolises Jesse is perfectly executed and their relationship is one I found hard to take my eyes off. "I always felt I was destined for greater things" voices Bob Ford early in the film, a line that haunted me throughout the movie. Jesse seems increasingly aware of his impending death but lets events unfold, almost like he is painting his own picture. Although I'm not sure he could possibly have known his demise would come at the hands of Bob Ford.

The films atmosphere and cinematography are second to none. Completly absorbing in every possible manner. Sweeping landscapes and grainy, washed out, pallete deprived visuals give the film a feel like no other, it's melancholy and brooding nature is truly beautiful and unique. The films score is composed by Nick Cave and is stunning . It accompanys the film flawlessly and contributes a great deal to its perfectly judged mood.

The acting in this movie is really top drawer. Brad Pitt as the eponymous Jesse is fantastic. He plays crazy rather well as seen in fight club and there is an air of instability about Jesse throughout the movie. Pitt though is unquestionably outshone by Casey Affleck (Robert Ford). Ford's eery and ambitious persona are pulled off perfectly. His study and obsession with Jesse subtle and unsettling and his character one that somehow you find yourself sympathising with. The supporting cast is also immense.

So then a very unusual western . No flashy gunfights here. The film is long and gently paced and certainly not for everyone. Give it a watch if you like what you've read, I think many people will miss out on this film and it deserves not to be over looked.

A Modern Classic
Review date: 2008-05-22 Rating: 10 out of 10

Superb film.For me this is up there with The Unforgiven as the best modern western.Criminaly overlooked at the oscars.

Country for young men
Review date: 2008-04-28 Rating: 10 out of 10

With this, No Country For Old Men, and There Will Be Blood, we've recently been given a formidable apocalyptic Western triumvirate - you wait fifteen years (Unforgiven was released in 1992) and suddenly three bleak classics come along at once!

Watching Andrew "Chopper" Dominik's second feature, you'll quickly realise it has as much to say about modern Western society as it has about its 1880's setting. Here are people - REAL people - who are so obsessed by the elusive nature of celebrity that they risk forgetting who they are. When James says to Ford, "Can't figure it out: do you want to be like me or do you want to BE me?", it could be that he is really asking, "Who am I?". James has spent his life building his own myth; perhaps the reason he wishes to keep Ford so close is because no one knows more about Jesse James than his biggest fan. By the end of it all, Ford's actions serve only to enhance the celebrity of James; heck, Ford needn't have existed at all - after all, the suggestion here is that James effectively killed himself.

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' score at once twinkles like a fairy tale, but gradually descends through a kind of dark, apocalyptic malaise, and finally into tragedy, as James' steely facade is stripped away to reveal the depressive underneath. It's a new world for Pitt - a different kind of manic, miles away from his twitchy turn in Twelve Monkeys. His puppy dog eyes capture the madness and the sadness perfectly. He is upstaged, though, by Casey Affleck as the coward himself, and also by Roger Deakins' camera, which prowls the plains like a lonesome wolf.

The pacing is slow. But slow never meant the same thing as boring - just ask Terrence Malick, or Stanley Kubrick, or Michael Cimino. Sometimes, they really DO make them like they used to.

Powerfull film, a bit boring.
Review date: 2008-04-28 Rating: 6 out of 10

Picture is great, sound is great, actors are well within acceptence but the story is a bit long. Timeconsuming movies must have a strong story wich this movie has but not strong enough. The title gives the plot, and you sit the entire movie waiting for it to happen. When the plot is given to you before you open the movie it needs to get your attention fast and hold on to it while the climax awaits. I was i bit bored. But again; good actors, good casting (nick cave is a puzzle though) nice landscape-settings but story couldn`t hold my attention. Sorry. Good entertainment. Worth the money; yes.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Brad Pitt
Sam Rockwell
Sam Shepard
Mary Louise Parker
Casey Affleck

Creators:
Brad Pitt (Primary Contributor)
Casey Affleck (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900183215
Binding: Blu-ray
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2008-03-31
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 155 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2007
Language: English (Original Language)

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