Product description

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

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Average customer rating: 4.5

Binding : Blu-ray
EAN : 7321900183215
Label : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Release date : 2008-03-31
Title : The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford [Blu-ray] [2007]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Suitable for 15 years and over
Format : PAL
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 2007-01-01
Region code : 0
Running time : 155
Studio : Warner Home Video
Theatrical releaseDate : 2007
MPN : BDY18321

Editorial reviews

Product Description
Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Molly Parker, Sam Shepard Director: Andrew Dominik

Amazon.co.uk
Of all the movies made about or glancingly involving the 19th-century outlaw Jesse Woodson James, iThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford/i 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.br The film--only the second to be made by New Zealand–born writer-director Andrew Dominik--reminds us that Dominik's debut film, iChopper/i, 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.br 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

Customer reviews

review by: Sandman date: 2009-04-28 rating:

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. br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /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.

review by: date: 2009-02-13 rating:

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. br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /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".

review by: date: 2008-12-28 rating:

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Blu-Ray
I guess looking at other reviews of this film this is one you either love or hate. Personally, despite the drawn out story and lack of action, I found it to be quite enjoyable. Pitt was on fine form and Casey Afflek played his part superbly (slightly nervous and edgy). The reflective direction, with inter-cut slow motion vistas, was especially good and the flat light used added to the feel of time and period this was set in. Knowing very little about the story I'm unable to say how close this kept to a) the book or b)reality, but it made for an interesting story in its own right and one that kept me watching most of the way through. Don't come to this film expecting a full on western, it focuses more on the relationships in the James brothers gang and how they broke up over time. A good film that is worth checking out and although it's not all thrills and spills, it's plot is good enough to keep you intrigued and interested for the duration. A strong 3 star film.

review by: Critic Extraordinaire date: 2008-06-16 rating:

The Most Beautiful Film Ever Made
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. br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /I give it a 5 out of 5

review by: hugzi date: 2008-05-29 rating:

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Ok so I just recently watched this movie for the second time and felt compelled to write about it. br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /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.

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