American Outlaws (2001)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Les Mayfield

Writers (WGA):

Roderick Taylor (story)
Roderick Taylor (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 August 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Western

Tagline:

Bad Is Good Again.

Plot:

When a Midwest town learns that a corrupt railroad baron has captured the deeds to their homesteads without their knowledge...

Plot Keywords:

Jesse James | Railroad | Legend | Outlaw | Preacher

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Colin Farrell	...	Jesse James
Scott Caan	...	Cole Younger
Ali Larter	...	Zerelda 'Zee' Mimms
Gabriel Macht	...	Frank James
Gregory Smith	...	Jim Younger
Harris Yulin	...	Thaddeus Rains, President Rock Northern Rail Road
Kathy Bates	...	Ma James
Timothy Dalton	...	Allan Pinkerton
Will McCormack	...	Bob Younger
Ronny Cox	...	Doc Mimms, Zee's Dad
Terry O'Quinn	...	Rollin H. Parker - Rains' Gopher
Nathaniel Arcand	...	Comanche Tom
Ty O'Neal	...	Clell Miller
Joe Stevens	...	Loni Packwood
Barry Tubb	...	Captain Malcolm

Also Known As:

Jesse James (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for western violence.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #38028)

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

During training Gregory Smith, the youngest of the cast, became so good with a gun the wranglers nicknamed him "Secret Weapon".

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): After trying to rob the Hyperion bank, shots start firing, the gang blows up the bank, and blows up the water tower, which comes crashing down on the building where the Pinkertons are. With all this going on, we then see two women casually standing on a nearby corner watching.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cole: Gatling! They got a Gatling gun!
Bob: Goddamn it Cole, this stopped bein' fun about two years ago!

Soundtrack:

Find My Baby

A whitewashing of history

This movie made me angry. Not just because it is a routine Western, filled with cliches, but because it is hard to imagine that in 2001, the writers of this embarrassment wouldn't give any regard to history. I realize it's just a movie, and there's a long tradition of glamorizing the murderers and psychopaths of the American west, but there has been enough research lately about Jesse James that makes this film's treatment of him as Robin Hood an outrage. Let's be clear: Jesse James was in essence a terrorist. He rode with Bloody Bill Anderson and William Quantrill, who were Confederate raiders who performed unspeakable atrocities in the name of slavery. James was no Robin Hood. He was in it for the money. The gang is represented in this movie as good-hearted guys just doin' what's right and carin' bout their mamas. Horse-hockey! Read the new biography by T.J. Stiles to get the true story. A realistic movie about James would be fascinating, but is beyond the talent of the crew involved in this boil on the butt of cinema. And besides, didn't Young Guns make this unnecessary?