The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Robert Ford, who's idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the reforming gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.

Director:

Andrew Dominik

Writers:

Andrew Dominik (screenplay), Ron Hansen (novel)

Stars:

Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 25 wins & 64 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Pitt	...	Jesse James
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Zee James
Brooklynn Proulx	...	Mary James
Dustin Bollinger	...	Tim James
Casey Affleck	...	Robert Ford
Sam Rockwell	...	Charley Ford
Jeremy Renner	...	Wood Hite
Sam Shepard	...	Frank James
Garret Dillahunt	...	Ed Miller
Paul Schneider	...	Dick Liddil
Joel McNichol	...	Express Messenger
James Defelice	...	Baggagemaster (as James DeFelice)
J.C. Roberts	...	Engineer
Darrell Orydzuk	...	Ukranian Train Passenger
Jonathan Erich Drachenberg	...	Young Train Passenger

Storyline

The last months of Jesse James's life, from meeting Robert Ford, a 19-year-old who idolizes Jesse, to the day Ford shoots him. Jesse's a wanted man, living under a pseudonym, carrying out a train robbery, disappearing to Kentucky, and reappearing to plan a bank holdup with Robert and Robert's brother as his team. The rest of the gang is dead, arrested, or gone from Missouri. Whenever Jesse's around, there's tension: he's murderous, quixotic, depressed, and cautious. Ford wants to be somebody and wants the reward. On April 3, 1882, things come to a head: Jesse is 34, Robert 20. Ford becomes famous, reenacting the shooting on stage, facing down the label "coward," shot dead in 1892.

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Plot Keywords:

long title | outlaw | train robbery | train | robbery | 

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Taglines:

Beyond the myth lies America's greatest betrayal.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong violence and brief sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros [France]

Country:

USA Canada UK

Language:

English Danish

Release Date:

19 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Assassination of Jesse James

Filming Locations:

Fort Edmonton Park - Fox Drive and Whitemud Drive, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$147,812 (USA) (21 September 2007)

Gross:

$3,904,982 (USA) (25 January 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Jesse Films Inc., Scott Free Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

160 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The debate rages on as to whether Bob Ford used a Smith & Wesson No. 3 - either the .45 caliber "Schofield" or the New Model .44 Russian - or a Colt Single-Action Army (aka "Peacemaker") in .45 caliber, to kill Jesse James. Many of the primary sources are contradictory to one another - Ford surrendered a nickel plated No. 3 S&W at the time of his arrest shortly after the killing, yet later claimed he had used (and is seen holding in a famous photo) a .45 Colt. Whatever the truth may be, both versions are presented in the movie in a unique way. In the film, Ford uses the nickel-plated S&W, which Ford claimed was a gift from Jesse (who is reported to have favored the No. 3) to commit the killing, yet he later uses the .45 Colt Single Action in he and his brother Charley's stage re-enactment of the event.

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Goofs

Early in the movie when the gang are sitting around in the woods talking, the shotgun one of the men is holding spontaneously disappears and reappears between a shot. Also, during the same sequence he is seen holding it in at least two different ways between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: He was growing into middle age, and was living then in a bungalow on Woodland Avenue. He installed himself in a rocking chair and smoked a cigar down in the evenings as his wife wiped her pink hands on an apron and reported happily on their two children. His children knew his legs, the sting of his mustache against their cheeks. They didn't know how their father made his living, or why they so often moved. They didn't even know their father's name. He was listed in the city ...

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Crazy Credits

The film does not contain either an opening title nor intro credits. The film title is displayed first after the final fadeout.

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Connections

Referenced in Film 2016: Episode dated 17 December 2014 (2014)

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Soundtracks

The Water Is Wide
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by Brooklynn Proulx

User Reviews

unbelievable!

This movie was quite simply AMAZING! Oscar worthy performances from Affleck, Pitt, and Rockwell-Oscar worthy cinematography-Oscar worthy directing. Hate me if you want, but the pacing was perfect. I was glued to my seat. The best part about this movie is that it could have easily been a set up for failure given how slow the story is, but the tension created by each actors performance left me wanting more. The last thing the world "needs" is another typical, gun slinging western. This is by far the best movie I've seen all year.

P.S. for any little Ben Affleck fans... I just have one thing to say, his brother just made him look like a joke.