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 & 66 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

Taking place in the American Northwest in the early 1880s, the film dramatizes the last seven months in the life of famed outlaw Jesse James, beginning with the Blue Cut train robbery of 1881 and culminating in his assassination at the hands of Robert Ford the following April. In the time between these two fateful events, the young and jealous Ford befriends the increasingly mistrustful outlaw, even as he plots his demise.

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Plot Keywords:

name in title | male objectification | male name in title | idol | homoeroticism | 

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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 USA:

$147,812, 23 September 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,904,982, 27 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

In reality, Jesse James suffered from a syndrome that made him blink much more than the average person. Although it's mentioned at the start of the film, Brad Pitt barely blinks during most of his scenes.

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Goofs

Wood Hite's body moves after it has been dumped in the woods, before it's covered in snow and while it's being covered with snow. Muscles can twitch for hours after death.

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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 I'm Still Here (2010)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Awesome and spectacular Western with good performances from Pitt and Affleck

This is a sprawling and glamorous Western but overlong. Packs colorful scenarios, slow-moving pace and slick edition. Wonderful cinematography by Roger Deakins and atmospheric musical score by Nick Cave. The motion picture is well realized by Andrew Dominik who displays enough off-beat touches to keep things interesting.

Adding more details over the largely described on the movie, deeds happened of the following way : Later events led disaster on 6 September 1876 in which Jesse(Brad Pitt) and Frank James(Sam Shepard) with three younger Younger brothers attempted a bank robbery at Northfield , Minnesota, only Jesse and Frank got clean away to live quietly for several years under assumed names , Jesse as J.D. Howard and Frank as B.J. Woodson. In 1879 they robbed a train and another one in 1881, in the latter crime a conductor and a passenger were killed. Governor of Missouri raised rewards of 10.000 dollars each for the James boys, dead or alive. On 3 April 1882 Bob Ford, a new member , treacherously shot Jessse dead in the back of the head in his home at St Joseph, Missouri where Jesse was living along with his wife(Mary Louise Parker) and sons. Frank surrendered six months later , he stood trial and was acquitted. He gave up his criminal ways and lived a respectable life until he died aged seventy-two in 1915. Robert Ford(1861-92) made his mark on the history as the man who killed Jesse James. It was his claim to fame. Bob(Ben Affleck) and his brother Charlie (Sam Rockwell) were new recruits to Jesse's gang in 1881 and when a reward was offered for Jesse and Frank, dead or alive, the brothers Ford made a secret agreement with Governor to assassinate the outlaw. For the rest of his life Ford was reviled for the manner in which he had killed Jesse , whose gravestone bore the words: ¨Murdered by a traitor and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here¨. Forced by public opinion to leave Missouri , Bob wandered through the old West , taunted by the words of the popular song : ¨The dirty little coward, who was shot Mr Howard, has laid poor Jesse in his grave¨ .

Others films about this legendary outlaw are : The classic version (1939) titled ¨Jesse James(1939)¨ with Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda, ¨The return of Frank james(1950) by Fritz Lang with Henry Fonda ; ¨I shot Jesse James¨by Samuel Fuller with John Ireland as Bob Ford ; ¨Jesse James vs the Dalton(1954)¨ by William Castle with John Ireland, ¨The true story of Jesse James¨ by Nicholas Ray with Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter.