Official Movie Website Theatrical Release 09/21/07 (Limited) 10/12/07 (St. Louis) Home Video 02/05/07 MPAA Rating Rated R for some strong violence and brief sexual references Running Time 2 hours 40 minutes Genre Action, Drama Director Andrew Dominik Writer Ron Hansen Cast Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeremy Renner, Paul Schneider, Sam Rockwell Distributor: Studio Warner Brothers |
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES
BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007)
BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007)
SYNOPSIS
Jesse James (BRAD PITT) was one of the country's
first bona fide celebrities.
There have been countless books written and tales
told about America's most famous outlaw--all of
them colorful and fascinating, all focused on his
larger-than-life public persona and daring exploits,
and most of them bearing only incidental reference to
the truth.
To those he robbed and terrorized, and to the families
of those he admittedly killed, he may have been just a
criminal, but in the sensational newspaper articles
and dime novels chronicling the James Gang
throughout the 1870s, Jesse was the object of awe
and admiration. He was a Robin Hood, they
suggested, targeting railroad owners and banks that
exploited poor farmers. He was a man with a tragic
cause, a wronged and wounded Confederate soldier
striking back against the Union that had ruined his
life. Most importantly, to an increasingly
buttoned-down and citified population leading
ordinary lives, he was the last frontiersman--a
symbol of freedom and the American spirit, a
charismatic rebel who flouted the law and lived by his
own rules...by all accounts, a legend.
Jesse James (BRAD PITT) was one of the country's
first bona fide celebrities.
There have been countless books written and tales
told about America's most famous outlaw--all of
them colorful and fascinating, all focused on his
larger-than-life public persona and daring exploits,
and most of them bearing only incidental reference to
the truth.
To those he robbed and terrorized, and to the families
of those he admittedly killed, he may have been just a
criminal, but in the sensational newspaper articles
and dime novels chronicling the James Gang
throughout the 1870s, Jesse was the object of awe
and admiration. He was a Robin Hood, they
suggested, targeting railroad owners and banks that
exploited poor farmers. He was a man with a tragic
cause, a wronged and wounded Confederate soldier
striking back against the Union that had ruined his
life. Most importantly, to an increasingly
buttoned-down and citified population leading
ordinary lives, he was the last frontiersman--a
symbol of freedom and the American spirit, a
charismatic rebel who flouted the law and lived by his
own rules...by all accounts, a legend.
© 2003 St. Louis Movie Review Weekly. All rights reserved, except where indicated.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
| ST. LOUIS MOVIE REVIEW WEEKLY |
Foremost among his admirers was Robert Ford (CASEY AFFLECK), an idealistic and ambitious young man
who had devoted his life to the hope of one day riding alongside his idol. He could never have imagined
that history would ultimately mark him as the "the dirty little coward" who shot Jesse in the back.
But who was Jesse James, really--behind the folklore and the selling of newspapers? And who was
Robert Ford, just nineteen and a member of Jesse's inner circle, who was able to bring down such a
formidable figure when lawmen across ten states had tried and failed? How did they come to be friends
and what happened between them in the days and hours leading up to the gunshot that would end one
man's life and become the definition and sum total of another's?
No one will ever know the whole truth.
Based on the novel by Ron Hansen, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
delves into the private lives of America's most notorious outlaw and his unlikely assassin to offer a new
perspective on a legend and address the question of what really may have transpired in the months
before that infamous shooting.
The year is 1881 and Jesse is 34 years old. As he plans his next great robbery, he continues to wage war
on his enemies who are trying to collect the reward money and the glory riding on his capture. But the
greatest threat to his life could come from those he would trust the most.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Virtual Studios, a Scott Free / Plan B Entertainment
production: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," starring Brad Pitt, Casey
Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker, Paul Schneider, Jeremy Renner, Zooey Deschanel and Sam
Rockwell.
Written for the screen and directed by Andrew Dominik, based on the novel by Ron Hansen, the film is
produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Ridley Scott, Jules Daly and David Valdes. Brad Grey, Tony Scott,
Lisa Ellzey and Benjamin Waisbren are the executive producers. The creative team includes director of
photography Roger Deakins, editors Dylan Tichenor and Curtiss Clayton and costume designer Patricia
Norris. Music is by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" will be distributed worldwide by Warner
Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Rated R for "strong violence and brief sexual
references." Soundtrack Album on Mute Records Limited.
--© Warner Bros.
who had devoted his life to the hope of one day riding alongside his idol. He could never have imagined
that history would ultimately mark him as the "the dirty little coward" who shot Jesse in the back.
But who was Jesse James, really--behind the folklore and the selling of newspapers? And who was
Robert Ford, just nineteen and a member of Jesse's inner circle, who was able to bring down such a
formidable figure when lawmen across ten states had tried and failed? How did they come to be friends
and what happened between them in the days and hours leading up to the gunshot that would end one
man's life and become the definition and sum total of another's?
No one will ever know the whole truth.
Based on the novel by Ron Hansen, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
delves into the private lives of America's most notorious outlaw and his unlikely assassin to offer a new
perspective on a legend and address the question of what really may have transpired in the months
before that infamous shooting.
The year is 1881 and Jesse is 34 years old. As he plans his next great robbery, he continues to wage war
on his enemies who are trying to collect the reward money and the glory riding on his capture. But the
greatest threat to his life could come from those he would trust the most.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Virtual Studios, a Scott Free / Plan B Entertainment
production: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," starring Brad Pitt, Casey
Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker, Paul Schneider, Jeremy Renner, Zooey Deschanel and Sam
Rockwell.
Written for the screen and directed by Andrew Dominik, based on the novel by Ron Hansen, the film is
produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Ridley Scott, Jules Daly and David Valdes. Brad Grey, Tony Scott,
Lisa Ellzey and Benjamin Waisbren are the executive producers. The creative team includes director of
photography Roger Deakins, editors Dylan Tichenor and Curtiss Clayton and costume designer Patricia
Norris. Music is by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" will be distributed worldwide by Warner
Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Rated R for "strong violence and brief sexual
references." Soundtrack Album on Mute Records Limited.
--© Warner Bros.