The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

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Neziroth
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The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by Neziroth »

Just picked this up on DVD the other day. It's definitely worth seeing, although it's a little on the long side I don't think there's a lot of wasted time. It's no action movie, the two and a half hours are mostly spent build characters and catching you up on events, but it's not boring if you go into the movie expecting that.

It's beautifully shot so if cinematogrophy is your thing you'll be pleased. I think most of it was shot in Canada.

Brad Pitt gives his usual high quality performance. There's a scene where they're all sitting around a dinner table, and everybody else is trying to keep a secret from Jesse James that they aren't sure if he knows about or not. I won't go into detail so it's not a spoiler, but I think it's a really intense scene. He even does his Tyler Durden laugh a couple of times, heh. He definitely plays the psychopath / insomniac / mysterious role very very well.

Casey Affleck (sp) really shines in this too, he plays his fanboy role to the T, and although his character is a bit annoying it's definitely because it was written to be that way. This movie is definitely going to send his career in the right direction.

Make sure you have enough time to watch it straight through if you do watch it, because it's a pretty complex story and you'll forget things and lose your immersion in the movie if you try to do it in segments.

Very very recommended.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by Animalor »

I saw this on XBL's Video Marketplace. I was debating if I should rent it in HD.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by Siji »

Maybe I wasn't in the proper mindframe or something, but this was boring enough to yank out well before the end came near.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by miir »

I watched this a few weeks ago.
There wasn't anything I particularly disliked about it.
The cinemetography and performances were exceptional... but the movie itself was very dull.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by Neziroth »

The cinemetography and performances were exceptional... but the movie itself was very dull.
When it was all over, I felt like I had just read a very descriptive book. That's the best way I can describe it. There isn't any gunfighting worth mentioning, there's no chase scenes or any action of any sort really.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by miir »

When it was all over, I felt like I had just read a very descriptive book.
I felt like I had just read a book that was about 200 pages too long.

I imagine the movie (and the story in general) would a lot more interesting to someone more well versed in the lore and legend of Jesse James... personally, I don't get what the big deal was about him.

That Americans would idolize a thief/outlaw/murderer is a bit curious.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by Aardor »

miir wrote: That Americans would idolize a thief/outlaw/murderer is a bit curious.
Really?? Just to name a few examples, The Godfather and Scarface. It's pretty common for movies to idolize the villain, especially when they are a thief/outlaw/murder/gangster type.

From the reviews on this thread, I doubt I would have the attention span to watch the movie.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by Fairweather Pure »

Aardor wrote:From the reviews on this thread, I doubt I would have the attention span to watch the movie.
It's nice to see when people admit that. I can't think of many real life friends/peers I could reccomend this movie to for that exact reason. I think that most people would find it difficult to sit through this entire movie, although it is fantastic.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by miir »

Aardor wrote:Really?? Just to name a few examples, The Godfather and Scarface. It's pretty common for movies to idolize the villain, especially when they are a thief/outlaw/murder/gangster type.
Don Corleone and Tony Montana are fictional characters.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by Boogahz »

miir wrote:
Aardor wrote:Really?? Just to name a few examples, The Godfather and Scarface. It's pretty common for movies to idolize the villain, especially when they are a thief/outlaw/murder/gangster type.
Don Corleone and Tony Montana are fictional characters.
Where did you say anything about them having to be "real" to be idolized?
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by miir »

Boogahz wrote:Where did you say anything about them having to be "real" to be idolized?
So you're saying Jesse James was also a fictional character?
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by Drinsic Darkwood »

miir wrote:
Boogahz wrote:Where did you say anything about them having to be "real" to be idolized?
So you're saying Jesse James was also a fictional character?
No. He's not.

I really enjoyed this movie. Pitt and Rockwell were fantastic as usual. Likewise for Affleck, but I can't help but feel like that guy is always on the verge of crying when he talks.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by Bubba Grizz »

I remember a Brady Bunch episode where Peter was idolizing Jesse James and they brought in some old guy who's parents were killed by Jesse James.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by Truant »

miir wrote:That Americans would idolize a thief/outlaw/murderer is a bit curious.
Jesse James was portrayed as a Robin Hood figure both in newspapers at the time and as folklore about him evolved over the years.
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Re: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Post by Siji »

Yeah, and us Americans likes us some men in tights.
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