The Assassination of Jesse James

Looks like another good western, that will be coming out. But I dont know about Brad Pitt though playing jesse james. Havent found much about this film yet, but I am still looking. A orignal story line and some good actors. Don't know if they will actually fit the roles or not.

http://jessejamesmovie.warnerbros.com/

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I've been looking forward to this too. Tho, like you say, not too much information about it yet.
Have a new respect for Brad after Fight Club- great movie!

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I aim to misbehave...

I would hate to be assinated.

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Brad is a good actor and fight club is probably his best film. But as Jesse James thou?

I liked Pitt's role in 12 Monkeys the best. He should do fine in this role, as long as the writing isn't crap.

Dominik grabbed a bit of attention for Chopper, and from what I hear, he did a decent job directing. Not sure how well that film was written. Anyone see it? How was the screenplay? I guess we will have to wait to see if he can handle a piece like this....

I hope it is good, i am a big Westerns fan

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Chopper was a great movie Sedai - you should really see it
Dominik done good work on that one

Of course it's based on Choppers book, so it was an adaption of that

I suppose a lot of things have been written about Jesse James over the years. The screenplay could incorporate a lot of those

Assassination of Jesse James? I really want it to be good...

Chopper is an excellent little film but, to be honest, the screenplay could have been written by Joe Eszterhas, such was the strength and confidence of the direction and depth of Bana's performance.

Dominik's certainly taken his time over a second movie but I'll definitely be checking out The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford on the strength of his debut.

Anyone who thinks Eric Bana is nowt more than a Summer Blockbuster heartthrob should check Chopper out - his performance is mesmerising. I'm no fan of Pitt but it'll be interesting to see if Dominik can drag such a performance out of an established A List actor, as Bana was barely known worldwide in 2000.

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lol

I guess you`ve seen it by now. How do you like it?

We did a Movie Club about it last year.

Link

Ah, allright. Let`s take a look...

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford




When I first saw this film I thought it long and slow and it left me cold.

The second time changed my opinion.

The third time I saw this film I fell in love.
It took three times to take it all in and see it for what it was. Beautiful.

The photography is as good as it gets. The photography alone makes this film special. Then there is the music. The score is masterfully moving.

The acting is also fantastic. Sam Rockwell is at his best, which is truly grand and heart wrenching. Brad Pitt is convicting and very touching in his performance of Jesse James. A very real and human Jesse. Casey Affleck is unnerving, makes you despise Robert Ford, and then pity him. Truly great acting throughout, by all involved.

But the most powerful element of this film is the writing and directing of Andrew Dominik. This is his second film, his first film, Chopper, cost 15K to make and has made over 250K in revenue. I have not seen it but will most certainly seek it out.

Dominik is, in my estimation, a true genius. His script is one the best I have had the pleasure of reading, of this type – a character study of two men, destined to be the ruin of one another. His portrayal (as written) of Jesse James is wonderfully original. The esoteric and mystical nature of Brad Pitt’s Jessie is, in a word, spellbinding.

This is not a western. Make no mistake – this is an art movie. It is study of the human condition. It is an important film. It succeeds in doing what all great movies do – capturing what it is to be human.


Ridley Scott and Tony Scott both served as producers on this film, which explain the superior quality of the look.



Jesse - “You you ever count the stars? I can’t ever get the same number. They keep changing on me.”

Ed - “I don’t even know what a star is, exactly.”

Jesse - “Well, your body knows. It’s your mind that’s forgot.”




Jesse - “You ever consider suicide?”

Charley - “Can't say that I have. There was always something else I wanted to do. Or my predicaments changed or I saw my hardships from a different slant; you know all what can happen. It never seemed respectable.”

Jesse - “I'll tell you one thing that's certain; you won't fight dying once you've peeked over to the other side; you'll no more want to go back to your body than you'd want to spoon up your own puke.”



I love this script.


Someone said to me, "why would anyone make an art movie about Jesse James?"
To which I repied, "Why not make an art film about Jesse James?"


The holsters worn by Brad Pitt were made by Will Ghormley, who makes much of the high quality leatherwork in western films - past, present, and future.
http://www.willghormley-maker.com/Br...esseJames.html

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Obviously, Sedai got it. This is the thread for the gay porno version of the legit flick, correct?

If you don't like that, well I've seen it three times and posted it all over this site. I gave it all three times, and I watched it with a different audience all three times. So for anyone who loves it, God bless you. How many other times have you watched a movie you "hated' (read: were disappointed by) two extra times? Me? I've probably done it about 800 times. That doesn't mean I'm not an A-hole.

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My IMDb page

I don't speak Ewok. ????

I have found that movies I like right off tend to turn into garbage (in my mind) real fast.

Good movies take time. Hell, I had to watch The Trial (Welles) about six times before I even knew what it was about.



Not everyone is going to understand this movie or have the patience for it – to take the time to realize it is a film about a man who hates himself and wants to die and another man who hates himself and wants to transform into something he can never be.

That's fine, but why does that mean that one has to sit through every single millisecond of what this "awesome" director wants you to sit through? I would personally appreciate it a lot more if he thought more of his audience and less of himself and his fans, and presented his skills in some form which doesn't completely separate himself from about 95% of the viewing public. You must understand that Days of Heaven tells a much more powerful and clear story (even if it's fictional) in more than an hour less than this bloated, self-important vehicle. This film much more resembles Malick's The Thin Red Line, and although I find that flick flawed, it's at least twice as good as this "classic". I honestly don't see how Dominik can be cut anything resembling Malick status.

It is my understanding that Warner Brothers gutted this thing in the edit. Just imagine the director’s cut.


There is not one second I would cut from this film as is. I consider it perfect. But I don’t watch movies for light entertainment. Movie are: visual art, musical art, literary art, and emotional art portrayed in one medium. Movies, for me, are therefore a very important (the most important) art form. Not entertainment.

As far as what 95% of the public likes, well, I have never been one to stand in the longer line simply because more people are in it. Popular = common = vulgar = poorly crafted.

If you really don’t like it – then don’t suffer through it anymore.
I’ll watch it for you, Mark.

I'll be happy to.

I really enjoyed this one, I wouldn't say it's perfect, though the acting is. Love that scene on the frozen lake, that still says it all.

Tailor the movie to an audience's liking ? Wouldn't that transform Brad Pitt's character into a talking elephant or something ?

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There's a big difference between making a "Hollywood" movie and cutting down this movie a bit more. I'll admit that this is pure conjecture, but since we haven't seen it in a shortened form, you cannot really tell if you'd like a two-hour version any less than the current one. And for the most part, I've got nothing against "art films" and I'm not saying that several people don't hail this as a masterpiece, but you don't really believe that this film will make it any easier for Dominik to finance the projects he wants, do you? It only grossed $4 million in the U.S.

I don't believe in an artist compromising his art, but sometimes you have to wonder where the artist leaves off and the ego takes over; at least, sometimes I have to. But hey, I shouldn't really talk since I like Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz, so I heartily agree with the concept of to each his own.

It is true Dominik did not make money off this movie – but then, he didn’t have any money before this movie. So all in all, he still comes out ahead. At least now he can say – look at this beautifully shot film I made with all these top artists.

Okay, it was a financial bust. That means he’s going to be watched like a hawk in the future. But he still has a thousand doors opened to him that were not open before. He will not (I suspect) have editing control over his next few pictures.

“… if you don’t cut it, it gets cut for you.” – Ridley Scott.

Sean Penn suffers from not knowing how to cut his film. I think he is a great director (I like Sean much more as a director than actor) – but he does not know how to edit. With Jesse James, I am very comfortable in the edit. As I am with Once Upon A Time In The West, and other films that could be framed as “self indulgent”. I don’t mind self indulgent directors. I go see movies specifically for the director. Next, for the subject matter.

I watched Bronson for the subject matter (I knew who Bronson was). I watched Jesse James for the subject matter (Jesse). I did not know either of these directors. I know who they are now and I will be watching for new stuff from them.

It is all in the eye of the beholder. Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia is one of my favorite movies. So …. yep. It’s all about what we like, for ourselves. Very true.