The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Year:
Duration:
160 min
Genres:
Biography | Crime | Drama | History | Western
IMDB rate:
7.6
Director:
Andrew Dominik
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 33 wins & 44 nominations
Details
Country: USA
Release Date: 2007-10-10
Filming Locations: Fort Edmonton Park - Fox Drive and Whitemud Drive, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Earnings
Budget: $30,000,000
Opening Weekend: $147,812 (USA) (23 September 2007)
Gross: $3,904,982 (USA) (27 January 2008)
Cast
Actor
Character
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Michael Parks
Michael Parks
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
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
Torben Hansen
Danish Train Passenger (as Torben S. Hansen)
Alison Elliott
Martha Bolton
Lauren Calvert
Ida
Kailin See
Sarah Hite
Tom Aldredge
Major George Hite
Jesse Frechette
Albert Ford
Pat Healy
Wilbur Ford
Ted Levine
Sheriff Timberlake
Joel Duncan
Deputy
James Carville
Governor Crittenden
Stephanie Wahlstrom
Store Customer
Adam Arlukiewicz
Newsboy
Ian Ferrier
Photographer (as Ian Ferrier)
Michael Rogers
Onlooker at Jesse's Death
Calvin Bliid
Jesse E. James aka Tim
Sarah Lind
Bob's Girlfriend
Nick Cave
Bowery Saloon Singer
Matthew Walker
Bowery Saloonkeeper
Zooey Deschanel
Dorothy Evans
Michael Copeman
Edward O'Kelly
Laryssa Yanchak
Ella Mae Waterson
Hugh Ross
Narrator (voice)
Kalyn Bomback
Theatre goer (uncredited)
Doug Christian
Tavern Patron (uncredited)
Carey Feehan
Train Passenger (uncredited)
Sara Fowlow
Girl of Sixteen (uncredited)
Catherine Gell
Widow (uncredited)
Anthony Harrison
Marshal Craig (uncredited)
Barb Mitchell
Upscale Guest (uncredited)
Sarah Murphy-Dyson
Girl Playing Zee (uncredited)
Myles Peterman
Train Boy (uncredited)
Myrna Vallance
The Governors Wife (uncredited)
Trevor Woroby
Saloon Patron (uncredited)
Did you know?
Trivia
Of all the films made about Jesse James, his descendants have claimed that this is the most accurate. They were especially enthusiastic supporters of the performances of Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck.
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Zooey Deschanel:  as Dorothy Evans, a largely fictional composite of several historical showgirls in Ford's saloon.
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The revolver Jesse James gives to Robert Ford is an 1875/1878 Smith and Wesson Model 3, Schofield .45 caliber with single-action, top-break and auto-eject. The first pistol to use a large caliber and auto-eject. It was famously used by other 'gunslingers' such as Pat Garrett and John Wesley Hardin.
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Goofs
When Jesse is shot by Robert Ford, his wife is laying over him screaming and crying. The whole while Jesse's eyes are closed, at one point they cut to Robert, and cut back, Jesse's eyes are clearly wide open. They cut back and away once more and his eyes are closed again. (Possibly deliberate choice by filmmakers, to indicate Ford's state of mind.)
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At the end of the film, we see Robert Ford in his saloon / dance hall, "Ford's Exchange", which is an actual brick-and-mortar building. Later, when he is shot soon after by Edward O'Kelley, again in his own establishment, it is suddenly a tent saloon. This is because Ford's dance hall had been burned down in a town fire, three days prior to his shooting. In real life, Ford created this temporary location to operate out of while waiting to rebuild the dance hall seen earlier.
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When Jesse James and Charley Ford cross a frozen river Jesse wipes away the snow to check the ice thickness. He also fires 3 rounds from his revolver into the ice. In a subsequent shot of the ice you can see the brushed away snow and a fish swimming under the ice, yet there is no evidence of the 3 shots Jesse fired into that spot.
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Quotes
Jesse James: [Jesse has given Bob a gun as a gift] You know what John Newman Edwards once wrote about me? He said I didn't trust two men in ten thousand and was even cautious around them. The government's sort of run me ragged. I'm going the long way around the barn to say I've been feeling cornered and just plain ornery of late and I'd be pleased if you'd accept the gun as my way of apologizing.
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Martha Bolton: Why did you and Dick get into a scrape about?
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Robert Ford: I've been a nobody all my life. I was the baby; I was the one they made promises to that they never kept. And ever since I can recall it, Jesse James has been as big as a tree. I'm prepared for this, Jim. And I'm going to accomplish it. I know I won't get but this one opportunity and you can bet your life I'm not going to spoil it.
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Faq
Q
Why was Sam Shepard cast as the 38-year-old Frank James?
A
Many uninformed viewers may consider Sam Shepard as a miscast by portraying the 38-year-old Frank James. However, a short description of Frank from the original text contradicts these claims:"Frank was 38 years old, but looked a homely 50. He was 5 feet 10 inches tall at a time when such height was above average, and weighed about 150 pounds. He had ears nearly the size of his hands, and a very large, significant nose that seemed to hook and clamp his light-brown mustache. His chin jutted. His jaw muscles bulged. His mouth was as straight and grim as a hatchet mark. And he'd ground down his teeth in his sleep until they all were as square as molars. He was a stern and very constrained man. He could have been a magistrate; an evangelist; a banker who farmed on weekends. Rectitude and resolution influenced his face and comportment. Scorn and even malevolence could be read in his green eyes."
Q
What were Robert Ford's "right words"?
A
Bob Ford was apparently dead before he could utter what ever was going on in his mind at that final moment of his existence. Realistically, a person who has been shot in the neck at point-blank range with a shotgun would not be saying anything to the caliber of his "right words". Many viewers mistake these last lines rather frequently, as if they want to believe Bob spontaneously composed a spirit-freeing sonnet as he fell to the floor, and recited it aloud as he slipped away from consciousness. With that said, there really were no "right words", because he did not say anything at the time of his death. If he had, eyewitnesses would have documented it.
Q
Why was it post-poned so long?
A
No studio would actually take the film because no studio would believe that it would make any money.
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Photos from cast
Brad Pitt Michael Parks
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