The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

"Beyond the myth lies America's greatest betrayal"

2007 2h 40m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

🍅

76%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 2,895🍅76%Rotten Tomatoes●68Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 203,116

DramaWestern

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Outlaw Jesse James is rumored to be the 'fastest gun in the West'. An eager recruit into James' notorious gang, Robert Ford eventually grows jealous of the famed outlaw and, when Robert and his brother sense an opportunity to kill James, their murderous action elevates their target to near mythical status.

“Beyond the myth lies America's greatest betrayal”

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Cast

Brad Pitt
Jesse James
Casey Affleck
Robert Ford
Sam Rockwell
Charley Ford
Paul Schneider
Dick Liddil
Jeremy Renner
Wood Hite
Garret Dillahunt
Ed Miller
Sam Shepard
Frank James
Mary-Louise Parker
Zee James

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Andrew Dominik
Writers: Andrew Dominik, Al Berg
Languages: English
Countries: Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 160 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 49% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 19 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

213+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Andrew Dominik, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Warren Ellis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Curtiss Clayton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Andrew Dominik directs. Roger Deakins behind the camera. Warren Ellis scores. Curtiss Clayton cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 160 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Earned back only 49% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 19 years ago.
4International production across 3 countries: Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America.
5213+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Andrew Dominik, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Warren Ellis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Curtiss Clayton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck and Sam Rockwell carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Beyond the myth lies America's greatest betrayal".
11IMDB entry: tt0443680 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 10 themes, including "media", "killing", "missouri", "admiration".
13Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Original score: Warren Ellis
Editing: Curtiss Clayton
Production design: Richard Hoover
Costume design: Patricia Norris
Makeup / hair: Jean Ann Black
Sound: Richard King
Stunt coordinator: Brent Woolsey
Runtime: 160 min · 2h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $30,000,000
Box office: $14,711,793
Return: 49% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Rotten Tomatoes: 76% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 68/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 203,116 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 25 wins & 69 nominations total

San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Andrew Dominik

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-09-06
★ 10/10
Perfection. I think I will just come right out and say it from the off, this is a masterpiece, a truly spell binding, mesmerising tour de force that seeps class from every pore. I have often found myself cringing and turning my back on those who use in film debate the tired old defence of "it's not for everyone", but here I find I have no choice because this picture is purely for those enamoured with poetic beauty and precision film making at its highest. Those in search of an all action gun toting western need not apply, in fact those merely after popcorn fodder to while away an evening viewing should steer well clear. Andrew Dominik's second directorial effort is a character and dialogue driven piece of work, its thematic heart swirling with intelligence and elegiac beauty. The story centrers around the final days of notorious outlaw Jesse James, and how one of his young disciples came to murder him on April 3rd 1882. Using Ron Hansen's novel as its source, it also fills in the gaps as to what became of the murderer Robert Ford as regards the subsequent aftermath of killing the infamous Jesse James. The film is dealing with issues all to prevalent in modern day society, we are witnessing perhaps the first instance of celebrity status gone berserker, we see how the press glamorise the nasty piece of work that was Jesse James, turning him into some sort of quintessential noble outlaw. We observe a stalking menace yearning to be like his hero, a young and impressionable fellow who's hurtling towards infamy completely oblivious of the pitfalls and irony of it all. Structually the film is perfect, and to me the film defines the old saying of art on the silver screen. The performances of the lead actors are incredible, Brad Pitt gives a career high as Jesse James, all teetering villainy yet perfectly befitting the prince charming outlaw persona so gleefully built up by the press. Sam Rockwell is Charley Ford, and here he proves that movie big wigs really need to start giving the guy some more dramatic roles to get his teeth in to. Yet as good as Pitt & Rockwell are, both men are left trailing in the wake of Casey Affleck's performance as Robert Ford, childish emotion fused with flecks of dark undercurrents as Affleck layers a perfect show. How the academy chose to ignore this performance should be seen as an act of treason against American cinema. Few films have left me open mouthed in admiration at the quality on show, but shot after shot, frame after frame, this really is as gorgeous as it comes. Roger Deakins photography sublimely pleasing the eyes at every edit, be it lush rolling hills cloaked in snow, or shadowy figures appearing like ghosts from locomotive smoke, with Deakins firmly cementing his reputation as a master of his craft. The score from Nick Cave & Warren Ellis perfectly captures the ambiance and texture of the piece, with Cave himself bagging a cameo performance as a bar room busker. It's incredible to think that this is only director Andrew Dominik's second feature film, following on from the hugely enjoyable Chopper in 2000, it is now evident that New Zealand can lay claim to producing a talent that if all goes to plan, will go on to become a director to rank up with the best of them. As it is, and just right now, The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford should be filed along side Vertigo as a member of that club that only admits the greatest American films of all time, and that be even if it was directed by a Kiwi, wink wink America. Masterpiece. 10/10
Wuchak2026-08-02
★ 7/10
The last seven months in the life of Jesse James Brad Pitt stars as the famous outlaw in this chronicling that begins with the Blue Cut Train Robbery that took place in Missouri on September 7, 1881. Casey Affleck co-stars as Robert Ford, a 20yo member of Jesse's gang, who kills James for the reward, but also because he and his brother, Charles (Sam Rockwell), feared for their lives. The final 25 minutes detail the Ford brothers’ lives over the course of the next decade after James' execution on April 3, 1882. Paul Schneider, Garret Dillahunt, Jeremy Renner, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker, Kailin See and Zooey Deschanel have notable support roles. It’s a funereal, realistic Western consisting of long dramatic sequences spiced with flashes of violence. Although critically praised, it bombed at the box office and some people scoff at it as a slow bore. Yet I found it pretty mesmerizing, even haunting, not to mention that it should be commended for being an eccentric Western. There are several highlights during its 2 hours and 40 minutes, like the opening train robbery, the outhouse rendezvous between Dick Liddil and Sarah (Schneider and Kailin See), the tense gunfight in the upstairs of a frontier house, Jesse's assassination, and the interesting aftermath. The movie makes a point of depicting Jesse as a paranoid man on his way to an early grave because he foolishly painted himself into a criminal corner. At least Frank James (Shepard) had the scruples to leave outlawry and move east, although his brother eventually pulled him back. Jesse is shown lamenting what his life had become and even shooting one of his comrades in the back, like a coward, not to mention abusing an adolescent. Yes, Ford later shoots Jesse in the back, but it had to be done. Jesse's days were numbered due to his own bad choices. Plus Robert and his brother were afraid that Jesse was going to shoot them at any moment. Also keep in mind that Jesse wasn't no frickin' Robin Hood; he stole from the rich and regular folks alike and gave to... well, himself. In light of all this the title of the movie is ironic, but when the legend becomes fact, print the legend. The Alberta and Winnipeg, Manitoba, locations are picturesque, but they aren’t the best stand-in for Missouri and Kentucky, where the real-life events took place. These are Eastern states, albeit "midwest." The locations in the movie look like what they are, the northern prairie. "The Long Riders" (1980) is more accurate on this front. Yet the town of Creede, Colorado in the last act involving Robert Ford was effectively recreated for a high price near Goat Creek in Alberta. It was shot Aug-Dec 2005. GRADE: B+