How sane can people idolize a cold-blooded, murdering and thieving scum like Jesse James? Over the decades, many, many films have portrayed James as sort of a "Robin Hood of the West", even though there was nothing to admire about the man. And, after he was killed by a member of his gang, songs were composed to the honor of James and declaring that the shooter, Bob Ford, was a coward. The way I see it, cowardly or not, shooting Jesse James in the back was a great day for mankind! Now I cannot compare this film to the recent film "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" since I haven't seen it--hopefully it sticks closer to the facts. However, it's pretty obvious by the title that they take a very strong anti-Ford position. While Ford was a bad man, I just can't see how his killing James was anything other than a glorious day for mankind--just as if someone had "murdered" Ted Bundy.
I SHOT JESSE JAMES repeats many of the myths since they abounded even during the time of James' death, but tries to explain Bob Ford's motivations--though I am unsure just how much anyone today can explain this accurately. At least it doesn't try to show the conflict in the usual black & white terms--with the myths of Jesse as the victim and Ford as a coward. Unfortunately, while the film debunks some of the worst myths about James and Ford, it creates some new ones---particularly how Ford died at the end of the film. Like the death of Jesse James, Ford was shot in the back at close range in real life--why they made him die in an "honorable" shoot-out is beyond me. This is specially strange when the film appears to be an attempt to tell Ford's true life story.
The part of Bob Ford was played in I SHOT JESSE JAMES by John Ireland. Ireland was an extremely effective actor in Film Noir pictures of the day and is one of my favorite actors in the genre. Here he's in one of the rare Westerns he made and he did a pretty good job. I couldn't believe that one reviewer admitted that although they didn't know much about Ireland said how much they hated his acting. This seemed like a cheap shot and I wish they'd see some of his other films, such as THE GOOD DIE YOUNG or RAILROADED!.
As for Sam Fuller's direction, this was his first effort and was amazingly effective even if the script was full of holes and clichés. Apparently this was all filmed in only 10 days, but the film appears complete, tight and well thought-out. For a 10 day effort, the film SHOULD suck--which it certainly does not.
My advice is probably not to watch any of the films about Jesse James--after all, he was scum. Plus, until they free these films from all the clichés and rhetoric, I'm inclined to recommend that you instead read a book about him or Bob Ford.
By the way, the famous song about the sad death of James at the hand of Ford that you hear in the film wasn't written until the 1920s, though there were other similar songs and stories written around the time of his death.
I SHOT JESSE JAMES repeats many of the myths since they abounded even during the time of James' death, but tries to explain Bob Ford's motivations--though I am unsure just how much anyone today can explain this accurately. At least it doesn't try to show the conflict in the usual black & white terms--with the myths of Jesse as the victim and Ford as a coward. Unfortunately, while the film debunks some of the worst myths about James and Ford, it creates some new ones---particularly how Ford died at the end of the film. Like the death of Jesse James, Ford was shot in the back at close range in real life--why they made him die in an "honorable" shoot-out is beyond me. This is specially strange when the film appears to be an attempt to tell Ford's true life story.
The part of Bob Ford was played in I SHOT JESSE JAMES by John Ireland. Ireland was an extremely effective actor in Film Noir pictures of the day and is one of my favorite actors in the genre. Here he's in one of the rare Westerns he made and he did a pretty good job. I couldn't believe that one reviewer admitted that although they didn't know much about Ireland said how much they hated his acting. This seemed like a cheap shot and I wish they'd see some of his other films, such as THE GOOD DIE YOUNG or RAILROADED!.
As for Sam Fuller's direction, this was his first effort and was amazingly effective even if the script was full of holes and clichés. Apparently this was all filmed in only 10 days, but the film appears complete, tight and well thought-out. For a 10 day effort, the film SHOULD suck--which it certainly does not.
My advice is probably not to watch any of the films about Jesse James--after all, he was scum. Plus, until they free these films from all the clichés and rhetoric, I'm inclined to recommend that you instead read a book about him or Bob Ford.
By the way, the famous song about the sad death of James at the hand of Ford that you hear in the film wasn't written until the 1920s, though there were other similar songs and stories written around the time of his death.