Rating: 
Summary: Frank and Jesse
Review:
The Civil War ends and Frank and Jesse James have long since mustered out of Quantrill's band of Yankee-hating raiders. The brothers try to return to the ranch but are forced by circumstances - circumstances in large part created by carpetbagging politicians, greedy railroad men, and eastern bankers - to return to a life of crime. One particularly ghoulish looking railroad land buyer is rebuffed - Get off'n my land - only to come back a-gunnin' and a-bombin'. A James or two is killed and the brothers find themselves yet again in the position of guerilla warriors against the United States government. Or, to put it less sympathetically than 1994's FRANK AND JESSE does, robbing banks and trains is a whole lot easier, and more fun, way to make a living than busting sod.
FRANK AND JESSE isn't any more concerned with historical accuracy than most movies. It casts a sympathetic eye at its title characters, treating them as modern day Robin Hoods, ennobling their post-Civil War careers. I have fewer problems with distorted history than with bad scripts and weak stories. The boys are ennobled to the same degree the bad guys are debased and whoever was responsible for this script laid `bad' on with a thick trowel. Bankers are venal and corrupt. Railroad men are rapacious and corrupt. The US Army is the corrupt lackey arm of the carpetbaggers. Even William Atherton, who plays detective and arch-James' nemesis Allan Pinkerton, emerges as a character a shade or so shy of two dimensions.
Anyway, the bad guys can't shoot straight (it really does take ten Yankees to kill a Reb!), they'll kick a poor widder women off'n her land less'n she pays an exorbitant mortgage demanded by the Eastern Banker, and The People hate them. In one of many awkward scenes, the James and the Younger boys discuss reuniting the Gang. Someone reminds the group "we've got to keep the heart of the people." It sounded forced and phony - a line more appropriate to a bad ad campaign or a bad movie about a bad war than a bad western. Detective Pinkerton will be surrounded by the James' Gang on more than one occasion, with Yank troopers falling like ten-pins to the right and to the left of him, and escapes without a scratch!
FRANK AND JESSE wore me down long before they arrived at Northfield and committed the famous bank robbery. I wasn't ready for the ludicrous ending. If you're familiar with Jesse James' life story I'll give you a couple of hints. Jesse knows the Ford brothers' visit is more than a social call. Before Jesse adjusts the crooked picture he looks in on his son, who is in bed asking his mother "We don't have to move again, do we, Mommy?" Jesse's (Rob Lowe) reaction shot is in soft focus. If anything, FRANK AND JESSE will demonstrate the lengths some responsible parents used to go to to keep Junior in the same school.
There were some bright points. As usual, Bill Paxton as Frank James gives a subtle and nuanced performance. Randy Travis (Cole Younger) warbles a pleasant Auld Lang Syne around a campfire.
My favorite scene will probably pass by anyone who hasn't seen Walter Hill's THE LONG RIDERS, another story about the Jamess and the Youngers and another that devotes a fair amount of time to the Northfield bank robbery.
THE LONG RIDERS combines slow-motion photography, daring stunts and skillful editing to make of the robbery a memorably exciting scene. For instance, a galloping horse is shown exploding through a plate glass window. Okay - real glass from a real plate glass window would have cut the horse to ribbons, and the movie horse galloped off into the Minnesota wilderness unnicked, but it was visually exciting. Almost exactly the same situation develops in FRANK AND JESSE. In Northfield a thundering horse gallops through an empty building. Floorboards clatter, the rampaging steed leaps and - doink. The resistable horse is thrown back by the immovable object - aka the malfunctioning prop. The heavy window, attached by a top hinge, yawns out about four inches. The stunned beast repurchases his traction, carefully noses the window and sort of squeezes out over the sill.
FRANK AND JESSE squeezes out over the screen and clocks in at a bit over an hour and a half. If you absolutely have to see every movie dealing with the James' Gang get it.
Rating: 
Summary: Do yourself (and others) a favor... avoid this film !
Review: As of this date, Hollywood has yet to produce a film about Frank and Jesse James that is both historically accurate and entertaining.Sadly, this latest offering from Vidmark/Trimark pictures is neither historically accurate nor entertaining in any sense of the word(s). Considering the topic, one would expect an action-packed film. Such is not the case. The story-line is slow and meandering, and it suffers from problems with continuity. Granted, it would be hard to depict in a few hours the many exploits of these two brothers. But one would expect that a film having a run time of approximately two hours would find more stirring events to present to the audience. Furthermore, the "acting" is abysmal. Love them or hate them, the James brothers stirred the passions of both Southroners and Jay-Hawkers alike. Rob Lowe (as Jesse) and Bill Paxton (as Frank) stir neither passions nor interest in the characters. More perplexingly, Paxton portrays Frank James as a moralizing whiner. In any event, a problem certainly exists when actors cannot "breathe life" into characters as famous/infamous as the James brothers ! It is inexcusable to permanently enshrine on the 'silver screen' such lack-luster performances. And the overall production is poor, having mundane cinematography, no contrast, and an uninspired soundtrack. Honestly, the production level is the equivalent to a "made for TV" movie. Most unforgivable are the many historical inaccuracies. The film opens with young Jesse taking the Oath of Allegiance to the North. In actuality, when Jesse rode into town after the War to seek amnesty, he was 'welcomed' by a shotgun blast which knocked him from his horse and nearly killed him. No doubt, this traumatic event played a factor in his "post-War activities." And from its opening sequence, the film progresses through more omissions, distortions, and flights of pure fantasy. Those who admire the factual re-telling of historical events and those having an interest in the James brothers should best avoid this film. For a more entertaining Civil War era movie, see "Ride With the Devil." It is a fictitional work, but it is a good movie and has a nice musical score as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Must See For All Outlaw Buffs!
Review: Ever since watching this movie about 4 years ago, I have been a Civil War and Outlaw buff. This movie shows you examples of why Jesse went on to become an outlaw both positive and negative and also shows how your so-called friends will turn their backs on you for money and personal freedom. What makes this movie so lovable, is the great actors and adventure. Before seeing the movie, I had hardley any interest in the Civi War and outlaws. Now, I am going to college to become a Civi War Historian. Don't forget, this movie does not go into Jesse or Franks James' childhood and Civil War background with great detail, but is a great adventure movie that will motivate you to find out the whole lives of Frank, Jesse and fellow partners as the "Youngers'"
Rating:
Summary: Best Western EVER!!!!!!!!
Review: Frank & Jesse is the best western ever produced. It is a touching movie and a definate must see!
Rating:
Summary: Frank & Jesse
Review: I didn't think I'd like this movie but ended up really enjoying it. It was well made and entertaining. There are always two sides to every story in the old west (look at the Erps). This movie does point out that there were historical events that fueled the James Gang. Not saying they're choir boys. Historical ? Maybe and maybe not. But I was entertained.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth renting
Review: I rented this movie because I was doing a school report on Jesse James and was covering Hollywood's portrayal of the James gang. I ended up being very impressed. I think that Rob Lowe and Bill Paxton do a wonderful job as Jesse and Frank James. As a matter of fact, just about everyone in the movie are good actors. The shootouts are just spectacular (much better done than "The Great Northfield Minnesota raid" I might add) but if your looking for a accurate historacl account you might try looking elsewhere. This movie has a lot of the legends around the gang, such as checking passengers hands on a train, to determine whether or not to rob them, (soft hands--get robbed...calloused hands, meaning you were a working man,--don't get robbed) but almost everything about the Northfield raid is fiction. Here and there, parts of the movie are also made up, but Northfield was the killer for me. Anyway, if your up to a great western, try watching, you wont be let down, but if your looking for something out of a text book, try looking somewhere else.
Rating:
Summary: Hollywood's best kept secret....
Review: McKenzie as 'Hollywood's best kept secret' has become a common statement among critics and fans. McKenzie who is reknowned for orchestrating other composers (Barry, Elfman et al)is also a respected composer in his own right. He articulates memorable melodies and is able to subtly weave ethnicity when required. The film portrays the brothers within a duality of compassion and ferocity. As such, McKenzie brings the tender with the triumphant. In the former, with cues such as 'Main Title' and 'Marauding' the heroics are conveyed through full string and brass orchestras (actually this is a small orchestra that has been overlayed). In the latter, its a flute or guitar that offers the tender - if not the tragic. Elements of bluegrass are also procured but not to the point of being overbearing - the subtlety of cultural heritage being one of McKenzie's great skills Overall, its a wonderful mix of thematic cues full of emotional impact and that's the reason why some have been played alongside Wimbledon montages and at the Atlanta Olympics. Other works such as 'Durango', 'The Disapperance of Garcia Lorca', and 'Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hide' are also highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Some Good Actors Play Some Very Bad Men
Review: The script for this movie is shamelessly anti-historical garbage. Anyone who has studied the history of the James gang knows they were no choirboys in shining armor; one of the few redeeming features is that Frank, as played (well) by Bill Paxton, harbors and expresses many reservations about the morality of the James brothers' former association with Cantrell's Raiders, as well as their current career as America's first peacetime bank robbers. It is also worth noting that the Pinkerton detective agency was in fact nearly as vicious and unprincipled in dealing with the Jameses as portrayed here. Other than that, the movie takes so many liberties with history, it adds up to outright fiction of the worst kind. It couldn't be much more apparent if they'd dressed the James/Younger gang up in white hoods and had them carry Confederate flags. This flick has decent production values: good acting, fair cinematography-- too bad it's still a screenplay that should never have been filmed. Check out "The Long Riders" instead; it also romanticized these semi-despicable criminals a bit much, but with rather better adherence to historical truth.
Rating:
Summary: Fact Versus Legend.
Review: There have been over a dozen movies based upon the life of Frank and Jesse James. Some have been historically accurate, but extremely boring and others have totally ignored history, but are extremely good movies to watch. FRANK AND JESSE falls somewhere in the middle. The movie is really enjoyable to watch. It ignores much of the James' early years and instead focuses on their days as a gang after the Civil War. There are a few historical facts that are presented correctly in the film, but there are a lot more that are totally ignored or changed. Instead, the film is based more upon the legend of the James and Younger gang. There is no doubt that Jesse James and company were bankrobbers who had a ruthless streak to them. Nevertheless, a person cannot deny the fact either that to many people in Missouri and other rural areas in the country, the James and Younger gang were heroes, Robin Hoods of the American West. Pinkerton asserted as much time and time again in his attempts to catch and round up the gang. Having been raised in a rural area not too far from the state of Missouri, I understand why people believed and still believe that in some ways the gang were heroes. In fact, I am inclined to agree. Therefore, this "romanticizing" of the Jesse James' legend isn't anything new. It's just the other side of the same coin and usually makes for a better story.
Rating:
Summary: A true Story very well made
Review: This is a great movie to watch full of drama, action, comedy. It is also a great movie for those studying the lives of brothes Frank and Jesse. I just have to say this "WOW! What a nice butt Bill has!!!!!!"
|
