Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, The - Dime Novel Cut

Updated
Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, The - Dime Novel Cut
Faneditor Name:
Genre:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2007
Original Running Time:
154
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
116
Time Cut:
38
Brief Synopsis:
To keep the edit under a 2 hour running time I removed:
The subplot of Jesse & Dick hunting down Jim Cummins
The beating and references to Albert Ford
Scenes which pose no new (or redundant) information
The final years of Bob & Charley
Intention:
For whatever reason, this film never received the attention it deserved - maybe a 2 ½ hour psychoanalytical western drama was not what the average movie punter was after.
My goal was to reduce the running time to less than 2hrs but keep the mood and atmosphere of the original. Also, I wanted to see if I could edit a film!
Special Thanks:
Neglify for previewing.
Gatos for approval.
The Fanediting community.
Release Information:
  • DVD
  • Digital
Special Features
Selected Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
Cuts and Additions:
Removed Bob’s chat with Frank:
Bob seeks out Frank requesting to be the James’ ‘regular sidekick’, Frank refuses. This is correlated later when Charley speaks to Frank (at Bob’s persistence) whom Frank again refutes

Cut opening banter between the gang members:
Although a good introduction to some of the main gang (Dick Liddil a womaniser, a not too bright Ed Miller) we find out these character traits later in the film. This version has Bob going straight to Jesse to request coming along on the train robbery

Removed Jesse arriving at Major George Hite’s to collect Dick and subsequent hunt for Jim Cummins:
Jim Cummins is only mentioned by name and has no physical presence in the original version

Removed beating of Albert Ford (cousin of Bob & Charley) and subsequent reference to him:
Jesse & Dick introduce themselves to Albert under pseudonyms saying they are searching for Jim but Albert does not know where he is, Jesse then beats him for information

Cut Bob’s reference to Albert’s beating by Jesse

Edited Jesse’s chat with Charley:
Jesse confesses to Charley of murdering Ed Miller – trimmed for continuity and to remove the reference to Albert

Removed Jesse & Charley’s trek through the snow & ice

Removed Bob wandering/creeping alone around the James’ house

Removed the final years of Charley & Bob’s life

Added epilogues for both Charley and Bob after fade out of Jesse on ice

Added new credits

Audio: Stereo 2.0
Cover art by dubmecrazy (DOWNLOAD HERE) image

User reviews

2 reviews
Overall rating
 
9.3
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0(2)
Audio Editing
 
10.0(2)
Visual Editing
 
9.0(2)
Narrative
 
10.0(2)
Enjoyment
 
9.5(2)
(Updated: October 18, 2012)
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a great movie. I loved everything about it. The cast, the score, the cinematography etc.

I only looked at the cutlist after watching dubmecrazy's edit. I think he did a good job of slimming down a lengthy movie. There are no real plot holes to speak of. Audio editing was fine, I noticed no harsh cuts. Video quality, as Neglify mentioned, was below DVD standard but still acceptable, and there were one or two abrupt fade in/fade outs. Other than that my only gripes are personal preferences (I happen to like the theatrical ending). This edit doesn't replace the original for me, but if you've seen the original and wished it was shorter, this edit is for you.

An enjoyable and well executed edit overall.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This is the most impressive firstling edit I have seen so far. Instead of going for a flashy, trendy & popular movie to edit dubmecrazy has taken an overlooked critical darling and made it more palatable to the common man.

Andrew Dominik's "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is a beautifully flawed movie. It's terrifically acted, excellently directed, the music is fantastic, but it is so slow that it's hard to sit through it multiple times. dubmecrazy's fanedit completely fixes that issue with a shorter, more to-the-point version that keeps the story focused on what it needs to be focused on. I was so happy that you cut out the drawn out ending. I enjoyed every second of this edit as it unfolded.

That being said there are a couple minor issues with the quality. Firstly, it's in 2.0 stereo and not 5.1, so a point was deducted there. Second, the picture quality isn't the best for a SL DVD. It's nowhere near terrible, but it definitely could have looked better. Lastly, there was 1 or 2 abrupt fades that could have been improved. Nothing too drastic though, so only 1 point lost on the editing score.

Enough with the numbers.

This edit is highly recommended.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0