The True Story of Jesse James

There are many fine scenes here (the Northfield raid, the train robberies, the great scene where Cole Younger reads a James Gang dime novel and then goads Jesse into performing a Robin Hood gesture like the ones in the book), but there is still something dead at the heart of this film. Is it the specter of James Dean? Is it the zombie-like performances of Wagner, Chandler and Lange? Or perhaps it is the alcoholic fog of Nicholas Ray, sensing his inevitable decline.

An overlooked western that is filled with a beautiful cinematography -- you almost get confused with the marvelous tons of red -- and an impressive amount of violence. Here, men don't hesitate to shoot rivals in their backs: everywhere you look, there is a sign of vengeance. I loved that homeless guy singing like Woody Guthrie too.