American Outlaws

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

This loosely fact-based oater attempts to mimic the youthful heartthrobs in Western garb formula of Young Guns (1988), as well as the cheeky humor and some plot elements of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Colin Farrell stars as Jesse James, who returns home from the Civil War to his small hometown to find that a crooked railroad baron (Harris Yulin) has been illegally forcing the residents from the homesteads to make way for a new rail line. Enraged, James leads a band of outlaws including his brother Frank (Gabriel Macht), Cole Younger (Scott Caan), and Younger's brothers Bob (Will McCormack) and Jim (Gregory Smith) on a criminal spree of bank robbing. Although their Robin Hood-style tactics soon make them local heroes, the James-Younger gang members find themselves pursued by the dogged Allan Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton), the world's first "private eye." Along the way, Jesse also finds romance with Zee Mimms (Ali Larter), the daughter of a local doctor (Ronny Cox). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: PCM Stereo, DTS, 5.1
• Screen: Soft-Matted WSE for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: French, English, Spanish
• Features:
  • • Feature-length commentary with director Les Mayfield, co-writer John Rogers, and editor Michael Tronick
    • Behind-the-scenes featurettes: "The Making of American Outlaws," "Creating the Old West," "How to Be an Outlaw," and "Costuming the Cowboys"
    • Deleted scenes
    • Storyboards
    • Production stills
    • Cast and crew biographies and film highlights
    • Publicity gallery
    • Theatrical trailers
    • Artwork
    • Director-approved transfer
    • DTS & Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks remastered for home theaters
    • Interactive animated menus
    • Scene access with previews
    • Languages: English and French
    • Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish
    • DVD-ROM/PC: screenplay, storyboards, web site, web links

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Les Mayfield

• Producer:

  James G. Robinson, Bill Gerber

• Screenwriter:

  Roderick Taylor, John Rogers

• Cinematographer:

  Russell Boyd

• Composer (Music Score):

  Trevor Rabin

• Editor:

  Michael Tronick

• Production Designer:

  Cary White

• Co-producer:

  David C. Robinson

• Executive Producer:

  Jonathan A. Zimbert

• Costume Designer:

  Luke Reichle

• Stunts:

  James M. Halty

REVIEW:

• Quite the cheery revisionist history of the life of Jesse James, the delayed release American Outlaws doubles as a Young Guns for the next generation, both in its righteous-outlaw structure and matinee-idol function. Whether the moviegoing public needs either project is doubtful. After a brief revival in the 1990s, westerns had again become a yawn by the early 21st century, especially those featuring a cast of poor man's alternatives to charismatic stars. Director Les Mayfield treats every robbery, shootout or narrow escape from the gallows as a chance for the actors to crack jokes and peddle their charm. This framework prevents the movie from developing a sense of weight or momentum, which might be okay if it were funny enough. It also entirely recasts James as an essential pacifist and darn fine gentleman to boot, a decision designed to propel Colin Farrell toward maximum heroic stardom. But Mayfield's dishonest interpretation of the character panders to the audience, undercutting Farrell and doing little for the other small-timers (Ali Larter and Scott Caan) trying to leapfrog to the next level. As the action goes, only one clever stunt along the outside of a train stakes claim to original choreography. American Outlaws was pushed back from a spring 2001 release to the dumping grounds of late August to avoid competition with Texas Rangers -- a worse disaster of a movie that ended up getting shelved for more than a year anyway. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi