Product Details

• Actors: Rob Lowe, Bill Paxton, Randy Travis, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Maria Pitillo
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: January 5, 1999
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305245460
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,921 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Frank and Jesse" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The story of Jesse and Frank James, the real-life robbers whose exploits earned them a Robin Hood reputation, has been portrayed in dozens of films that are more faithful to myth than to history. Only in the revisionist 1970s did the romantic shadings come off in a few genre-busting examples (notably The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid and The Long Riders). Oddly enough this 1994 feature takes more than a few factual liberties to restore the romantic portrait of the bank-robbing brothers. Four years after the Civil War, in a South crawling with carpetbaggers and occupied by Union troops, the hotheaded Jesse (Rob Lowe) and his clearheaded older brother Frank (Bill Paxton) take to the trail in a campaign of bank jobs, train robberies, and stage holdups while evading the dogged efforts of Allan Pinkerton (William Atherton) and his detective agency. Writer-director Robert Boris presents the boys as heroes of the defeated South, gentleman robbers avenging the pillage of their people by the railroad and bank concerns pouring in from the North and pursued by a maniacally driven Pinkerton on a personal quest for revenge. In the wake of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven this film comes off as old fashioned and a little naive, but the measured pace and the casting of country singer Randy Travis (who plays Cole Younger and narrates with a voice like molasses) gives the film, in moments, the intimacy of a ballad. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

FRANK & JESSE - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story of Two American Heroes, FREEDOM FIGHTERS, February 8, 2006

By 

A. Donabed "The re-view-R" (Atascadero, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Frank and Jesse (DVD)

A lot of reviewers have given this western a less-than-perfect rating due to its historical "in-accuracy". I have read the books and researched these two freedom fighters on the Internet for many years.

THIS MOVIE IS 99% ACCURATE.

They were NOT murderers, or "poor victims of society". They were merely seeking vengence and JUSTICE. They bravely continued the South's Great War for Freedom.

Pinkerton (the bad guy) WAS an @$$hole, as depicted in old manuscripts and letters.

The acting, storyline, plot, and everything are perfect. It starts with our heroes, after being released and swearing an oath to the loyalty of the yankees (United States), minding their own business and working on their farm.

Suddenly they (including their family) were terrorized by a villian represented by the Railroad of Chicago, Ill. Father was shot dead, brother (Frank James) wounded, and home torched.

These two gentlemen (Frank and Jesse) decide to start a gang and rob banks and railroads. As shown in the train scene, the gang "never takes money from the working man".

I won't give any more away but to just leave on a good note. This is a must-see for fans of the Old West. Along with John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fact Versus Legend., May 11, 2003

By 

tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Frank & Jesse [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth renting, August 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Frank & Jesse [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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.