American Outlaws DVD Review:

American Outlaws DVD Review:
This film begins with Jesse James and his last gun fight in the Civil War. After fighting the Yanks at the end of the Civil War, Jesse decides it’s time to hang up his guns and go back home to live a peaceful life on his ma’s farm, but when the James brothers and their cousins from the Younger family arrive back home, they are disappointed to discover that trouble's-a-brewin' back at the ranch…

As the story continues, a big bad railroad tycoon, his agents, and a special group of detectives are using the government's approval as clout to persuade the locals to sell their land cheap. Although none of the boys are willing to accept the offer, Cole Younger (Scott Caan) expresses his disapproval by killing a couple of the prospective purchasers and burnin’ some farms. To save their cousin's neck from the noose, the cocky quick-draw Jesse (Colin Farrell) and his book-learned, sharp-shooting brother Frank (Gabriel Macht) decide to wage a private war to derail the mogul's progress.

Forming the James-Younger Gang they begin holding up banks and blowing up tracks, which supplies plenty of gun fighting opportunities. They also wisely buy support and good will (and audience sympathy) by sharing their take with the general population. Although the cunning and patient Detective Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton) is in charge of the railroad's resistance, the biggest threat to the gang's survival may be an emerging leadership power struggle between Jesse and Cole.

Of course for all you western historians out there one would say that American Outlaws is a loose interpretation of the story of Jesse James, portrayed here by Colin Farrell. Director Les Mayfield says he was reluctant to cast the Dublin actor as the American outlaw Jesse James, of course "The idea of an Irish person playing Jesse James didn't seem right” until Mayfield met Colin, he says. "Then I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather have as the star of the movie. He personifies the spirit of the gentleman outlaw." If that’s what Les was looking for, then he succeeded in this film.

Colin’s character of Jesse portrays that nice guy, somewhat compassionate character, in reality he really should go ahead and pull a "Matrix" on some ones ass (which he does) but after every shoot out I was waiting to here Jesse say something like, "oh, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to really kill you that way."

I do agree with one reviewer who said "I think the entire cast should've been locked in a room and forced to watch The Good, The Bad and The Ugly followed by The Outlaw Josey Wales and concluding with Unforgiven to really get a good understanding of how to play an outlaw." That would have worked nicely.

American Outlaws Video:
American Outlaws appears in an aspect ratio of aspect ratio: 1.77:1 on this single-sided, dual-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. The film had outstanding picture quality that consistently looked absolutely terrific.

"Transfer all the money to our Swiss account!"

Sharpness appeared virtually immaculate throughout the film. Even during wide shots, I saw no signs of softness or fuzziness, the movie remained crisp and well-defined. The picture overall consisted of accurate images that always seemed detailed and distinct. No problems with effects or jagged edges and print flaws also caused no concerns. If any examples of grain, grit, speckles or other defects showed up during the movie, I didn’t see them; I thought this was a very clean and fresh presentation.

The colors virtually leaped off the screen and they consistently appeared tight and accurate with no signs of bleeding or noise. Black levels also looked nicely deep and dark, and shadow detail seemed to be appropriately heavy but not excessively thick. Low-light situations always came across so that they maintained a realistic appearance but weren’t overly shaded. Ultimately, American Outlaws provided a visual experience.

American Outlaws Audio:
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround: English

Dolby Digital Surround: English French

DTS 5.1 Surround Sound: English

All five channels received a strong workout during the film, as both effects and music made good use of the discrete capabilities. The music score blasted nicely from all of the speakers on both DD 5.1 and DTS, the rears offered very positive reinforcement of the music that made the track nicely involving. Surround usage also came to the front during the film’s action sequences. These provided a strong five-channel experience as gunfire, explosions and other dynamic elements popped up all around me, especially during the First chapter.

Localization seemed to be positive, and effects moved nicely across channels. The sound field spread out the imagery well and created a fine environment. All of the loud elements appeared broad and engaging, Bass response was deep and tight, and the many action sequences gave the subwoofer a nice workout. As a matter of fact, I think the neighbors liked it too!

American Outlaws Extras:
Featurette: “ The making of American Outlaws”, “Creating the Old West”, “ How to be an Outlaw” and “Costuming the Cowboys”, Production Stilles, Theatrical trailers, Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary by director Les Mayfield, editor Michael Tronick and co-writer John Rogers Special Features, Story Boards, Photo Gallery, Theatrical Trailer, TV Spots, Cast/Crew Bios, Interactive Menus, DVD-ROM Features.

Easter Egg - "Shooting Range"

In the special features menu, simply go to the bottom of the menu (main menu, etc.) and go to the right with your control. A little gun symbol will appear letting you know you're there, now just select and you will go to a menu full of sound effects of the guns in the movie.

American Outlaws Overall:
The film as a whole was very entertaining. The film seemed to market to the female audiences by giving us a lot of beefcake. Of course the male audiences enjoyed their share of thrills with shoot out’s and train robberies and once mustn't forget about the beautiful Ali Larter who played Zee. I do have to admit that the movie was not dull. Especially when keeping in mind that this movie was marketed for a teen crowd.

American Outlaws provided some really awesome over the top action sequences, and if you like six shooter “shoot outs”, this will do the trick. It’s a fun old fashion western movie which I highly recommend as a rental on a Saturday night or as an afternoon movie, on the other hand, if you’re a fan of movies then you won’t be disappointed and this is a must for your library.

Once again for those historians out there interested in the history of Jesse James and his band of outlaws you may want to seriously heed the disclaimer in the closing credits, which states “all characters portrayed in this film are fictitious and any similarity to real persons is purely coincidental.” Either that or rent a documentary.

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