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3:10 to Yuma

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Retro Film Review: 3:10 to Yuma (2007)@drax643d

(source: tmdb.org)

Traditional Hollywood, known for its cautious approach, occasionally deserves recognition for doing something brave. One such example occurred in 2007—at a time when, due to the Iraq War, everything American was despised worldwide—it released films belonging to the most American of all American genres: the western. An even riskier move was made by the creators of 3:10 to Yuma, a remake of the 1957 classic western of the same name, when they refused to embellish their western with cheap political correctness and historical revisionism.

The plot of the film is based on a 1953 short story by Elmore Leonard, a writer whose work has been a popular source for Hollywood genre films. The main protagonist is Dan Evans (played by Christian Bale), a crippled Civil War veteran who, in an effort to save his ranch and feed his family, agrees to become a temporary sheriff’s deputy and undertake a rather dangerous task: escorting Ben Wade (played by Russell Crowe), the captured leader of a bloodthirsty gang of robbers, to the town of Contention, from where a train will take him to Yuma and its prison. It soon becomes clear that this job will be anything but easy, as Evans and his colleagues are pursued by Wade's accomplices led by the ruthless Charlie Prince (played by Ben Foster), while Wade himself tries to sweet-talk Evans with charming words and enticing financial offers to let him go.

James Mangold, a filmmaker who has built a reputation over the past decade on not overly impressive but mostly solid psychological dramas (such as his previous film Walk the Line), rightly concluded that the new version should not deviate too much from Leonard's literary source or from the half-century-old original film. The lead actors—Bale and Crowe—are aware of this and do not attempt to outshine classic Hollywood icons like Van Heflin and Glenn Ford. The Hitchcockian characterization of their roles—an ordinary man caught in an extraordinary situation and a charming villain—suits both actors well, who could play such parts in their sleep.

Mangold does not revise the original; rather, he supplements it. The conflict between the faceless good guy Evans and the impressive villain Wade is enhanced with far more physical action, including significantly more bloodshed, noticeable in the new version than in the black-and-white original. The western archetypes of good and bad guys, along with their moral dilemmas, are well illustrated by a gallery of characters, many of whom will end up dead. They are portrayed by an experienced and diverse team of character actors, from veteran Peter Fonda to youthful Charlie Prince in the role of a psychopathic criminal.

On the other hand, in his effort to make the film as attractive as possible for contemporary audiences, Mangold may have overdone it with action scenes while not cutting back on dialogue and characterization. As a result, especially towards the end, 3:10 to Yuma feels stretched out, particularly in comparison to the half-hour shorter and more effective original. This is perhaps best seen in the finale, where a big and unexpected twist, drowned out by a cacophony of gunfire and dying screams, lacks the psychological justification that was present in the original. Despite this, 3:10 to Yuma can be recommended as more than just a solid example of a vital genre that has so often been mistakenly claimed to be dead.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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›Film Review: 3:10 to Yuma (1957)@drax663d

Elmore Leonard, the immensely prolific and successful author of crime fiction, left an indelible mark on popular culture with his many novels serving as the basis for numerous renowned films and television shows. He, however, started his career predominantly in the western genre, and one of his early works that stands out is the 1952 short story ‘Three-Ten to Yuma’. This tale was adapted for the big screen twice, with the first version directed by Delmer Daves in 1957. This rendition is considered a classic of the Golden Age of Westerns.

The plot unfolds in the dusty expanse of Arizona Territory during the late 1800s. The protagonist, Dan Evans, played by Van Heflin, is an ordinary rancher whose life has been plagued by a prolonged drought that leaves him struggling to feed his wife and two sons. Averse to trouble, he tries to steer clear of notorious outlaw Ben Wade (played by Glenn Ford) and his gang. However, when Wade is captured by local authorities, Dan volunteers to escort him to the train station where he is to board a train bound for Yuma's territorial prison. Motivated solely by the $200 reward offered by Mr. Butterfield (played by Richard Emhart), owner of the stagecoaches that had fallen victim to Wade's criminal exploits, Dan must somehow evade the rest of Wade’s gang, led by his loyal lieutenant Charlie Prince (played by Richard Jaeckel), while at the same time resisting Wade’s eloquent and seemingly well-reasoned suggestions to let him go.

Delmer Daves' deliberate decision to make 3:10 to Yuma in black-and-white has led many critics and film scholars to describe his work as "noirish," underscoring the moral ambiguity as the film's main theme. The relative simplicity of the plot and focus on the seemingly basic moral choices of the protagonists, along with the various moral tests that people around them fail, makes 3:10 to Yuma very similar to High Noon, another classic black-and-white western made five years earlier.

Although 3:10 to Yuma does include a few action scenes, including the obligatory showdown at the end, it works more as a drama. Daves cleverly builds suspense and raises the stakes through dialogue and interplay between numerous characters. He also demonstrates great talent for pacing, with the film neatly wrapping up after an hour and a half of running time.

One of the assets of this grand western is its music, composed by George Duning, which includes a catchy song energetically performed by Frankie Laine. However, the biggest asset is undoubtedly the cast. Van Heflin, who often played second fiddle in films, including his famous role in Shane, shines in the starring role. His performance is very good and convincing, clearly indicating that the protagonist doesn't want to be burdened with the dangerous task and constantly struggles with the inclination to take the path of least resistance.

Glenn Ford, who was usually cast as a protagonist, excels in the role of the film's villain, or rather the character who would be a villain in a more conventional western. Ford portrays him as an intelligent, no-nonsense leader of men, but also gives him roguish charm and the ability to easily seduce women, such as the barmaid played by Felicia Farr. By the end of the film, he even manages to seduce the audience who might initially have wanted to see Wade escape; the film saves viewers from this possibly embarrassing scenario by having Wade retain some traces of basic honour and decency.

Upon its release, 3:10 to Yuma was greeted with praise from both audiences and critics alike and became one of the most renowned westerns of its time. This honour was confirmed half a century later with James Mangold's remake starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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›3:10 to Yuma (Film): Review.@martinmcfly2718d
Finally I decided to try seeing a Western that I let cover with dust and cobwebs, why? I do not know, sometimes I just delay a film for a long time, and then I just forget that it's there, to finally rediscover it a long time later, and that's what happened with 3:10 to Yuma. I saw it and I said to myself: a western starring Crowe, Bale and Ben Foster and I have not seen it yet, why? and since I did not have an acceptable answer, I had to see it.

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(https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmf652t9FPjqbbspJYC3XHMqLZsCcBfsHhiZ8QnCDvdwBq/Image.png)

Source <<

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Year: 2007 Category: Western. Director: James Mangold.
Cast: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Peter Fonda, Gretchen Mol, Ben Foster, Dallas Roberts, Alan Tudyk, Vinessa Shaw, Logan Lerman.

Plot

Dan Evans, a rancher who is in a very critical economic situation, agrees to help take Ben Wade, an outlaw, to Contention, where he will be transferred in the 3:10 afternoon train to the Yuma Territorial Prison.

Opinion

Dan Evans, a rancher and Civil War veteran, is threatened by Glen Hollander's men, to whom he owes money, they set fire to his barn and warn him that the house will be next if he does not pay the debt. Dan along with his two sons William and Mark decides to go find the herd lost the next morning and on the way they will cross with Ben Wade and his gang, a famous and dangerous outlaw, who used their herd to block a stagecoach they wished to assault.

Once Ben's gang retires Dan decides to help the only survivor of the assault, Byron McElroy, and gives it to Doc Potter, then go to the town to negotiate with Hollander, who rejects him, so Dan enraged by the treatment received looks for him in the tavern to confront him, however, who gets there is Ben Wade, which he decides to delay for a few minutes so they can ambush him. Finally Ben is caught, and Grayson Butterfield, the railroad's representative, decides to hire the services of the Hollander's men and Dan Evans to deliver Ben Wade to the Contention, where he will be transferred on the 3:10 afternoon train to the Yuma Territorial Prison.

The direction work by James Mangold, known for directing films like The Wolverine and Logan, is a very good job, the film has the rhythm of a western, also the images he decides to put on the screen are very well made. Although the script is not bad I think it falters at times, especially at certain times where some characters perform some actions that seem a bit incoherent.

The performance work is very good, as is to be expected, the quality of the actors in the film is very high, starting with its three main characters, Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and Ben Foster, they are the ones who carry all the weight of the film, it is their performances which really allow us to understand the characters, because what is set in the script is not enough, thanks to the personality and charisma that they transfer to their characters everything that we see on screen becomes coherent, otherwise the task would be impossible, and the movie would be of a much lower level.

It is a film that entertains the viewer for 122 minutes, with a good image, however, some aspects on the development of the story personally I did not like too much, even so, still is a fairly acceptable film.

Trailer

Score

7/10

It is a film with excellent direction, an acceptable script although not perfect, and very good performances, it is not a film that has to be seen necessarily, but it serves as an element of accurate entertainment.

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