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3:10 to Yuma (2007 film)

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3:10 to Yuma
Theatrical poster
Directed byJames Mangold
Written byScreenplay:
Stuart Beattie
Story:
Michael Brandt
Derek Haas
Short Story:
Elmore Leonard
StarringRussell Crowe
Christian Bale
Logan Lerman
CinematographyPhedon Papamichael
Distributed byLions Gate Entertainment
Release date
September 7 2007
Running time
120 min.
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50 million[1]

3:10 to Yuma is a 2007 Western film that is a remake of the 1957 film 3:10 to Yuma, making it the second adaptation of Elmore Leonard's short story. It is directed by James Mangold and stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Filming took place in various locations in New Mexico. 3:10 to Yuma opened September 7, 2007, in the United States.


Plot

Dan Evans (Christian Bale) , an impoverished rancher and Civil War veteran, awakens to find his barn in flames, set ablaze by two men working for Glen Hollander, to whom Evans owes money. The next morning, as Evans and his two sons herd, they stumble upon outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and his gang using the cattle as a road blocade to ambush an armored stagecoach. As he loots the stage, Wade discovers Dan Evans and his two sons watching from the hills. Acknowledging that they pose no threat, Wade takes their horses and travels with his gang to the town of Bisbee, Arizona to enjoy a celebratory drink at the local saloon.

The railroad guards, finding Evans and his sons with Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda), a bounty hunter and lone survivor of the ambush. Evans reveals Bisbee as Wade's likely destination, where the guards immediately return, joined by Evans and McElroy. While Doc Potter (Alan Tudyk) treats McElroy, Evans tries negotiating with Hollander, who reveals his intentions to sell the land to the railroad rather than grant water rights to Evans. Enraged at the loss of his livelihood, Evans tries confronting Hollander in the nearby saloon where he finds Wade, whom he distracts long enough for the railroad guards to ambush and arrest him. Butterfield enlists McElroy, Potter, Tucker (Kevin Durand), as one of Hollander's guards, and Evans, who agree for a $200 fee to guard Wade and deliver him for arrest. McElroy arranges a decoy wagon to distract Wade's gang, now led by the sociopathic Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), while the real convoy charts a course for Contention, where Wade will be put on the 3:10 P.M. train to the prison in Yuma, Arizona. As the group prepares to ride out, Evans' eldest teenage son William (Logan Lerman) demands to accompany them, which Evans flatly refuses.

During the journey, Wade kills Tucker and McElroy but is stopped from escaping by the surprise arrival of William. While taking a shortcut through a canyon, the group is attacked by Apache Indians. Evans is wounded, but Wade arms himself and successfully kills the attackers. Following the shootout, Wade escapes to a Chinese laborer construction camp blasting a tunnel through the mountain range, where the foreman captures and tortures Wade for having killed his brother. Evans, William, Potter, and Butterfield appear and after unsuccessful attempts at negotiation, Potter leads an attack on the foremen and his miners, freeing Wade. As they flee on their horses, Potter is shot and killed, having sacrificed himself, while Wade and Evans destroy the tunnel behind them with dynamite. The group arrives in Contention several hours before the train's scheduled arrival and check into the bridal suite of the hotel, where they are soon joined by several local marshals hired by Butterfield.

Prince ambushes and interrogates the survivor of the decoy wagon, learning that Wade is being delivered to Contention and will board a train to Yuma; he then burns the wagon with the decoy in it. Upon arriving in Contention and discovering the heavy guard around Wade, Prince offers every townsperson a $200 bounty for every guard they kill. The marshals, unwilling to fight against such steep odds, surrender to Prince, who kills them anyway. Butterfield refuses to complete the mission, offering Evans the $200 salary even if Wade goes free. Evans refuses, asking Butterfield to escort his son back to his ranch and pay his wife $1,000 and a guarantee of water rights from Hollander in exchange for Evans delivering Wade to the train. Butterfield agrees.

Evans escorts Wade out of the hotel and the two make their way across town, evading continuous gunfire from the townspeople before taking refuge inside a storeroom. Wade, tired of running, nearly strangles Evans; he relents when Evans reveals that his wooden leg, a subject Wade brought up throughout the journey, was lost from friendly fire, a story that would shame his sons, and that delivering Wade to Yuma would serve as an accomplishment his sons would admire. Wade relents and agrees to board the train. The two return to the streets, dodging bullets and taking several wounds before barricading themselves in the station to wait for the train, where Wade reveals that he's been to Yuma prison twice and escaped both times.

Wade's gang set up positions around the station as the train approaches. William, observing the events, stampedes a herd of cattle that provides cover for Evans to push Wade onto the train. As Wade boards, he congratulates Evans. At that moment, Prince steps up and, despite Evans shouted order of "No!", shoots Evans point blank three times, slumping him against the train rails, barely alive. Wade steps off the train, in shock over the death of Evans, and catches the gun belt Prince tosses him. Wade, dead silent for several moments, vengefully shoots Prince and the rest of his gang. William appears and draws his gun on Wade but finds he can't kill him, instead turning to his dying father. Wade somberly boards the train and surrenders his weapon. As the train pulls away, he whistles for his horse, who perks up his ears and immediately trots after the train into the distance.

Cast

File:310toYumaCastPic.jpg
From Left to Right:
Doc Potter (Alan Tudyk)
Dan Evans (Christian Bale)
Ben Wade (Russell Crowe)
Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda)
Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts)
in a scene from 3:10 to Yuma. Photo credit: Richard Foreman / Lionsgate

Production

In June 2003, Columbia Pictures announced a negotiation with director James Mangold to helm a remake of the 1957 Western film 3:10 to Yuma, based on a script written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas.[2] After being apart from the project for several years, Mangold resumed his role as director in February 2006 for 3:10 to Yuma, based on a new draft by screenwriter Stuart Beattie, who rewrote the scripts by Brandt and Haas. Production was slated to begin in summer 2006.[3] In the same month, actor Tom Cruise expressed an interest in starring as the villain in the film.[4] Eric Bana also briefly sought a role in the film.[5]

In summer 2006, Columbia placed the film on turnaround, and the project was acquired by Relativity Media. Actors Russell Crowe and Christian Bale were cast into 3:10 to Yuma, and Relativity began seeking a distributor for the film.[5] By September, Lions Gate Entertainment signed on to distribute the film.[1] Later in the month, Peter Fonda, Gretchen Mol, Dallas Roberts, Ben Foster, and Vinessa Shaw were cast. Filming was slated to begin on October 23, 2006 in New Mexico.[6] On the first day of filming, a rider and his horse were seriously injured in a scene when the horse ran directly into a camera-carrying vehicle instead of veering off as planned. The rider was hospitalized, and the horse had to be euthanized on the set. The animal's death prompted an investigation from the American Humane Association.[7] By November, the AHA concluded its investigation, finding that the horse did not respond accordingly due to having received a dual training approach and the rider not being familiar with the mount. The organization recommended no charges against the producers.[8] Principal photography took place in and around Santa Fe, Abiquiú, and Galisteo.[9] The Bonanza Creek Ranch represented the film's town of Bisbee as a "kinder, gentler frontier town" while Galisteo was set up to be Contention (now a ghost town), a "much rougher, bawdier, kind of sin city".[10] Filming concluded on January 20, 2007.[9]

After filming concluded, the owners of the Cerro Pelon Ranch petitioned to keep a $2 million expansion to the movie set on their property, which was supposed to be dismantled within 90 days. The set of 3:10 to Yuma made up 75% of the overall sets on the ranch.[11] In April 2007, the request was met by the county's development review committee to keep the expansion, which would potentially generate revenue in the future.[12]

Release

3:10 to Yuma was originally slated for an October 5 2007 release, but Lionsgate moved the film's release a month earlier to September 7 2007 to beat competing Western films The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and No Country for Old Men. As a result of the move, the studio will not be able to use the Toronto Film Festival as a platform for the film's release, but it will be released before a cluster of films similarly vying for awards. According to Lionsgate president Tom Ortenberg, "In what is shaping up to be a very impressive and crowded field of upscale commercial motion pictures this fall, we wanted to be one of the first ones out, so that everything else will be measured against us." Lionsgate has an awards campaign planned to promote 3:10 to Yuma, and the earlier theatrical run will position it for a prominent DVD release in the first week of January, during awards seasons. Lionsgate similarly planned this strategy for Crash (2004), which won the Oscar for Best Picture that year.[13]

Box office performance

3:10 to Yuma debuted in the United States and Canada on September 7 2007 in 2,652 theaters. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $14,035,033 and ranked #1 at the U.S. and Canadian box office. As of October 19 2007, 3:10 to Yuma has grossed an estimated $52,406,000 in the United States and Canada and $3,608,432 in other territories for a worldwide total of $56,014,432.[14]

Critical reaction

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 87% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 173 reviews.[15] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 76 out of 100, based on 37 reviews.[16]

Andrew Sarris of The New York Observer said "There is more greed-driven corruption in the remake than there was in the original" and that the film is less a remake "than a resurrection of both the film and its now unfashionable genre." Sarris said Peter Fonda and Ben Foster "are especially memorable" and said "the performances of Mr. Crowe and Mr. Bale alone are worth the price of admission."[17] The New Yorker film critic David Denby wrote that the film "is faster, more cynical, and more brutal" than the 1957 film. Denby wrote that Peter Fonda "gives an amazingly fierce performance" and that Russell Crowe "gives a fascinating, self-amused performance", saying "Crowe is an acting genius." Denby said "this is by far [director James Mangold's] most sustained and evocative work." Denby wrote that one action scene looks fake, but "much of this Western is tense and intricately wrought."[18] Ty Burr of The Boston Globe called the film "lean, almost absurdly satisfying." Burr wrote that the actors Russell Crowe and Christina Bale "are among the best, most intuitively creative we have, and whatever transpires offscreen in Crowe’s case, onscreen they only serve their characters. Neither man showboats here, and it’s a thrill to watch them work." Burr said that the character of Ben Wade is "a snake and a snake charmer in one irresistible package" and said Ben Foster as Charlie Prince is "mesmerizing." Burr said "Bale and Crowe never once misstep" and that Mangold "steers clear of Deadwood revisionism." Burr, however, wrote that the ending "makes little to no sense in a post-Clint Eastwood universe"[19]

Bruce Westbrook of the Houston Chronicle gave the film 3 1/2 stars and called it "the best Western since Unforgiven", calling it "both cathartic and intelligent." He wrote that the film "draws clear inspiration from the lonely heroics of High Noon" and said "While a wildly eventful action-adventure and outlaw shoot-'em-up, it's also a vibrant story of heroism, villainy and hard-earned redemption." Westbrook said that Crowe and Bale are "at the top of their game" and "Crowe is reliably charismatic as a man who's less craven and bloodthirsty than wise, resourceful and expedient."[20] Shawn Levy of The Oregonian gave the film a "B+" and said the film is "grounded in something like the credible realism of a John Ford Western but which also can appease the thirsts for blood, wit and tension harbored by fans of Quentin Tarantino." Levy wrote "The original film spends much time on conversation between Wade and Evans and focuses more on Evans' wife, whereas the new film has more action sequences and is infused subtly with themes that echo vexing contemporary political and moral issues." Levy said "Christian Bale gives us another of his wounded, desperate, stubborn men" and "Russell Crowe fills a role originated by Glenn Ford with a big dose of the mocking charisma, cool discernment and casual cruelty of Robert Mitchum." Levy said the climax "sews up the narrative too quickly", but called the film "a fine and sturdy picture."[21]

Christian Science Monitor critic Peter Rainer gave the film a "B+" and wrote "what Alfred Hitchcock once said about thrillers also applies to Westerns: The stronger the bad guy, the better the film. By that measure, 3:10 to Yuma is excellent." Comparing the film to the 1957 film, Rainer wrote that the film "is larger in scope than its predecessor, and significantly altered in its ending, but essentially it's the same old morality play." Rainer said the "drippy father-son stuff is the least successful aspect of the movie." Rainer also wrote "Bale acts as if he's still playing the POW survivalist from Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn" and said "his hyperrealistic performance is a drag next to Crowe's dapper prince of darkness." Rainer said Crowe's "underplaying here is in many ways as hammy as if he were overplaying, and that's just fine."[22] Richard Schickel of TIME magazine said "when a movie is as entertaining as this one, you begin to think this formerly beloved genre is due for a revival." Schickel said the 1957 film "was, in my opinion, not as good as a lot of people thought" and said Crowe "never settles for predictability when he's on screen and never lets us settle into complacency as we watch him." Schickel wrote that director Mangold "never loses his crispness or his narrative efficiency." Schickel said the comparisons to Unforgiven "are not entirely apt", saying that "Mangold's offering lacks the blackness and absurdity" of that film. He wrote, "It is more in the vein of Anthony Mann's westerns of the 1950s — trim, efficiently paced, full of briskly stated conflicts that edge up to the dark side, but never fully embrace it." [23]

The Wall Street Journal critic Joe Morgenstern said the performances in the 1957 film were "superb", and its strengths "were enhanced by its proportionality -- an intimate story told in 92 minutes." He wrote "the story is no bigger in the new version, which goes on for 117 minutes. And it's certainly not better." Morgenstern wrote "The basic plot survives intact, and intriguing as ever. The picture looks great" and described Phedon Papamichael's cinematography as "elegant." Morgenstern said "the action sequences are impressive, for a while. Yet the whole enterprise is seriously out of scale", calling the film "an extended, self-serious and, in the end, ludicrously distended spectacle that seems to bring the Yuma train to the station 20 minutes late." Morgenstern wrote that Crowe "keeps all eyes riveted on him" and called Bale "a specialist in mutedness", although occasionally "both men grow so muted that they seem to be trying to outminimalize one another." Morgenstern said "I found Peter Fonda's presence particularly moving" but said "the febrile and semicoherent action climax that precedes [the ending] leaves logic in the dust."[24]

References

  1. ^ a b Pamela McClintock (2006-09-17). "Lionsgate to distrib 'Yuma'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-05-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Dave McNary (2003-06-18). "Col lassoes oater 'Yuma'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Michael Fleming (2006-02-20). "Col's good 'Yuma' man". Variety. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Michael Fleming (2006-02-22). "Inside Move: 'Yuma' in the lead for Cruise's attention". Variety. Retrieved 2007-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b Borys Kit (2006-08-04). "Bale digs spurs into 'Yuma' redo". The Hollywood Reporter. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "More Aboard the 3:10 to Yuma". ComingSoon.net. 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2007-05-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ American Humane Association (2006-10-26). "AHA Investigating 3:10 to Yuma Horse Injury". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2007-05-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Tom Sharpe (2006-11-30). "HORSE'S TRAINING MIGHT HAVE CAUSED ACCIDENT". The Santa Fe New Mexican. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b Natalie Storey (2006-10-27). "HORSE DIES, RIDER HURT IN MOVIE MISHAP". The Santa Fe New Mexican. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Tom Sharpe (2007-01-26). "HOLLYWOOD FOR SALE". The Santa Fe New Mexican. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Erica Cordova (2007-03-31). "Ranch Asks To Keep Movie Set". Albuquerque Journal. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "AROUND NORTHERN NEW MEXICO". Albuquerque Journal. 2007-04-20. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Pamela McClintock (2007-07-09). "Lion'sgate ups '3:10' release date". Variety. Retrieved 2007-07-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "3:10 to Yuma (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
  15. ^ "3:10 to Yuma - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  16. ^ "3:10 to Yuma (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  17. ^ Andrew Sarris (2007-09-04). "Training Day". The New York Observer. Retrieved 2007-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ David Denby (2007-09-03). "Eastern, Western". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2007-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ Ty Burr (2007-09-07). "Western remake '3:10 to Yuma' is right on target". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Bruce Westbrook (2007-09-06). "A wildly eventful action-adventure". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Shawn Levy (2007-09-07). "'3:10 to Yuma'". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2007-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ Peter Rainer (2007-09-07). "How the West was won again". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2007-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ Richard Schickel (2007-09-07). "The Perfect Time for 3:10 to Yuma". TIME magazine. Retrieved 2007-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ Joe Morgenstern (2007-09-07). "'3:10 to Yuma' Gets Derailed By Epic Ambitions". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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