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3:10 to Yuma (2007 film)
Encyclopedia
3:10 to Yuma is the 2007 remake
of the 1957 film of the same name, making it the second adaptation of Elmore Leonard
's short story Three-Ten to Yuma
. It is directed by James Mangold
and produced by Cathy Konrad
, and stars Academy Award winners Russell Crowe
and Christian Bale
in the lead roles. Filming took place in various locations in New Mexico
. 3:10 to Yuma opened September 7, 2007, in the United States.
), an impoverished rancher and Civil War veteran, although sitting awake and armed to prevent it, has his barn set ablaze by two men working for Glen Hollander, to whom Evans owes money. The next morning, as Evans and his two sons drive their herd, they stumble upon outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe
) and his gang using Evans' cattle as a road blockade to ambush an armored stagecoach
. As he loots the stage, Wade discovers Evans and his two sons watching from the hills. Acknowledging that they pose no threat, Wade takes their horses telling Evans that he will leave them tied up on the road to Bisbee.
Wade travels with his gang to the town of Bisbee, Arizona
to enjoy a celebratory drink at the local saloon. Meanwhile, the railroad guards find Evans and his sons with Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda
), a Pinkerton
agent 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
), the local medic/veterinarian
, 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.
The coach's owner, Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts
), enlists McElroy, Potter, Tucker (Kevin Durand
), one of Hollander's guards, and Evans, who agrees for a $200 fee to deliver Wade for arrest. From Evans' ranch, McElroy arranges a decoy
wagon to distract Wade's gang, now led by 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 Yuma Territorial Prison
. As the group prepares to ride out, Evans' older son William (Logan Lerman
) demands to accompany them. Evans flatly refuses.
During the journey, Wade kills Tucker during his sleep with a fork stolen from Evans' house, and later McElroy (the former for claiming his horse and the latter for insulting his mother) but is stopped from escaping by the surprise arrival of William, who had followed the group all the way from the ranch. While taking a shortcut through a canyon, the group is attacked by Apache warriors. Evans is wounded but Wade saves him, arms himself, and 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 Wade for having killed his brother. His assistant, Zeke (Luke Wilson
), torture
s Wade with electric shocks. 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, 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 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 leaves the wagon to burn with the survivor trapped 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, noting that was the amount the government paid him for the loss of his leg. Instead he asks Butterfield to escort his son back to his ranch and to pay his wife $1,000 and a guarantee of water rights from Hollander in exchange for Evans delivering Wade to the train.
After 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 the reason he has a wooden leg (a subject Wade brought up throughout the journey) is that his real leg was lost when Evans was shot by fellow soldiers while in retreat from battle, 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 before barricading themselves in the station to wait for the train (which is running late), where Wade reveals that he's been to Yuma 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 (echoing a similar act performed by Wade earlier in the film) that provides cover for Evans to push Wade onto the train. As Wade boards, he congratulates Evans. At that moment, Prince steps up and shoots Evans four times, despite Wade's shouted order to stop. Wade steps off the train and catches the gun belt Prince tosses him. After a tense moment of silence, Wade abruptly executes 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 boards the train politely and surrenders his weapon. Evans eventually dies as Wade leaves in the train. As the train pulls away, he whistles for his horse, who perks up his ears and immediately canters after the running train into the distance.
announced a negotiation with 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
. After being apart from the project for several years, Mangold resumed his role as director in February 2006. Production was slated to begin in summer 2006. In the same month, Tom Cruise
expressed an interest in starring as the villain in the film. Eric Bana
also briefly sought a role in the film.
In summer 2006, Columbia placed the film on turnaround
, and the project was acquired by Relativity Media. Crowe and Bale were cast as the main characters, and Relativity began seeking a distributor for the film. By September, Lions Gate Entertainment
signed on to distribute the film. 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
. 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
. 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. Principal photography took place in and around Santa Fe
, Abiquiú
, and Galisteo
. 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". Another location was the scenic Diablo Canyon, and another was the Gilman Tunnels (35.734081°N 106.76475°W) along New Mexico State Road 485
. Filming concluded on January 20, 2007.
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. 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.
and No Country for Old Men
. As a result of the move, the studio was not able to use the Toronto Film Festival as a platform for the film's release, but it was 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." The earlier theatrical run positioned it for a prominent high-definition Blu-ray Disc
and DVD
release in the first week of January, during awards seasons. Lionsgate similarly planned this strategy for Crash
(2004), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture
that year.
In Germany, the film was released by Columbia Pictures
, which had produced the 1957 original.
, 89% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 192 reviews. On Metacritic
, the film had an average score of 76 out of 100, based on 37 reviews.
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 Fonda and Foster "are especially memorable" and said "the performances of Mr. Crowe and Mr. Bale alone are worth the price of admission." 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 Fonda "gives an amazingly fierce performance" and that 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." Ty Burr
of The Boston Globe
called the film "lean, almost absurdly satisfying." Burr wrote that Crowe and 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 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."
Bruce Westbrook of the Houston Chronicle
gave the film 3½ 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." 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."
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." 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."
. Marco Beltrami
was nominated for Best Original Score
, and Paul Massey
, David Giammarco
, and Jim Stuebe
were nominated for Best Sound Mixing. The film also received a nomination for Best Cast at the 14th Screen Actors Guild Awards
.
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the 1957 film of the same name, making it the second adaptation of Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
's short story Three-Ten to Yuma
Three-Ten to Yuma
"Three-Ten to Yuma" is a short story written by Elmore Leonard. The story was first published in Dime Western Magazine, a 1950s pulp magazine, in March 1953. The story has since been adapted to the screen twice, in 1957 and in 2007.-Plot summary:...
. It is directed by James Mangold
James Mangold
James Allen Mangold is an American film director and screenwriter. He is perhaps best known for Walk the Line which he co-wrote and directed.-Life and career:...
and produced by Cathy Konrad
Cathy Konrad
Cathy Konrad is an award winning American film producer. She has produced several successful films including the Scream trilogy, Girl, Interrupted, and, most recently, 3:10 to Yuma.-Producer:* Men in Trees...
, and stars Academy Award winners Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
and Christian Bale
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
in the lead roles. Filming took place in various locations in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. 3:10 to Yuma opened September 7, 2007, in the United States.
Plot
In the late 19th century, Dan Evans (Christian BaleChristian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
), an impoverished rancher and Civil War veteran, although sitting awake and armed to prevent it, has his barn set ablaze by two men working for Glen Hollander, to whom Evans owes money. The next morning, as Evans and his two sons drive their herd, they stumble upon outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
) and his gang using Evans' cattle as a road blockade to ambush an armored stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
. As he loots the stage, Wade discovers Evans and his two sons watching from the hills. Acknowledging that they pose no threat, Wade takes their horses telling Evans that he will leave them tied up on the road to Bisbee.
Wade travels with his gang to the town of Bisbee, Arizona
Bisbee, Arizona
Bisbee is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, 82 miles southeast of Tucson. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 6,177...
to enjoy a celebratory drink at the local saloon. Meanwhile, the railroad guards find Evans and his sons with Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
), a Pinkerton
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
agent 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
Alan Tudyk
Alan Wray Tudyk is an American actor known for his roles as Simon in the British comedy Death at a Funeral, as Steve the Pirate in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, as Sonny in the science fiction drama I, Robot, as Doc Potter in 3:10 to Yuma, as Tucker in the Tucker & Dale vs Evil and as Hoban...
), the local medic/veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
, 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.
The coach's owner, Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts
Dallas Roberts
Dallas Mark Roberts is an American stage and screen actor.Roberts was born in Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of Juilliard School. He is primarily based in New York City, where he regularly appears in theatrical productions...
), enlists McElroy, Potter, Tucker (Kevin Durand
Kevin Durand
Kevin Serge Durand is a Canadian actor known for his roles as Joshua in Dark Angel, Martin Keamy in Lost, Fred J. Dukes in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the Archangel Gabriel in Legion, and Little John in Robin Hood....
), one of Hollander's guards, and Evans, who agrees for a $200 fee to deliver Wade for arrest. From Evans' ranch, McElroy arranges a decoy
Decoy
A decoy is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction, to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.-Duck decoy:The term duck decoy may...
wagon to distract Wade's gang, now led by Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), while the real convoy charts a course for Contention
Contention City, Arizona
Contention City or Contention is a ghost mining town in Cochise County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. It was occupied from the early-1880s through the late-1880s in what was then known as the Arizona Territory...
, where Wade will be put on the 3:10 P.M. train to Yuma Territorial Prison
Yuma Territorial Prison
The Yuma Territorial Prison was a prison in the Arizona Territory of the United States and now in present day Yuma, Arizona. The Territorial Prison is one of the Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites on the National Register of Historic Places in the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.The site is...
. As the group prepares to ride out, Evans' older son William (Logan Lerman
Logan Lerman
Logan Wade Lerman is an American actor, known for playing the title role in the 2010 fantasy-adventure Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. He appeared in commercials in the mid 1990s, before starring in the series Jack & Bobby , and the movies The Butterfly Effect and Hoot...
) demands to accompany them. Evans flatly refuses.
During the journey, Wade kills Tucker during his sleep with a fork stolen from Evans' house, and later McElroy (the former for claiming his horse and the latter for insulting his mother) but is stopped from escaping by the surprise arrival of William, who had followed the group all the way from the ranch. While taking a shortcut through a canyon, the group is attacked by Apache warriors. Evans is wounded but Wade saves him, arms himself, and kills the attackers. Following the shootout, Wade escapes to a Chinese laborer
Coolie
Historically, a coolie was a manual labourer or slave from Asia, particularly China, India, and the Phillipines during the 19th century and early 20th century...
construction camp blasting a tunnel through the mountain range, where the foreman captures Wade for having killed his brother. His assistant, Zeke (Luke Wilson
Luke Wilson
Luke Cunningham Wilson is an American film actor known for his roles in Old School, Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, Legally Blonde, Idiocracy and Death at a Funeral.-Early life:...
), torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
s Wade with electric shocks. 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, 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 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 leaves the wagon to burn with the survivor trapped 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, noting that was the amount the government paid him for the loss of his leg. Instead he asks Butterfield to escort his son back to his ranch and to pay his wife $1,000 and a guarantee of water rights from Hollander in exchange for Evans delivering Wade to the train.
After 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 the reason he has a wooden leg (a subject Wade brought up throughout the journey) is that his real leg was lost when Evans was shot by fellow soldiers while in retreat from battle, 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 before barricading themselves in the station to wait for the train (which is running late), where Wade reveals that he's been to Yuma 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 (echoing a similar act performed by Wade earlier in the film) that provides cover for Evans to push Wade onto the train. As Wade boards, he congratulates Evans. At that moment, Prince steps up and shoots Evans four times, despite Wade's shouted order to stop. Wade steps off the train and catches the gun belt Prince tosses him. After a tense moment of silence, Wade abruptly executes 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 boards the train politely and surrenders his weapon. Evans eventually dies as Wade leaves in the train. As the train pulls away, he whistles for his horse, who perks up his ears and immediately canters after the running train into the distance.
Cast
- Russell CroweRussell CroweRussell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
as Ben Wade, a ruthless leader of a band of outlaws. - Christian BaleChristian BaleChristian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
as Dan Evans, a one legged veteran turned rancher. - Logan LermanLogan LermanLogan Wade Lerman is an American actor, known for playing the title role in the 2010 fantasy-adventure Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. He appeared in commercials in the mid 1990s, before starring in the series Jack & Bobby , and the movies The Butterfly Effect and Hoot...
as William Evans, Dan's eldest son who dreams of being a cowboy, - Ben Foster as Charlie Prince, Ben's right-hand man who is undyingly loyal to Ben.
- Peter FondaPeter FondaPeter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
as Byron McElroy, an elderly Pinkerton agent hired by the Railroad company to hunt Wade. - Dallas RobertsDallas RobertsDallas Mark Roberts is an American stage and screen actor.Roberts was born in Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of Juilliard School. He is primarily based in New York City, where he regularly appears in theatrical productions...
as Grayson Butterfield, an agent from the Railroad company. - Alan TudykAlan TudykAlan Wray Tudyk is an American actor known for his roles as Simon in the British comedy Death at a Funeral, as Steve the Pirate in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, as Sonny in the science fiction drama I, Robot, as Doc Potter in 3:10 to Yuma, as Tucker in the Tucker & Dale vs Evil and as Hoban...
as Doc Potter. - Lennie Loftin as Glen Hollander.
- Gretchen MolGretchen MolGretchen Mol is an American actress and former model. She is known for her roles in films like Rounders, Celebrity, 3:10 to Yuma, The Thirteenth Floor,and The Notorious Bettie Page, where she played the title character...
as Alice Evans. - Vinessa ShawVinessa ShawVinessa Elizabeth Shaw is an American actress and model. Shaw has starred in numerous motion pictures since the early 1990s, and is probably most well known for her performances in Disney's 1993 Halloween film Hocus Pocus, Ladybugs, the 2006 remake of Wes Craven's horror picture The Hills Have...
as Emmy. - Kevin DurandKevin DurandKevin Serge Durand is a Canadian actor known for his roles as Joshua in Dark Angel, Martin Keamy in Lost, Fred J. Dukes in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the Archangel Gabriel in Legion, and Little John in Robin Hood....
as Tucker. - Luce Rains as Marshal Weathers.
- Luke WilsonLuke WilsonLuke Cunningham Wilson is an American film actor known for his roles in Old School, Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, Legally Blonde, Idiocracy and Death at a Funeral.-Early life:...
as Zeke. - Marcus Sylvester as Slick.
- Carmilla Blakney as Rebbi.
- Rio Alexander as Campos.
Production
In June 2003, Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
announced a negotiation with Mangold to helm a remake of the 1957 Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film 3:10 to Yuma, based on a script written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas
Derek Haas
Derek Haas is a writer.- Life and career :Derek Haas attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas where he earned both his B.A. and M.A. in English Literature. He lives in Los Angeles, and has made a name as a screenwriter and co-author of several successful Hollywood films. In 2008 he published his...
. After being apart from the project for several years, Mangold resumed his role as director in February 2006. Production was slated to begin in summer 2006. In the same month, Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
expressed an interest in starring as the villain in the film. Eric Bana
Eric Bana
Eric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
also briefly sought a role in the film.
Turnaround (film)
A turnaround or turnaround deal is an arrangement in the film industry, whereby the rights to a project one studio has developed are sold to another studio in exchange for the cost of development plus interest....
, and the project was acquired by Relativity Media. Crowe and Bale were cast as the main characters, and Relativity began seeking a distributor for the film. By September, Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
signed on to distribute the film. Later in the month, Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
, Gretchen Mol
Gretchen Mol
Gretchen Mol is an American actress and former model. She is known for her roles in films like Rounders, Celebrity, 3:10 to Yuma, The Thirteenth Floor,and The Notorious Bettie Page, where she played the title character...
, Dallas Roberts
Dallas Roberts
Dallas Mark Roberts is an American stage and screen actor.Roberts was born in Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of Juilliard School. He is primarily based in New York City, where he regularly appears in theatrical productions...
, Ben Foster, and Vinessa Shaw
Vinessa Shaw
Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw is an American actress and model. Shaw has starred in numerous motion pictures since the early 1990s, and is probably most well known for her performances in Disney's 1993 Halloween film Hocus Pocus, Ladybugs, the 2006 remake of Wes Craven's horror picture The Hills Have...
were cast. Filming was slated to begin on October 23, 2006 in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. 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
American Humane Association
The American Humane Association is an organization founded in 1877 dedicated to the welfare of animals and children.The AHA's Film and Television Unit has monitored the welfare of animals during the production of films and television programs since 1940. They are the source of the familiar...
. 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. Principal photography took place in and around Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, Abiquiú
Abiquiú, New Mexico
Abiquiú, or Abiquiu is a small unincorporated town located in Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States, about 53 miles north of Santa Fe. In the 1730s, it was the third largest settlement in the New Mexico Territory...
, and Galisteo
Galisteo, New Mexico
Galisteo is a census-designated place in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 265 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
. The Bonanza Creek Ranch represented the film's town of Bisbee
Bisbee, Arizona
Bisbee is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, 82 miles southeast of Tucson. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 6,177...
as a "kinder, gentler frontier town" while Galisteo was set up to be Contention
Contention City, Arizona
Contention City or Contention is a ghost mining town in Cochise County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. It was occupied from the early-1880s through the late-1880s in what was then known as the Arizona Territory...
(now a ghost town), a "much rougher, bawdier, kind of sin city". Another location was the scenic Diablo Canyon, and another was the Gilman Tunnels (35.734081°N 106.76475°W) along New Mexico State Road 485
New Mexico State Road 485
New Mexico State Road 485 is a state highway in New Mexico, United States of America. Its total length is approximately . New Mexico Route 485's southern terminus is near the small town of Jemez Pueblo, at New Mexico State Road 4...
. Filming concluded on January 20, 2007.
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. 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.
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 FordThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a 2007 American Western drama film. The film is directed by Andrew Dominik, with Brad Pitt portraying Jesse James and Casey Affleck as his killer, Robert Ford.Filming took place in rural Alberta and Winnipeg, Manitoba...
and No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men (film)
No Country for Old Men is a 2007 American crime thriller directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. The film was adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name...
. As a result of the move, the studio was not able to use the Toronto Film Festival as a platform for the film's release, but it was released before a cluster of films similarly vying for awards. According to Lionsgate president Tom Ortenberg
Tom Ortenberg
Tom Ortenberg is the former President of Lionsgate Films. On January 27, 2009, it was announced he would assume the position of President of Theatrical Films at the Weinstein Co....
, "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." The earlier theatrical run positioned it for a prominent high-definition Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release in the first week of January, during awards seasons. Lionsgate similarly planned this strategy for Crash
Crash (2004 film)
Crash is a 2004 American drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Paul Haggis. The film is about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles, California. A self-described "passion piece" for Haggis, Crash was inspired by a real life incident in which his Porsche was carjacked outside a video...
(2004), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
that year.
In Germany, the film was released by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, which had produced the 1957 original.
Box office
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. 3:10 to Yuma grossed an estimated $53,606,916 in the United States and $16,409,304 in other territories for a worldwide total of $70,016,220.Critical reaction
The film received very positive reviews from critics. According to the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 89% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 192 reviews. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film had an average score of 76 out of 100, based on 37 reviews.
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris is an American film critic and a leading proponent of the auteur theory of criticism.-Career:Sarris is generally credited with popularizing the auteur theory in the U.S...
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 Fonda and Foster "are especially memorable" and said "the performances of Mr. Crowe and Mr. Bale alone are worth the price of admission." The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
film critic David Denby
David Denby (film critic)
David Denby is an American journalist, best known as a film critic for The New Yorker magazine.-Background and education:Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B.A...
wrote that the film "is faster, more cynical, and more brutal" than the 1957 film. Denby wrote that Fonda "gives an amazingly fierce performance" and that Crowe "gives a fascinating, self-amused performance", saying "Crowe is an acting genius
Genius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
." 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." Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Ty Burr has been a film critic for the Boston Globe since 2002 where he reviews films alongside Wesley Morris.Born in 1957, he studied film at Dartmouth College and New York University and has written three books: The Hundred Greatest Movies of All Time, The Hundred Greatest Stars of All Time and...
of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
called the film "lean, almost absurdly satisfying." Burr wrote that Crowe and 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 Foster as Charlie Prince is "mesmerizing." Burr said "Bale and Crowe never once misstep" and that Mangold "steers clear of Deadwood
Deadwood (TV series)
Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...
revisionism." Burr, however, wrote that the ending "makes little to no sense in a post-Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
universe."
Bruce Westbrook of the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
gave the film 3½ stars and called it "the best Western since Unforgiven
Unforgiven
Unforgiven is a 1992 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood with a screenplay written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after he had hung up his guns and turned to farming...
", calling it "both cathartic and intelligent." He wrote that the film "draws clear inspiration from the lonely heroics of High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
" 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." Shawn Levy
Shawn Anthony Levy
Shawn Anthony Levy is an American film critic, author and blogger.Born in New York City, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Irvine, Levy has been the film critic of The Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Oregon since 1997. He is a former Senior Editor...
of The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
gave the film a "B+" and said the film is "grounded in something like the credible realism of a John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
Western but which also can appease the thirsts for blood, wit and tension harbored by fans of Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
." 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
Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
with a big dose of the mocking charisma, cool discernment and casual cruelty of Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
." Levy said the climax "sews up the narrative too quickly", but called the film "a fine and sturdy picture."
Christian Science Monitor critic Peter Rainer gave the film a "B+" and wrote "what Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
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
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
's Rescue Dawn
Rescue Dawn
Rescue Dawn is a 2007 war drama film directed by Werner Herzog, based on an adapted screenplay written from his acclaimed 1997 documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly...
" 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." Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
of TIME magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
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
Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann was an American actor and film director, most notably of film noirs and Westerns. As a director, he often collaborated with the cinematographer John Alton and with James Stewart in his Westerns.-Biography:...
'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."
Awards and nominations
The film received two Academy Award nominations for the 80th Academy Awards80th Academy Awards
The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...
. Marco Beltrami
Marco Beltrami
Marco Beltrami is an American film composer.-Life and career:Beltrami was born in Long Island, New York of Italian and Greek descent...
was nominated for Best Original Score
Academy Award for Original Music Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
, and Paul Massey
Paul Massey (sound engineer)
Paul Massey is a British sound engineer. He has been nominated for six Academy Awards in the category Best Sound. He has worked on over 150 films since 1982.-Selected filmography:* Legends of the Fall...
, David Giammarco
David Giammarco (sound engineer)
David Giammarco is an American sound engineer. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound for the film 3:10 to Yuma. He has worked on over 70 films since 1985.-External links:...
, and Jim Stuebe
Jim Stuebe
Jim Stuebe is an American sound engineer. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound for the film 3:10 to Yuma. He has worked on over 60 films since 1978.-External links:...
were nominated for Best Sound Mixing. The film also received a nomination for Best Cast at the 14th Screen Actors Guild Awards
14th Screen Actors Guild Awards
----Best Cast - Motion Picture: No Country For Old Men ----Best Cast - Drama Series: The Sopranos Best Cast - Comedy Series: The Office ...
.