One of my favorite directors, James Mangold, is working on a remake to the 1957 western 3:10 To Yuma. The plot will revolve around a struggling rancher, who agrees to capture an outlaw, and then must wait for a prison train to come pick up the outlaw. The film will become an intense battle of wits and will between the rancher and the outlaw as they wait for the train. The artist behind Heavy, Copland, Girl, Interrupted, Identity, and Kate & Leopold is set to take his shot at crafting a western. This is so going to OWN, it's not even funny.

A remake of a great movie = unnecessary remake.
Why not find a movie that WASN'T done properly the first time, instead of mucking around with a great film?

Very nice - I like James Mangold as well.

Um....

If it's a bad movie to begin with, nobody is going to want to pay $10 to see it again.

What do you guys like about Mangold? He seems like a generic hack to me.

James Mangold makes compelling dramas about individuals facing difficult/ life altering choices in their lives. The individuals in Mangold's films must confront moral/emotional problems, and then respond to those problems. Rightly or wrongly, the individual must take action, and live with the results. This theme can be found in all of his films. From crime drama, to light hearted romance, to psychological thriller. Furthermore, Mangold avoids fancy camera tricks, or over-directing films( cough, cough, Darren Aronofksy, cough ). He doesn't turn to camera tricks to move the story along. Mangold lets the actors tell the story as much as he tells it himself with the camera. To do this, he goes out of his way to hire the best actors possible for the job. Winona Ryder WAS Susanna Kaysen. Stallone WAS Freddy Heflin. This is the reason why his films are always well acted. Even in Mangold's weakest film, Kate & Leopold, Hugh Jackman turns in his best performance. So, Mangold can direct, write, and cast movies the way I like them.

Ultimately, I go into a James Mangold film to see an emotionally moving story. 3:10 To Yuma promises to continue the theme of an individual facing difficult choices.

I also like him because he has cast my favorite actress, Clea Duvall, twice.

This fits since I don't like james mangold as a director and I generally don't like remakes.

I thought Mangold was next up to do the Johnny Cash biopic. Or has that been put on hold due to June Carter's death?

I also thought he was doing the biopic before I found out this latest news. Walk The Line was reportedly going to start filming in the fall of this year, with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon in the lead roles. There's been no official word on the status of the project for a while now, so it's anybody's guess which film Mangold decides to do.

Yet another remake. It stars Russel Crowe and Christian Bale, so it may actually be decent. Find more info here.

Well, Walk The Line was amazing so I'll stay positive about this one.

Bale and Crowe always pick interesting films so I'm looking forward to this.

Never heard of the original

Also Ben Foster in the cast too... awesome. I've liked the Mangold movies I've seen too. This and American Gangster are high on my "must see now!" list.

i'll definitely see it, like a lot of what bale and crowe have been doing. never heard of the org. either.

Crowe has some big shoes to fill (Glenn Ford), but I'm optimistic both he and Bale won't disappoint. Mangold has a proven track record, so I'm optimistic this'll turn out okay.

IMO it's one of the best westerns ever made, and I've seen a lot of westerns.

Definately one of the ten best. Worth a blind buy. Just about all the major studio westerns were color by 1957 yet this film is one of the best uses of b/w photography IMO. A true western film noir. Ford is excellent and the music score is nothing to sneeze at either. Columbia re-used the theme music on Good Day For A Hanging(also on DVD). Back in the 80s I worked with a guy named Ben Wade. He'd never seen it so I had him come over to watch it.

Caught this tonight. Just some quick thoughts.

I should probably preface this by saying that I know less about and have seen fewer westerns than practically any other genre. And though I'm a huge fan of Elmore Leonard (who wrote the original story), I never saw the original film or read the short story.

I really enjoyed the film much more than I expected. Bale and Crowe are fantastic and watching them play off of each other is endlessly fascinating. Though their individual characters Evans and Dade aren't original (the honest man struggling to support his family and the easy to identify with criminal who is unusually deep and may/may not be as cold and ruthless as he seems), Bale and Crowe play these practically archetypal characters to near perfection. The relationship between these characters is surprisingly engrossing and touching and I liked how the viewer learns about each character through the eyes of the other. Some character beats are a little forced, but overall Evans and Dade's relationship is extremely well done and it is the reason to see the film.

I can't comment on how original the story is in relation to other westerns, but I found it unique that the bulk of the film focuses on what seems like a fairly mundane and simple task in today's world - transporting a prisoner. Meeting a train never seemed so challenging. The supporting cast is also uniformly excellent - with the exceptions of Gretchen Mol and Luke Wilson, who both have small roles that they don't seem comfortable inhabiting. What a pleasure to see Peter Fonda in such a great role - especially after Ghost Rider. He really melts into the character and I had to look twice at first to make sure it was him. Ben Foster is also very good as Dade's (Crowe's) right hand man. Between this and 30 Days of Night (in which he plays the stranger, one of the most interesting characters in the script), he may be getting a lot of attention this October.

Some scenes with Evans' son seem overly melodramatic, but I was able to overlook this, especially later in the film.

The ending
was described as predictable by some at the screening and in a sense it is, but I saw it more as the inevitable conclusion. It was very satisfying. However, .

Additionally, the finale does stretch the suspension of disbelief as I can see this irritating some people, but again, within the context of the film and given how involved I was, it was easy enough to overlook.

The cinematography and score are also quite good - the film is aesthetically very pleasing. But keep in mind that I saw the work print and though it looked fairly complete, things will probably change before the final release. One thing that is bothering me to know end is that as the last shootout begins, a very familiar piece of music begins to play, but I can't place where I've heard it before.

Overall, the first 5-10 minutes didn't do to much for me, but as soon as Evans and Dade meet I was hooked. It also seems like a film with good replay value.

As of now: B+/A-

Definitely check it out when it comes to theaters. Even if you're not well versed in westerns you may end up liking it more than you think. Based on this remake and the strong recommendations in this thread, I'm going to have to check out the original.

Thanks for the review vasb. Do you happen to remember the approx. runtime?

For those who haven't seen the trailer, here is the 480p version . Just right click and save as (rename the dll to .mov)

They wouldn't let us take cell phones in and I didn't have a watch, but assuming it started on time I'd say it is between 110 to 120 minutes without credits.

Can't wait. Love Bale, but have no affection for Crowe; he does pick interesting roles as this year is this and American Gangster.

I just saw the trailer on TV for the first time tonight. This looks pretty good so I'll probably go check it out.

I cought this movie last week. Really good, Ben Foster steals the show, nobody will be talking about Crowe or Bale after their finished