Rating of
3.5/4
Excellent western
Ichabod Crane - wrote on 03/11/10
A excellent western that is one of the least showy westerns you can see. It is all about the character study of the two leads which is incredibly well done. The interactions between the rancher and the outlaw killer are just perfect as are the actors who play them particularly Van Heflin. A great film that spars all acting to a few scenes but when it uses it, it does as effectively as possible. As for a comparison to the remake the remake is more showy and has more action scenes and is enjoyable in its own right. Each actually exceeds at what they are trying to do, although they over did Dan Evans's (Christan Bale) down and outness it has some great action scenes and the leads are very good again with a better supporting cast actually. Crowe is not quite as good as Glenn Ford and Bale is far from Heflin's brilliance. Both are great films though.
Recent Comments
Simon - wrote on 05/20/10 at 02:33 PM CT
3:10 to Yuma Review comment
I agree with everything you said in your review up to your comments on Crowe and Bale. Ford was about as vanilla an actor as you will find in all of his roles and as a villain he barely registers. Crowe is more menacing and interesting on every level. Bale is also more believable and nuanced and thus more sympathetic than Hefflin who is always too good to be true (see Shane.) I liked both films but I think the new one was more engaging.
