3:10 to Yuma BD

The film 3:10 to Yuma is made at two different points in history; the original in 1957 and the remake in 2007. This plays a large role in how the stories in the films are told and shown. There are many differences in the two films, which is due to the fact that the 2007 version is a revisionist portrayal of the film. The violence is depicted in very different ways throughout both films. In the original, there is very little violence until a few shootouts at the end of the film, but do not create much suspense overall. In the remake, violence is a constant factor throughout the movie; from the very beginning to when the credits roll. The violence in the remake also creates suspense throughout the film because the viewer is constantly on edge as to when Ben Wade will kill another or use violence in order to escape his captors. Another main difference between the violence in both movies is the visuals. In the original, the death does not look real and it does not have a great impact on the viewer when a character is shot. However, in the remake, violence is much more accurately portrayed. There is suffering shown after a character is shot, and blood and gore is a much larger part of each shot.

Another difference is the depiction of the antihero in the western. In the original, Wade is a much less favorable character in the eyes of the viewer. He does not have qualities that the audience will feel sympathetic toward him unlike the way the character in the 2007 remake does. In the remake, throughout the film, Wade becomes a much more likeable character throughout the film, which climaxes at the end when he tries to save Dan Evans , which fails, and ultimately kills his entire gang for killing his new found “friend.”

The alpha male cowboy is also shown differently in both films. In the original, Dan Evans plays a much more traditional role of the alpha male cowboy. He does not show much emotion and spends most of the film out in the wilderness instead of in his home. He also is only completing his task to do the right thing. In the remake, Evans is a much more vulnerable alpha male cowboy. He has a weakness throughout the story in that he is a recent amputee from the civil war and is not respected by his oldest son. Even at the end of the film, Evans tells Wade that his reason for taking on the impossible task of making sure he got to the train was for him to finally be the hero, which he never has been in his life. This will ultimately make his son finally respect him as a man. This sense of emotion is not generally shown coming from the alpha male cowboy and shows him in a much more modern, real light as a character.