3:10 to Yuma JY

The remake of 3:10 to Yuma made in 2007 has many of the qualities of a revisionist film. By looking at both the film from 1957 and the film from 2007 you can see some major differences that make this film a revisionist film. For one the weapons and technology in this film are much more advanced than in the original. The explosions are bigger and one of the cowboys actually has a scope on his gun which wasn’t seen in the other film. Also most revisionist films are more violent than older westerns and this remake was no exception. Every kill seemed more gruesome than they were in the original movie and it seemed as if more people were killed in the remake. Also in this film as in most revisionist films we see the emergence of an antihero. In this film Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) would be the antihero. He is labeled this because although he is a murder and a thief towards the end of the movie he begins to show a hero side when he kills his men after they killed Dan Evans. Wade makes a special bond with Evans and it was almost as if the two became friends at the end of the movie, which usually isn’t seen between the hero and villain.

In both the original and the remake Dan Evans is definitely the alpha male cowboy. But when watching the remake I noticed that Dan seemed more emotional than in the original. At the end of the movie Evans opens up to Wade and tells him the real reason he is so determined to get him on that train. This opening up of feelings is not usually seen by the alpha male and makes him seem vulnerable. Cowboys in the older westerns never would have opened up like this because of the fact that it did make them vulnerable. Also Evans seems more violent and better with his gun in the remake because he kills a lot more men than in the 1957 film.

I believe part of why these films are so different is because of the time period they are made in. In the remake made in 2007, the world is a much different place with the advancements in technology. Wars are becoming more violent and gruesome just like the 2007 film was more violent and gruesome than its original. Also in the time period of the remake the world is become a more open place which explains why Dan Evans is more emotional and opens up to Ben Wade.