Blu-ray Review: Gorgeous Transfer For Criterion’s ‘3:10 to Yuma’

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CHICAGO – A simple man tackles an unspeakably evil one. Such is the premise of so many movies of all genres that it would be impossible to count them all. Perhaps in no genre is this structure more popular than the Western, a category in which we love to watch average family men beat the fastest gun in the West. This explains the lasting popularity of Delmer Daves’s “3:10 to Yuma,” a flick I still find relatively slight but appreciate more completely now that I can see it in a gorgeously transferred, 4K-restored version from The Criterion Collection.

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-ray rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

Playing against type, Glenn Ford must have been a shock to audiences in 1957 as no one would have expected him to play the violent, murderous outlaw who rattles the world of a family man played with gentle confidence by Van Hefflin. Based on a story by Elmore Leonard (who still impacts the genre over half-a-century later with “Justified” really being a modern Western on FX), “3:10 to Yuma” has a refined balance of streamlined storytelling and heartfelt characters. (The streamlined aspect was what the bloated remake missed.) The 4K restoration on the Criterion Blu-ray is almost too good with the black-and-white cinematography looking nearly like digital photography. It’s startling and displays more use of shadows and light than I’m willing to bet most fans of this movie even thought were in play. I never considered “Yuma” as gorgeous of a film as I do now.

Special features are remarkably slight for a 2013 Criterion Blu-ray with nothing more than a pair of interviews with Leonard and Glenn Ford’s son and biographer, Peter. I love how Criterion refuses to pad out their releases with filler special features but wished there was a bit more here to appreciate.

3:10 to Yuma was released on May 14, 2013
3:10 to Yuma was released on May 14, 2013
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

Synopsis:
In this beautifully shot, psychologically complex western, Van Heflin is a mild-mannered cattle rancher who takes on the task of shepherding a captured outlaw (played with cucumber-cool charisma by Glenn Ford) to the train that will deliver him to prison. This apparently simple mission turns into a nerve-racking cat-and-mouse game that tests each man’s particular brand of honor. Based on a story by Elmore Leonard, 3:10 To Yuma is a thrilling, humane action movie, directed by the supremely talented studio filmmaker Delmer Daves with intense feeling and precision.

Special Features:
o New Interviews With Author Elmore Leonard and Actor Glenn Ford’s Son And Biographer, Peter Ford
o Booklet Featuring An Essay By Critic Kent Jones

“3:10 to Yuma” was released on Criterion Blu-ray and DVD on May 14, 2013. It stars Glenn Ford and Van Hefflin.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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