Product Description

This fine western opens with Van Heflin as a rancher whose family is suffering from the devastatingeffects of a long drought. Heflin needs $200 to build a well, then learns he can obtain the money as a reward for delivering Glenn Ford, a notorious outlaw now in the hands of the law, to the state prison in Yuma, Arizona. Though this will put Heflin in great personal danger, the peaceful man accepts the assignment, knowing what the money will mean to his family. Heflin and Ford hole up in a small hotel in another town while waiting for the train to Yuma. The outlaw begins toying with Heflin's mind, talking in a friendly manner about Heflin's job and financial situation. Playing psychologicalgames, Ford tries to convince Heflin to take $100,000 to look the other way while he escapes. Heflin finds himself in a quandary, desperately needing the money yet being bound by his word to carry out the job. Ford's gang, led by Jaeckel, discovers where their leader is hidden and sets out to rescue him. The town officials abandon Heflin rather than put themselves in danger, leaving the troubled rancher alone to face off with the outlaws. Ford ends up assisting Heflin, helping his captor on the 3:10 to Yuma, explaining, 'I owed you that.' Heflin has come through the ordeal, body and integrityintact, and, as if in answer to this baptism by fire, the skies burst forth with rain, putting an end to the drought.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16182 in DVD
• Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
• Released on: 2007-08-28
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 92 minutes

Amazon.com
Struggling rancher and family man Van Heflin sneaks captured outlaw Glenn Ford out from under the eyes of his gang and nervously awaits the prison train in this tight, taut Western in the High Noon tradition. Adapted from an Elmore Leonard story, this tense Western thriller is boiled down to its essential elements: a charming and cunning criminal, an initially reluctant hero whose courage and resolution hardens along the way, and a waiting game that pits them in a battle of wills and wits. Glenn Ford practically steals the film in one of his best performances ever: calm, cool, and confident, he's a ruthless killer with polite manners and an honorable streak. Director Delmer Daves (Broken Arrow) sets it all in a harsh, parched frontier of empty landscapes, deserted towns, and dust, creating a brittle quiet that threatens to snap into violence at any moment. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

From a time when men had to prove they were men.
'3:10 To Yuma' is a stark monochrome Western that has been praised for its suspense and high moral tone. Van Heflin, in a darker variant on his role in 'Shane', plays a character who picks up where most Westerns leave off. The genre is usually concerned with taming wild loners or men with pasts. rewarding them with the joys of civilisation. Heflin has seen what civilisation really means. He lives on a drought-dry farm with a wife and two children he often fails to feed. The grind of fruitless labour has worn them all down, and Heflin's identity as a man, having been once the greatest shot in these parts, is now undermined by humiliation in front of his family by outlaws stealing his cattle and horses, or forced to beg money from indifferent acquaintances. His wife can't understand that his inability to 'be' a 'man' is the result of the civilisation she represents.

What's a poor honest farmer to do when he sees murderers and thieves throwing money around, drinking their fill, bedding beautiful strangers, and generally living the whooping-it-up life? Glenn Ford is the not-completely-irredeemable leader of a gang of devoted sadists so feared throughout the region that no lawman dares touch him. Such men are usually let down by their sexual desire, and when he leaves his gang to schmooze a barmaid, he is captured by the locals. Knowing that they will be no match for the manpower or ruthlessness of the gang when they return to rescue Ford, the sheriff plans a decoy, which will need two foolishly brave men to take the bandit to the train station at Contention City. The initally reluctant Heflin accepts the job when a farm-saving reward of $200 is offered.

In many ways, 'Yuma' works against the conventions of the Western as it seeks, like the hero to avoid action and the inevitable climactic shoot-out for as long as possible. The film's centre-piece is a lengthy, stagy sequence in a hotel room in which Heflin holds Ford prisoner - potential ponderousness is offset by the terrific acting of the two aging actors, one goading and testing the other, tempting with crooked offers that are all too tempting; the other struggling manfully to resist. At first, Heflin's taking the job is strictly economical - he needs the money. Then it becomes ethical, a stand against socially disruptive forces threatening the community. It is also a test of the masculinity that has long been buried by family duties. Finally, it is an existential struggle, with Ford as the man Heflin could easily become (and perhaps once was?), and his men as the instruments of inexorable Fate the farmer must face and outwit on his own, stripped of support, just as Man must eventually face Death.

The film's mise-en-scene is suitably austere, the black-and-white cinematography emphasising sharp contrasts, the alienating outlines of buildings and landscapes, and the vulnerable men and women who walk through them - sometimes watching 'Yuma' is like leafing slowly through an album of stark 19th century photographs taken of the West. The 'city' in which the film is mostly played out initially seems like a ghost town, and a surreal funeral sequence interrupting, or accentuating, the tension, gives a quality of dream. Delmer Daves' direction is not self-effacing - every shot is meticulously, often heavily composed, character patterns structured in frames creating a sense of constriction and claustrophobia that serves to turn the plot's screws. What saves the film from being just another superfical 'High Noon' 'allegory' is the sudden bursts of violence rupturing the tense silence, and the ultimate refusal to wholeheartedly embrace doom-and-gloom existentialism.

A Great Forgotten Western
When speaking of the great Westerns such as SHANE, THE SEARCHERS and HIGH NOON, 3:10 TO YUMA should definitely be mentioned. All of these films came out in the 50's, but 3:10 has somehow been forgotten.

Van Heflin plays a farmer suffering from a drought. He is a quiet, seemingly passive man who becomes a reluctant hero. Heflin agrees to hold criminal Glenn Ford in a hotel room for $200 just long enough for the train to Yuma to leave at 3:10. Ford's gang, however, learns about the situation and plans to take action. The characters and performances by Ford and Heflin make the film work. Heflin is outwardly reluctant to take this job, but his strength lies within. The struggle within him is evident: Here's a family man who can save his farm or do what he knows is right. Ford, the criminal, is alluring, almost charming. He's a con artist and a cold-blooded killer, but you can't help liking him just a little. Sure, he's a criminal, but not your typical stereotyped Western bad guy. The suspense and tension waiting for the train rival that of HIGH NOON (just without the clock!). Even if you don't like Westerns, you'll like 3:10 TO YUMA.

Magnificent Letdown
Firstly the four stars are for this wonderful film and the performances of it's cast.
On the flipside I am extremely disappointed at what purports to be a "special edition" I can't for the life of me see what the addition of a trailer and a teaser trailer for the remake makes this so "special". Where are the commentaries, documentaries or featurettes? C'mon guys this is what DVD is all about. Vanilla release are a shameful waste of a brilliant versatile format.It's a disgrace. This is false advertising at its worst and shame on Sony for trying to squeeze a few last bucks out of this version before the remake hits the shelves. Those behind this "special edition" should themselves be put on the 3.10 to Yuma.
If you don't own the movie already then you may wish to buy because I would'nt hold out much hope for an Ultimate edition (they might add a photo gallery!)If you're looking for something extra here well there is always that controversial new cover art!