Today I introduce a 2007 release of action, plot, western film: Decisive Battle 310
Photographed by the United States. Directed by James Mangold
Starring Russell Crowe .... Ben Wade
Christian Bale .... Dan Evans
Logan Lerman .... William Evans
Dallas Roberts .... Grayson Butterfield
Ben Foster .... Charlie Prince
Peter Fonda .... Byron McElroy
Vanessa Shaw Vinessa Shaw .... Emma Nelson
Alan Tudyk .... Doc Potter
Luce Rains .... Marshal Weathers
Gretchen Moore Mol .... Alice Evans
Lennie Loftin .... Glen Hollander
Rio Alexander .... Campos
Johnny Whitworth .... Darden
Shawn Howell .... Jackson (as Shawn D. Howell)
Pat Ricotti .... Jorgensen
Ramon Frank .... Kinter
Deryle J. Lujan .... Nez (as Deryle Lujan)
James 'Scotty' Augare .... Nose (ace James Augure)
Brian Duffy .... Sutherland
Jason Rodriguez .... Tighe
Kevin Durand .... Tucker
Chris Browning .... Crawley
Chad Brummett .... Kane
Forrest Fyre .... Walter Boles
Luke Wilson .... Zeke
Benjamin Petry .... Mark Evans as Ben Petry
Arron Shiver .... Bill Moons
Sean Hennigan .... Marshal Will Doane
Girard Swan .... Deputy Harvey Pell
Christopher Berry .... Deputy Sam Fuller
David Oliver .... Evil Bartender
Jason Henning .... Train Clerk
Barbara Bartleson .... Contention Woman (uncredited)
James Blackburn .... Gunfighter (uncredited)
Brian Brown .... Bad Guy #1 (uncredited)
Trevor Coppola .... William Marsh (uncredited)
Harp Corrigan .... Bisbee Townsman (uncredited)
Hugh Elliot .... Gunman (uncredited)
Darren Gibson .... Gunman (uncredited)
Kc King .... Contention Gunman (uncredited)
Melinda Kramer .... Bisbee Townsperson (uncredited)
Brent Lambert .... Merchant (uncredited)
Billy Lockwood .... Gunman (uncredited)
Brian T Short .... Enforcer (uncredited)
J. Nathan Simmons .... Town Drunk (uncredited)
Art Usher .... Contention Gunman (uncredited)
Movie Synopsis: A drought has plunged the farm into unprecedented economic difficulties. The farmer racked his brains and tried everything he could to get through it, and eventually all the difficulties boiled down to one thing – money. Only with enough money can new wells be dug. And that money is not a small amount for a farm that has struggled to survive the drought to the point of running out of food. To raise the money, the farmer decided to take on a dangerous mission to help the government transport a dangerous felon to yuma prison. Ready for all possible contingencies, he embarked on a journey. But he did not expect that when they met each other, it was not a stiff fist, but a tempting sugar-coated shell - stolen money, a far more reward than the government's bounty. The condition is naturally to release this criminal who is burdened with a serious crime. The temptation of money, the constraints of morality, the authority of the government and the hardships of the farm, all kinds of external factors instantly rush into the protagonist's brain, and the good and evil thoughts are constantly conflicting with each other, and he must make a decision immediately. Where will the protagonist go? Is there a deadly conspiracy behind the dangerous temptations? What will happen to the story? ......
When good and evil are nakedly isolated, they temporarily form close alliances and partners... Dan Evans was an upright, resilient man who lived an ordinary, conformist life, and naturally had no amazing feats or wonderful adventures worth showing off. As a sharpshooter in the former Union Army, Dan was given a small compensation for breaking a leg in the Civil War, and he took his wife Alice and two sons to live in Arizona, where he ran a medium-sized ranch. However, the harsh weather conditions in the west and the unscrupulous corruption and corruption have completely shattered Dan's good wishes for a new life. Coupled with a great drought that struck Dana's already too barren land, his herds died in large numbers, and Dan was in debt, and his family was in danger of dying of thirst. In addition, the bearer of the deed on the land where the ranch was located wanted to build a railroad here for a huge profit, so he cheekily tried everything to get rid of the Evans family – which undoubtedly made the plight they faced worse.
Time passed bit by bit, Dan strongly continued to work hard with his own hands, longing for the day when the goddess of luck could take care of himself, but never mentioned in front of others how much pain he had silently overcome that ordinary people could not bear. However, he sadly realizes that in the mind of his eldest son, Will, the glorious image of his father is slowly fading, and this 14-year-old boy has long been full of infinite yearning for the barbaric western world full of thieves and villains described in the fictional novel, so he also looks down on his father's "cowardice"... Even his wife, Alice, began to question her husband's repeated tolerances.
Just as Dan is in the grip of life, fate really throws him a chance: Ben Vader, the most notorious criminal in the West, is captured, and he adds a lot of legend to his past by relying on cruel roadblocks and rogue character... As the best strategist and leader of nature, Ben led his most trusted lieutenant, Charlie Prince, and a group of loyal men to the West, most of whom operated around the South Pacific Railroad, seizing large amounts of property and committing irreparable murders in multiple robberies.
So, while Ben Vader did get arrested, it was the most difficult thing for him to actually get a just trial. From the moment Ben was brought to the town to be supervised, the guards guarding him were constantly attacked by his brothers... The South Pacific Railroad representative, Grayson Butterfield, offered a reward for volunteers and formed an escort team to take Ben to the town of Contansen, a journey of almost three days in between. Because only in Contansen would there be a train dedicated to transporting prisoners, it would send Ben to Yuma, Arizona, where he would be tried in public in federal court.
Seizing the only chance to save the farm and his family, Dan volunteered to join the escort team. The captain of the escort team is experienced bounty hunter Byron Mike Elroy, a lustful guy and Ben Vader who seem to have some personal grudges to resolve... Other members of the escort team include Tucker, a local gangster; Docco Potter, a mild-mannered veterinarian, is also a pacifist against violence.
However, even when handcuffed and shackled, Ben Vader is still dangerous, because beneath his charismatic and attractive exterior lies a heart that is good at guessing others, even the tiniest weakness of human nature, which cannot escape his eyes. So Ben has been looking for an opportunity to either escape or take revenge, and he will not just give up.
During the three-day journey to Contensen, the number of members of the escort team was shrinking... This forced Dan to rediscover the power sealed in his body, so that when Ben and Dan, two extreme opposites that came entirely from morality, tested each other, they found common ground in each other, and under the pressure of the environment, they formed a close alliance that was unexpectedly different.
As the train whistles towards Contanson, Dan's original intention to save the ranch becomes deeper and more meaningful: he not only rediscovers himself, but also teaches his son what a real man is.
Average review score: 7.8
Behind the scenes
Fifty years ago, a Western called "Duel in Yuma Town" (3:10 to Yuma 1957) was a success by focusing on the protagonist's mental game rather than the savage gunfight in traditional Westerns. The film is slow-paced, but it doesn't feel protracted and lengthy at all. The delicate lens wraps the wild western landscape in a chic black and white color like a stage set to set off the same subtle and complex character psychology. In a relatively confined space, the farmer and the murderer engage in a spiritual war of good and evil in a slightly oppressive and tense atmosphere, a war without smoke that can touch the nervous nerves of the audience. In addition to the plot, the portrayal of the characters and the psychological expression of the three points of the film by Van Heflin and Glenn Ford, two early powerful movie stars, are also a highlight of the film. At that time, the film received rave reviews and became a classic endorsement of a Western.
Fifty years later, director James Mangold has put the classics back on the screen. Same title, same plot, same psychological exploration route. I don't know what breakthroughs the film will have in other aspects than the previous film in addition to replacing the black and white film with color.
Speaking of the director of the film, if you talk about the number of works, James Mangold's qualifications as a director can only be regarded as a small word. Coupled with the fact that the film has only 7 feature films in total, it is really not very intimidating, but this does not prevent him from becoming a new favorite of a potential drama genre director.
In 2005, one of his "walk the lines" not only received five Oscar nominations, but also put the young Reese Witherspoon on the throne. Prior to that, in 1999, his "Girl, Interrupted" helped idol Angelina Jolie win the only little golden man to date , Best Supporting Actress. Such a director who can win the role is naturally the object of pursuit by the movie stars. It is said that before the film started, Tom Cruise had expressed his intention to play the male one in the film. Presumably, he also wanted to rewrite the embarrassing history of three nominations without a single gold man in the account, and came to dip the blessing of James Mangold. However, in the end, because of the blocking time, I had to endure the pain of cutting love. However, this was a pleasure for Russell Crow, who had been chasing the director for a year for this role, and it was also a kung fu that paid off, and Atango's withdrawal finally made Russell Crowe get his wish.
In fact, Russell Crowe's name is not at all smaller than Atango. The 2000 Oscar winner from New Zealand (Gladiator) has won enough trophies at other big and small film awards in addition to the little golden man to make a pair of Chinese chess. The experience of wandering and rock musicians in his early years also gave him a unique lonely king temperament, and the melancholy hidden killing eyes and rough figure were to some extent more in line with the character image in the film than Tang Handsome Brother. In addition, russell Crowe, as a popular idol, is not ambiguous in his acting skills, in addition to the gladiator who is guaranteed by the golden man, his leading role in "A beautiful mind" that received an Oscar nomination is also remarkable. I expect that next year's Oscar 80th birthday feast will also be indispensable russell Crowe......
Short review of the film
Once upon a time, American movies gave Chinese audiences the impression of the Wild West, cowboys and muskets. When the door of the country first opened, a group of Westerns represented by "Dancing with Wolves" opened a free window for Chinese film fans in the long-term exploration of the secret room. It can be said that it is precisely because of the movie that the American West has become the Chinese the outpost war that first learned about the United States. Now this long-lost western complex is bound to be promoted by this classic remake.
If there is no breakthrough, then ask the director not to draw too many snakes and add enough, maintaining the level of the original work can be applauded. Compared with the previous film, which is only 90 minutes long, this film also has the advantage of narrative space, in fact, the advantages of 50 years of film development to today's film shooting are not only the loose length, technology, performance, on-site scheduling, publicity, etc. are not the same as the era of the previous work. Therefore, just maintaining the level of the previous game is obviously not at least not enough to satisfy the demanding film critics. And remaking a classic means a kind of responsibility, let's wait and see how James Mangold pays tribute to his childhood idol.
Then again, in such an era of yin and yang, what we need is not excess hormones or perverted superpowers, for the education and training of the next generation of men, it is precisely such a rough western melodrama to establish some realistic image of a man who does not fall to the wind. I hope that this film can lead a wave of Westerns, and educate the current cream and white-faced people from the screen what is the real man...
One sentence comment
A great old-fashioned Western, but shot in a modern cinematic way. The film is a very good example, and there are some feelings that can never be abandoned. - "The Word of a Family"
I don't know why, James Mangold's films are always gray-headed, and this one is no exception. - Journal of Tendencies
James Mangold has completely transformed the Western-themed genre film, but unfortunately there is nothing new in the plot, and the gun battle scene is boring. - The New York News
Russell Crowe and Kristen Bell were two of the best actors of their generation, and their acting talents were well developed and utilized here. — About website
◎Behind the scenes
【A New Era of Western Cinema】
The short story by Elmore Leonard titled "The Town of Duel Yuma" was originally published in a Western magazine in 1953, and almost 4 years later, the story was brought to the big screen, directed by Delmer Daves and written by Halsted Welles, with a plot that was too simple to be true: a farmer in desperate need of money, A felon was voluntarily escorted to a train for a justice trial for a bounty.
Director James Mangold was 17 years old when he first saw the Western, called "Duel in The Town of Juma," but the film left a deep impression that he could never erase for the rest of his life: "I was completely conquered by it because this story raises many complex questions about morality, courage, honor, and family that have no clear answers." The characters of Ben Vader and Dan Evans are also not simply good and bad people, and their relationship not only hides an element of potential violence, but also a claustrophobic fear that is particularly prevalent among Westerners, as if forcing a character who is completely on the opposite side to become extremely intimate and close. Inspired by the original Film, The Town of Yuma, Mangold made his second directorial work, Police Empire (1997), starring Sylvester Stallone, about how a humble small-town sheriff subdues a group of corrupt cops from New York. He said: "'Police Empire' was shot in the same pattern as 'Duel in Yuma Town', in fact, the name of the sheriff in the film, Freddie Heflin, is also taken from Van Heflin... He played Dan Evans in the original Duel yuma Town. ”
When James Mangold shot Deadly ID for Columbia, which owned the rights to The Town of Juma, he first had the idea of remaking the film: "I loved the story so much that I thought, why not really reshoot it with modern cinematic techniques?" Sometimes, the most attractive is often the most mysterious, and for me, pure Western cinema has been 'abandoned' for almost 10 years, but for the American film industry, it is still one of the most important components of it. ”
And James Mangold's long-time partner, producer Cathy Konrad, was also more excited about the idea than ever, and she watched the original "Duel in Yuma Town" when she was making "Police Empire", and she thought that even today's audiences would appreciate this story, because it was basically about how an ordinary person re-examined himself in a harsh environment:" I think the audience will connect the heroes in the story with real life, and when people face some difficulties and struggles in the West, the attraction will invisibly double: to find themselves, to choose land, to build a family. And when a problem arises, there can never be a simple solution, and you have to dig deep into your emotions and think about what your problem is. Perhaps the era background is 50 years ago in the past, but the themes inside are still very modern. ”
Since James Manggaard was unable to escape from his screenwriting job on "Moving Forward", he and Cassie Conrad brought in a duo of writers, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, to start writing the screenplay for The Town of Juma. While both Mangold and Conrad were fascinated by Halstead Wells's original screenplay, they also hoped that the three-day trip to the West would be more impactful and dramatic in the new version of the film. Together with Brant and Haas, they carefully designed the route of Ben Vader and the escort team, and at the same time went into the western mountains, directed the staff to blow up the rocks there, and built a transcontinental railway... In addition, they have created new characters for the new story, including Byron McElroy, a bounty hunter who has clashed with Ben Vader in the past, Brant said: "We all really liked the original film, so we needed to find a way to make this story acceptable to modern audiences." Mangold's request was, 'Make it tougher, make it more real.' ’”
Life in the West depicted in The Town of Duel Yuma is a world of violence and corruption, a place where black and white are reversed, so that a charismatic but ruthless murderer like Ben Vader can not only get a good living space, but also create a legendary history, becoming the protagonist of Dan Evans's eldest son Will's favorite glorified western novel... Derek Haas said, "Ben was rough and charming, and it felt like a modern rock star." Ben's deadly and dangerous appeal perpetuates a core content that was not in the original film, namely "idolatry", so in order to flesh out the theme further, it is necessary to enrich the character of Will Evans, who appears in the original book a handful of times. James Mangold said: "We designed a lot of scenes specifically for this character that were not originally there, and this 14-year-old boy was completely fascinated by Ben, so he secretly left the house and joined the escort team."
◎Tidbits
In fact, director James Mangold has always thought that the perfect person to play Ben Vader is none other than Russell Crowe. So when Tom Cruise voluntarily quit the crew, everything turned around, Crowe joined, and the film began smoothly.
Russell Crowe, director James Mangold, and producer Cassie Conrad unanimously recommended Kristen Bell as Dan Evans.
When Tom Cruise didn't quit, his opponent was Eric Barner.
A week before the scheduled shooting ended, a grotesque snowstorm suddenly occurred, and as a result, the town that should have been hit by drought had piled up two feet of snow, and the workers had to shovel the snow clean, and there were 6-foot-high snow piles everywhere in the camera's view, and the last 6 days of shooting were completed under the snow pile.
The film was funded by the New Mexico Film Investment Program.
◎ Wonderful dialogue
Ben Wade: It's probably cheaper just to let me rob the damned thing.
Ben Vader: It's probably cheaper than asking me to go and rob something cursed.
Butterfield: Twenty-two robberies, over four hundred thousand dollars in losses.
Ben Wade: Ya'll notice he didn't mention any of the lives I've taken?
Butterfield: 22 robberies, more than $100,000 in stolen money.
Ben Vader: Did you notice? He didn't seem to mention that I had also killed a lot of people.
Ben Wade: So, boys - where we headed?
Byron McElroy: Taking you to the 3:10 to Yuma day after tomorrow.
Tucker: Should'nt've told him that.
Ben Wade: Relax, friend. Now if we get separated, I'll know where to meet up.
Ben Vader: So, gentlemen, where are we going?
Byron Mike Elroy: Take you to catch the train to the town of Yuma at 3:00 the day after tomorrow.
Tucker: We shouldn't have told him this.
Ben Vader: Take it easy, friend, so that if we go apart, I know where to meet.
Alice Evans: He's a killer, Daniel.
Dan Evans: Then someone oughta have the decency to bring him to justice.
Alice Evans: Dan, he's a murderer.
Dan Evans: That's why he needs to be escorted to justice.
Dan Evans: You say one more word, I'll cut you down right here.
Ben Wade: I like this side of you, Dan.
Dan Evans: If you say one more word, I'll end up with you now.
Ben Vader: Dan, I just like you.
Dan Evans: You're so sure that your crew's comin' to get you?
Byron McElroy: They're lost without him, like a pack of dogs without a master.
Ben Wade: Sure as God's vengeance, they're comin'.
Dan Evans: Are you so sure your people will come to your rescue?
Byron McElroy: They would get lost without him, like a bunch of dogs without owners.
Ben Vader: They're definitely coming.
Ben Wade: Just you left, Dan. Just you and your boy.
Ben Vader: Only you stay, Dan, just you and your son.
Charlie Prince: This town's gonna burn!
Charlie Prince: This town will boil!
William Evans: Call them off!
Ben Wade: Why should I?
William Evans: Because you're not all bad.
Ben Wade: Yes, I am.
Will Evans: Tell them to go!
Ben Vader: Why do I do this?
Will Evans: Because you're not that bad.
Ben Vader: No, I'm really bad.
Dan Evans: Just remember, it's your old man that hauled Ben Wade to that station... when nobody else would.
Dan Evans: Remember, it was your dad who brought Ben Vader to the train station... No one else can do it.
Ben Wade: I've always liked you Byron, but even bad men love they mommas.
Ben Vader: Byron, I really like you. But even the bad guys love their moms.
Ben Wade: Women will do things you'd never imagine.
Doc Potter: They'll give you a disease you'd never imagine.
Ben Vader: Women will always do things you wouldn't imagine.
Dowko Potter: They also bring you diseases that you can't imagine.