JM "3:10 to Yuma"

One of the most useful ways to see the effect that revisionism can have on a movie is by examining original and remakes of a movie. One prime example of a movie effected by revisionism is the film 3:10 to Yuma which was originally produced in 1957 and later remade in 2007. The concept of revisionism is easily seen in its effect on the idea of family relations. In the original movie family relations is a topic that is very minimally touched upon, while in the remake the family relations aspect proves to be a driving source for motive for one of the main characters Dan Evans.
Dan Evans in the original film is a poor farmer family man who is bound by the idea of masculine duty. Throughout the film Evans strives to prove his masculinity by helping t transport the alpha male character of Ben Wade to the 3:10 train to Yuma. In the remake however, Evans is a former injured war veteran who must work to gain the respect and approval of his oldest son. This difference in family relations is most noticeable because of the way that the two movies begin. The remake unlike the original starts with the foundation of an understanding for the family’s dynamics. In the remake when the Evans family barn is burned to the ground because of the debt that Dan has, we see the disapproval of Dan’s actions in the eyes of his son. By starting with this scene instead of with the stagecoach robbery, it alters the apparent motives for Evans cooperation in escorting Wade to the train to Yuma.
This idea of family relations is further present in the scene where Wade takes the horses from Evans and his sons, in the original the boys tell their mother that there was nothing more the father could have done to stop this from happening, while in the remake the oldest son William is highly critical of his father’s “cowardness”. Throughout the movie’s remake we see the actions of Dan move from the idea of masculine duty to that of fatherly duty and the desire to appease his son’s expectations. In the hotel scene in the remake we learn that Evans was discharged from an injury resulted from friendly fire and is doing this journey in order to redeem himself in his sons eyes. It is this need to make the family proud that Ben Wade builds his respect for Dan off of. In the end of the 2007 film it is this built up respect that in the end makes Wade both kill the remainder of his crew and put himself on the train after Dan is murdered getting him to the trains door. The character of William also takes a much more substantial role in the newer film due to his importance as the motive for Dan's action. In the original he was merely a side character used to support the film instead of containing a key role in the movies importance.
The 1957 alpha male that is seen in Dan Evans is slightly more absent in the newer version. He is less of an alpha male due to his moral compass being clouded by his desire to improve his standings as a father, and not as a man. The violence that he portrays in the 1957 film is made into actions that are seen as reprehensible instead of as something that is chalked up to being part of a man. This evolution in the idea of how violence is perceived is another clear aspect of how revisionism has changed societies association of alpha males with violence. In conclusion, although the story is the same, the violence is present, and the scenes and even some dialogue is the same throughout the films, the actual motives, and social importance’s on male expectations is clearly different. This is clearly seen in Dan Evans transformation from trying to meet masculine expectations, to his desire to be a better father figure.