3:10 to Yuma Wild West Shootout!
Welcome back! Have you subscribed to my RSS feed yet? Make sure you don't miss anything by getting all Soundtrack Geek posts by Email. Also check out Soundtrack Fans, a new social network for soundtrack fans. Thanks for visiting!
Its high noon, all you can hear is the wind blowing. The icy cold stare from the deadly duellists emphasize the seriousness of the situation. The duellists in this case aren’t Russell Crowe or Glenn Ford, but composers Marco Beltrami and George Duning.
3:10 to Yuma is a western classic from 1957 directed by Delmer Daves, composed by legendary George Duning. Most people probably haven’t heard of him, but he was nominated for 5 Oscars, but never won. You might say he drew blanks. The score to 3:10 to Yuma didn’t get as much recognition as it deserved. About 50 years later it’s Marco Beltrami’s turn to shine as he is nominated for an Oscar for Best Music Original Score with 3:10 to Yuma.
Get your guns ready! Only one man will be standing at the end of this article.
3:10 to Yuma by George Duning is typical of its era, using the oboe as its primary weapon. “There is a lonely train, called the 3:10 to Yuma” goes the lyrics. That’s right! It contains a theme song about the ghosts of outlaws riding by in the sky apparently. It’s a cool addition to this gritty western score which feels very traditional. George Duning doesn’t stray far from the path, as he occasionally throws in a guitar and some strings to back it all up. The cool thing about this score is that there is an underlying theme throughout, a very catchy theme going along with the 3:10 to Yuma. If you like spaghetti western scores and hate everything else, you wouldn’t like this one very much, but to me it feels classic western. All in all, a very good score. Listen to it below:
http://soundtrackgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/yuma57.flv
3:10 to Yuma by Marco Beltrami goes a different route, he tries to make a modern spaghetti western score. Surprisingly there is no resemblance of the George Duning score, the nice theme is gone and replaced with brand new thematic elements. The thing this score is missing is a theme, but it really makes up for it with the powerful drums and strings. It feels skewed and weird, but that’s not a bad thing. There are no lyrics here, just a dark dramatic score to this excellent movie. Fans of the old score will feel disappointed with this score as Marco Beltrami wanted to make this score his own. Imagine if Brian Tyler did it with Rambo what an outcry it would be. Marco Beltrami pulled it off though and there might even be an Oscar for him or will he draw blanks just like George Duning? Listen to it below:
http://soundtrackgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/yuma07.flv
As good as these scores might be, only one man can win. Let the showdown begin!
George Duning:
Soundtrack length: 
Theme: 
Instruments: 
Western feel: 
Composition: 
Marco Beltrami:
Soundtrack length: 
Theme: 
Instruments: 
Western feel: 
Composition: 
George Duning : 
Marco Beltrami : 
It’s official! George Duning drew a blank once again and Marco Beltrami got the better of him. He fired of a shot a split second before George Duning could pull the trigger. The bullet hit him hard, and he fell to the ground. There is a slight grin on Marco’s face and all you can hear is the muttering of shocked spectators and the knocking on wood from the undertaker… There’s a new sheriff in town!
The only man standing: 
MARCO BELTRAMI
[tags] 10 to yuma, 3 10 to yuma, best music, catchy theme, cold stare, cool thing, george duning, glenn ford, high noon, lonely train, marco beltrami, oboe, original score, outlaws, resemblance, russell crowe, seriousness, spaghetti, thematic elements, western score[/tags]
Other articles of interest:
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Soundtrack Seek
Hi there. I loved the remake of this movie and thought the soundtrack fit the bill nicely. It didn’t ever try to be more than it ought to, which is my problem with many soundtracks… IMHO, soundtracks are there to set the mood in the background unobtrusively and sometimes help hold the movie together thematically. All too often the sound balance makes the soundtrack take center stage when it ought not to.
Anyway… Great review! Keep up the great work!
–Fitz
Reply