Coming soon to a video store near you

Several Academy Award hopefuls will be released on DVD during the next few weeks, to take advantage of all the pre-Oscarcast hoopla. But 3:10 to Yuma -- which hits video stores next week -- is the only one set for a January debut.

Westerns ride again

USA Today sees a renaissance for the Western on the horizon as 3:10 to Yuma, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (with Brad Pitt, above) and No Country for Old Men prepare to gallop into megaplexes. Also in USA Today: A DVD guide to Westerns (including the original 1957 3:10 to Yuma) starring the late Glenn Ford.

Will 3:10 arrive even earlier?

First, Lionsgate announced that 3:10 to Yuma, originally set for an Oct. 5 release, would get pushed up for a Sept. 7 opening. Now there's word that the hard-edged Western starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale will get a national sneak preview in theaters throughout North America on Sept. 2. Gee, do you think this means Lionsgate is bullish on the movie's box-office prospects?

First rave for 3:10 to Yuma

Todd McCarthy of Variety, the showbiz bible, has weighed in with the first rave review for 3:10 to Yuma.

The verdict: "3:10 to Yuma is a tense, rugged redo of a film that was pretty good the first time around. Reinforced by a strong central premise, alert performances, a realistic view of the developing Old West and a satisfying dimensionality in its shadings of good and evil, James Mangold's remake walks a fine line in retaining many of the original's qualities while smartly shaking things up a bit." McCarthy waxes enthusiastic about the lead performances by Russell Crowe and Christian Bale -- and singles out for special praise "a wonderfully leathery characterization by Peter Fonda as a supremely tough old bounty hunter."

3:10 to Yuma opens Sept. 7 at theatres and drive-ins everywhere. You can read all about it in the October issue of Cowboys & Indians magazine, which hits newsstands Sept. 4 with a cover story on the eagerly awaited Western.

Poster posting

The marketing gurus at Lionsgate are taking a fairly nervy approach to their poster art for 3:10 to Yuma: No attempt to hide or even soft-pedal the fact that it's a Western, but no close-ups of top-billed Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Instead, a dramatic rear-view of a supporting player -- Ben Foster as Charlie Prince, second-in-command to Crowe's outlaw chief -- in a sepia-toned illustration with a vaguely Sergio Leone-ish look. It's attention-grabbing, to be sure. But will it be audience-attracting?

3:10 will arrive a bit earlier

This just in from Pamela McClintock of Variety: The much-buzzed-about Western 3:10 to Yuma will open Sept. 7 -- not Oct. 5, as originally announced -- so Lionsgate can (a) take more time to launch "a big awards campaign" (i.e., a major push for Oscar consideration), and (b) head off at the pass another star-studded Western, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (which will hit the trail starting Sept. 21.) "We certainly wanted to be the first Western in the marketplace," says Tom Ortenberg, Lionsgate president of theatrical films. Sounds like those reports of rave responses at preview screenings were correct.

Early word on '3:10 to Yuma'

After viewing a preview screening, a correspondent for the Ain't It Cool News website has some things to say about 3:10 to Yuma. And they're all good.

'3:10' due 10/5

Director James Mangold (Walk the Line) tells USA Today that his upcoming remake of 3:10 to Yuma -- set open Oct. 5 at theaters and drive-ins everywhere -- will concentrate on characters, not cliches or conventions. And that, he claims, will set his effort apart from other recent attempts to revive the Western. "Too often," Mangold says, "they try to make every Western in one movie. It's all about the vistas. They don't lock into one person." Mangold's film actually will lock into two people: Christian Bale (above, left) as a reluctantly heroic rancher, and Russell Crowe (right) as a wily outlaw. They don't aim to please each other.