Russell Crowe has been cast in the Glenn Ford part in this remake of the 1957 western. Christian Bale is in negotiations to play Van Heflin's part.
This may be good, the original is. It has it's share of gun play but the real story is the battle of wills between the outlaw and the small time rancher.
Here's a little review I did for the original.
http://www.badmovies.org/bbs/read.php?2,80241,80241#msg-80241 (http://www.badmovies.org/bbs/read.php?2,80241,80241#msg-80241)
Should be interesting just based on the casting choices....
I'm always glad when Westerns have a resurgence, but wonder if they can can be done well in this age of CGI, computer assisted wild camera moves, and wire fu. I was on the fence about "Open Range" and am looking forward to catching "The Proposition" on video since I read so much good stuff about it. Now if they want to use this stuff to remake or offer a new take on spaghetti westerns, I think that could be interesting.
But the casting for this remake does peak my interest, Two actors who have some real acting chops and are capable of good action work as well. Since the original was a psychological western, would a well done remake appeal to a younger audience? What next, remakes of the Anthony Mann/JImmy Stewart westerns?
I want to know who's going to play the Richard Jaeckel part.
Westerns are one of my favorite genera, but haven't we had enough remakes? Do we have to start remaking westerns now? But having said that, I'd favor a reversal of roles. Russell Crowe taking the Van Heflin part, and Christian Bale taking the Glenn Ford part. I'd think it'd work better.