STUDIO: Walt Disney Video
MSRP: $12.99
RATED: R
RUNNING TIME: 130 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• The Making of
• An Ensemble Cast
• Making an Authentic Western
• Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
• Trailers, TV Spots
The Pitch
I’m still your huckleberry.
“Pardon me, but I totally forgot I was even in this movie.”
Cast: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Stephen Lang
Director: George P. Cosmatos (Leviathan)
The Nutshell
Based on arguably the most famous gunfight in American history, Tombstone (loosely) follows the true story of Wyatt Earp’s run-ins with the Cowboys, a ruthless gang of criminals led by outlaw Curly Bill Brocius. Earp (Russell) reluctantly agrees to clean up Tombstone after the Cowboys terrorize the city; luckily, he’s got Doc Holliday and the rest of the Earp clan for backup. Val Kilmer’s scene-stealing Doc Holliday sets iron sights on rival gunslinger Johnny Ringo (Biehn) while Earp buffaloes Stephen Lang, seduces fancy ladies, and basically proves that he’s invincible.
The fourth Earp brother, Scraps Earp, eagerly awaits his namesake
The Lowdown
Tombstone isn’t going for accuracy, subtlety, or grit. Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like a western. Wyatt Earp may have indeed buffaloed* several criminals, and the gunfight at the O.K. Corral might have played out something like what happens in the movie, but Tombstone‘s a 90’s action film above all else. And it’s one of the best ’90s action films out there, thanks mostly to an incredibly entertaining cast. This may be damning with faint praise, since the ’90s weren’t a golden age for any genre, but Tombstone is still worth watching again, especially on Blu-Ray.
Kurt Russell’s genteel, smart, and occasionally furious Wyatt Earp might be the most watchable version of the character ever. The movie loves to jolt us with Earp’s unexpected outbursts of violence, and Russell’s rageface – see the last screencap for an example of this – is both hilarious and effective. He’d be the movie’s best asset if it weren’t for Val Kilmer, who plays Holliday as a witty, sopping-wet deadeye who perpetually oozes both charm and lung fluids. Whenever Kilmer’s on screen, the Tombstone universe stops and immediately begins to revolve around him. It’s as if the rest of the cast is just as mesmerized as we are.
Bill Paxton, Sam Elliott, and Michael Rooker round out the rest of Earp’s crew. They’re not quite as memorable as Earp or Holliday, but they give Russell and Kilmer lots of room to have fun with their characters. If you haven’t seen Tombstone in years or are watching it for the first time, you’ll notice that it’s an amazingly broad actor time capsule. Billy Zane, Terry O’Quinn, Charlton Heston and even frigging Jason Priestly make appearances. I’m still scratching my head over what Jason Priestly was even doing in this movie, but there you go.
Earp’s boys are easy to root for, but Tombstone‘s villains aren’t slouches, either. Powers Boothe and Michael Biehn play good-sociopath/bad-sociopath as they menace the town, and do a good enough job mirroring Russell and Kilmer. Thomas Haden Church pops up as a doomed Clanton thug alongside Stephen Lang’s underrated turn as Ike Clanton, who might even be Tombstone‘s most memorable villain. Unlike Boothe and Biehn, Lang’s character is an unpredictable coward, which means he’d be more likely to shoot you in the back than challenge you to a duel. His filthy miner’s beard almost deserves a separate credit.
It’s also a gorgeous movie, especially in 1080p. There’s a clarity and clean-ness to Tombstone‘s visual tone that makes it feel modern. This works best when characters are framed amidst Saguaro Cacti and blooming Spanish Brooms, but it has the downside of making the film a tad sterile. At any rate, everything looks good, and on Blu-Ray, you could convince someone that Tombstone just came out of theaters.
While the characters and performances are reason enough to give Tombstone a watch, the story does have a few problems. It hardly deviates from the reluctant-hero-saves-the-day template, which is doubly frustrating since the real Wyatt Earp wasn’t a reluctant hero at all. We watch as Earp slowly realizes that he needs to save the town by stepping up to the Cowboys, which builds to the iconic mid-film gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Once Wyatt Earp dons his official badge and hunts down [spoiler] Boothe’s Curly Bill, the movie loses focus. Biehn’s Ringo character isn’t nearly as powerful as either Earp or Holliday, so the third act showdown doesn’t have the impact and tension of the O.K. Corral fight. Wyatt Earp’s daredevil takedown of archnemesis Curly Bill, which has Russel basically activating some old-west cheat code and walking through a shootout while yelling “NO! NO! NO!” verges on silly. With all the liberties the film took with history, like the entirely fabricated assault on the Mexican wedding party, it’s too bad that Tombstone couldn’t find a way to sustain the peak it found at the O.K. battle.
Earp’s love interest sideplot is flimsy and obligatory. It’s hard to care about Dane Delaney’s Josephine character; she doesn’t drive the story and exists solely as a plot prize for Earp. Jason Priestly has a featured role as a member of the Cowboys’ entourage. I touched on this earlier, but his character has no clear purpose in the film.
Even with its problems, Tombstone is still a lot of fun to watch. It’s one of those movies that’s hard to tear away from when you stumble upon it while channel surfing, because it’s littered with memorable scenes and fun performances throughout. It may be a bubblegum western, but it’s a damn good one.
The transfer is terrific. Tombstone probably looks better now than when you saw it in theaters. The DTS audio track doesn’t disappoint, either.
It’s also full of various extras, including three making-of docs and a brief look at the actual Tombstone O.K. Corral battle. Fun fact: the characters in the film spend upwards of 120 shells in the O.K. Corral gunfight, but the actual fighters only used 30. The real battle lasted barely 30 seconds.
If there’s anything off about the package, it’s that Cosmatos’ commentary track included on the last DVD release doesn’t show up on the Blu-Ray. You’ll have to hunt down the DVD if you want to check it out. Other than that, it’s a fine package for a really entertaining film.
8.5 out of 10
*To thwack an opponent on the head with the butt of one’s revolver
10 comments
I'm surprised no mention is made of Kurt Russell's somewhat recent claims that he was the director of this movie — that Cosmatos ("comatos" direction?) was a boozy Yes Man whose involvement on the film was predicated on his willingness to defer to Russell's vision. Russell said he waited for Cosmatos to die before making the claim so to spare him the humiliation. I truly cannot think Russell would be so low or have a reason to make these claims without it being true. Also adds some sense to why he as given a crack at editing 3000 Miles to Graceland. KR said he intends to recut Tombstone to a better film than the one we've seen…that it pales in comparison to what it could have been. I look forward to the day that happens. I'm a tad skeptical. BTW I read this, I believe, in a frigging cigar magazine or something like that. It would make a wonderful column for Devin to write about.
Holy crap I never realized Stephen Lang was Ike!
Priestly had a subplot where he kills a Cowboy to avenge his dead friend. It's the one deleted scene from the laserdisc that didn't make it into the director's cut. Maybe they're waiting for the inevitable double-dip to include all the extra footage.
bpvalentine, i recently had the opportunity of putting that same question to Stephen Lang myself and here's what he said, now granted Lang was a booze hound for most of the shoot, so take what he says with a pinch of salt, it does sound like Cosmatos could have been a "yes" man to Russell.
"Well, Kevin Jarr who wrote the film – and wrote it brilliantly, I might add – was relieved of directing duties about three weeks into the film. So the film gets marked lousy. They coulda shut us down, but Kurt interceded, and of course he has a long relationship with Disney. Kurt went to bat for the movie, said 'We want to do this movie'. It's not easy to find a director to take over mid-stream this way, but the late George Cosmotos came in, and he is a shooter. Marvellous with a camera. But he admitted himself that he didn't know a whole lot about Tombstone in 1880, and he was learning on the job. Everyone of us who were in the show were well-versed in it, and knew the story well, and there was a very very strong, in every sense, group of actors.
So while it's George's movie, George directed it, no question, the principal players, principal actors, with Kurt being certainly the first among equals, were never shy about weighing in on what needed to be done. It all worked out fine."
I watch this movie frequently, and knowing the history of what actually happened, as well as the little notes about who the characters truly were really adds to the film's layers. Granted, one shouldn't HAVE to be a history geek to appreciate a great action film, but it helps. That's why I ove this flick. Also, Kilmer not getting a Best Supporting Actor Oscar is the crime of the century.
Kurt Russell is telling the truth; he was the director of "Tombstone". After Kevin Jarre was fired, he took over until the studio could hire another director, because they didn't trust Russell. Once Cosmatos showed up, the two men agreed to let Russell direct, and Cosmatos would take the credit to satiate the studio. Want proof? Watch another Cosmatos film, and tell me if you see anything that would indicate he could ever make a halfway decent movie. (Cobra, Rambo: First Blood part II, Leviathan…need I say more?)
I wrote about this several years ago on Obsessed With Film. Russell confirmed that he had directed the majority of the film. Russell also said that he has cans of unseen footage from the film still sitting in his garage! I would love to see that stuff.
Great review. But man, awesome comments section. 'Bout time I owned this summbich.
This movie is almost as great as "Young Guns" and that's saying somehting.
Wow, yeah, great comments section….I want to see this other Tombstone movie…..
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