- Director: George Pan Cosmatos
- AMG Rating:
- Genre: Western
- Movie Type: Revisionist Western
- Themes: Feuds, Taming the West, Sheriffs and Outlaws
- Main Cast: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Michael Biehn, Powers Boothe, Robert John Burke, Dana Delany
- Release Year: 1993
- Country: US
- Run Time: 135 minutes
- MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A high-energy action adventure based on legend rather than historical fact finds Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) desiring to retire from law enforcement. With brothers Virgil (Sam Elliot) and Morgan (Bill Paxton), he arrives in Tombstone, Arizona intending to build his fortune. He discovers that long-time friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) is there and that the town is run by a group of brutal outlaws called the Cowboys. Earp, frustrated with his laudanum-addicted wife, begins a romance with traveling stage actress Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany). Meanwhile, the Cowboys terrorize the citizens of Tombstone unchecked.When the town marshal is killed by a Cowboy, Earp steps in to prevent a lynching by an angry mob. He also refuses to hand the killer over to his fellows, beginning the enmity between the Cowboys and the Earp brothers. Virgil, overcome with guilt at doing nothing to help the Tombstone citizens, accepts the position of town marshal. With Wyatt and Morgan as his deputies, and the help of Doc, Virgil attempts to arrest several Cowboys, resulting in the famous OK Corral shoot-out. The Cowboys take revenge by ambushing two of the brothers and injuring Virgil and killing Morgan. The Earps leave town, apparently cowed. Wyatt returns, wearing the badge of a U.S. marshal, vowing to destroy every last Cowboy. He hunts them mercilessly, until the leader, Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) challenges Wyatt to a duel. While not regarded as an artistic masterpiece, "Tombstone" is considered the best of director George P. Cosmatos' prolific films. The all-star cast (including Thomas Haden Church and Billy Bob Thornton in small roles) delivers solid performances. Both William A. Fraker's cinematography and Bruce Broughton's stirring musical score are expertly designed for dramatic effect. Blood is shown liberally in several key scenes, but seems intended to show that there is nothing glorious in Wyatt Earp's actions, only necessity. He and his deputies take on the symbolism of the horsemen of the apocalypse -- dispensing judgement, and the Biblical references form a symmetry at the beginning and end of the film.
~ Lucinda Ramsey, All Movie Guide
Review
About two dozen Hollywood regulars -- from character actors on up to superstars, obscured by moustaches which practically consume their entire faces -- got together with director George P. Cosmatos for this vigorous, bloody take on the Wyatt Earp story. Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer make a soulful Earp and Doc Holliday, and the rest of the large ensemble effectively personalizes the body count. The film does a good job driving home just how difficult it was to bring peace to any region of the Old West. Even in "retirement," Earp became embroiled in one fracas after another, though his whole will was directed toward avoiding violence. But even if it makes token gestures toward non-violent idealism, this movie is really about watching a bunch of bad-ass lawmen mop the dusty streets with outlaws. And they do look tough in their matching black suits. There are several sequences of merciless mayhem guaranteed to get the adrenaline pumping, in which Earp himself blows people away at close range. (It's interesting to note the usage of the term "cowboy" in the film: While modern viewers have come to think of it as neutral, describing anyone on horseback with a brimmed hat, Tombstone reminds that it was first ascribed to the lawless miscreants who wore red sashes and shot up innocent bystanders.) Among the cast of thousands, look for an early career appearance by Billy Bob Thornton, as an all-talk bully whom Earp slaps into submission. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie GuideCast
- Kurt Russell - Wyatt Earp
- Val Kilmer - Doc Holliday
- Michael Biehn - Johnny Ringo
- Powers Boothe - Curly Bill Brocius
- Robert John Burke - Frank McLaury
- Dana Delany - Josephine Marcus
