Overview
Arizona, 1879. Legendary Dodge City marshall Wyatt Earp, his wife Mattie and his brothers Virgil and Morgan just rode into Tombstone. These veteran frontiersmen hope to open a small business and settle into a quiet life. But they get more than they bargained for: Tombstone is a lawless municipality inhabited by a bunch of carousing locals. To make matters worse, the entire village is victimized by a gang of infamous outlaws. Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan may be the only formidable force around to confront them head-on.
Awards:
Main Cast & Crew:
George P. Cosmatos - Director
Kurt Russell
Val Kilmer
Michael Biehn
Powers Boothe
Charlton Heston
Dana Delany
Sam Elliott
Stephen Lang
Joanna Pacula
Bill Paxton
Details
- Format: DVD
- Run Time: 130
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 717951000064
- Genre: WESTERNS
- Rating: R (MPAA) (For Strong Western Violence. Bonus material not rated.)
- Release Date: December 1997
Movie Reviews
Synopsis:
Arizona, 1879. Legendary Dodge City marshall Wyatt Earp, his wife Mattie and his brothers Virgil and Morgan just rode into Tombstone. These veteran frontiersmen hope to open a small business and settle into a quiet life. But they get more than they bargained for: Tombstone is a lawless municipality inhabited by a bunch of carousing locals. To make matters worse, the entire village is victimized by a gang of infamous outlaws. Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan may be the only formidable force around to confront them head-on.
Notes:
"Tombstone" was written by "Glory" screenwriter Kevin Jarre, who was originally slated to direct. George Pan Cosmatos ("Rambo: First Blood, Part II") replaced him.
Kevin Costner was still working on his version of the Wyatt Earp story for Warner Bros. (directed by Lawrence Kasdan) when "Tombstone" was released December 25, 1993.
Jarre told reporters that Costner's film was initially slated to "crush my picture." Jarre was afraid his picture wouldn't get made but a William Morris agent got Russell to star in the film (even if Russell was a client of the Creative Artists Agency); after that, the rest of the cast quckly fell into place.
Budget estimate $25 million.
Filmed in location in Tucson, Arizona, in Technicolor and Panavision.
Rated MPAA R, running time 127 minutes.
Rated BBFC 15 by the British Board of Film Classification.
Reviews:
"...TOMBSTONE is replete with traditional Western pleasures: lusciously photographed sunsets, rugged landscapes, consistently witty dialogue...and a gallery of finely-realised heroes and villains..." - 03/01/1994 Sight and Sound, p.53-4
"...Russell's clear, steady portrayal of Wyatt Earp gives the film a core of emotional integrity..." - 12/24/1993 New York Times, p.C6
"...The leanest, meanest Earp movie yet....Sprawling, chaotic [climax]..." - 11/18/1994 Entertainment Weekly, p.113
"As a fey, tubercular Doc Holliday, Val Kilmer is especially impressive, giving a just-shy-of-over-the-top performance that might have prompted Johnny Depp to take notes." - 05/12/2010 A.V. Club
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "A rousing western in the spirit of THE WILD BUNCH....Kilmer gives a career performance as Holliday..." - 04/27/2010 Premiere
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