Tombstone (film)
Encyclopedia
Tombstone is a 1993 American action film
set in the Old West
directed by George P. Cosmatos, along with uncredited directorial efforts by actor Kurt Russell
and writer Kevin Jarre
. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Jarre.
The film is based on events relating to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
, along with the Earp Vendetta
which followed it soon after in Tombstone, Arizona
during the 1880s. Tombstone depicts a number of western outlaws and lawmen, such as Wyatt Earp
, William Brocius
, Johnny Ringo
, and Doc Holliday
as it explores crime, political corruption and law enforcement in the old American West.
Val Kilmer
, Sam Elliott
, Bill Paxton
and Dana Delany
, among others, are featured in supporting principal roles, and the film is narrated by Robert Mitchum
.
The film was a co-production between Cinergi Pictures
and Hollywood Pictures
. It was commercially distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
theatrically and by Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment for home media.
It failed to garner award nominations for production merits or acting from any mainstream motion picture organizations. The original soundtrack, composed by musician Bruce Broughton
, was released by the Intrada Records
label on December 25, 1993. On March 16, 2006, an expanded two-disc version of the film score was released by Intrada Records; it features supplemental musical compositions by the Sinfonia of London
session orchestra.
Tombstone premiered in theaters in wide release in the United States on December 24, 1993, grossing $56,505,065 in domestic ticket sales. The film was viewed as a moderate financial success after its theatrical run, and was generally met with mixed critical reviews. A widescreen Blu-ray Disc
edition featuring the making of Tombstone, director's original storyboards, trailers and TV spots was released in the United States on April 27, 2010.
For the Western genre
as a whole, Tombstone ranks number 12 in the list of highest grossing films since 1979.
(Kurt Russell
), a retired peace officer with a legendary reputation, re-unites with his brothers Virgil
(Sam Elliott
) and Morgan
(Bill Paxton
) in Tucson, Arizona
, where they venture on towards Tombstone
, a small but growing mining town, to settle down. There they encounter Wyatt's long-time friend Doc Holliday
(Val Kilmer
), a Southern gambler and expert gunslinger
, who seeks relief from his tuberculosis
in Arizona's drier environment. Also newly arrived in Tombstone with a traveling theatre troupe are Josephine Marcus
(Dana Delany
) and Mr. Fabian (Billy Zane
).
Wyatt's wife, Mattie Blaylock
(Dana Wheeler-Nicholson
), is becoming dependent on laudanum
. Just as Wyatt and his brothers begin to benefit from a stake in a gambling emporium and saloon, they have their first encounter with a band of outlaws called the Cowboys. Led by "Curly Bill" Brocious
(Powers Boothe
), the Cowboys are identifiable by the red sashes worn around their waist. Conflict is narrowly avoided upon Wyatt's insistence that he is retired and no longer interested in a career enforcing the law. This is also the first face-to-face meeting for Holliday and the sociopath
ic Johnny Ringo
(Michael Biehn
), who take an immediate dislike to one another.
Wyatt, though no longer a lawman, is pressured to help rid the town of the Cowboys as tensions rise. Shooting aimlessly after a visit to an opium
house, Curly Bill is approached by Marshal Fred White
(Harry Carey, Jr.
) to relinquish his firearms. Curly Bill instead shoots the marshal and is forcibly taken into custody by Wyatt. The arrest infuriates Ike Clanton
(Stephen Lang
) and the other Cowboys, who threaten Wyatt, his shotgun-toting brothers and Doc. Curly Bill stands trial, but is found not guilty due to lack of witnesses.
The married Wyatt attempts to resist a strong attraction to Josephine, who unlike other ladies of her time is quite forward towards men. There is a spark between them that neither can deny.
Virgil, unable to tolerate lawlessness, becomes the new marshal and imposes a weapons ban within the city limits. This leads to the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral
, in which Billy Clanton (Thomas Haden Church
) and Frank (Robert John Burke) and Tom McLaury are killed, Virgil and Morgan are wounded, and the allegiance of county sheriff Johnny Behan
(Jon Tenney) to the Cowboys is made clear. As retribution for the Cowboy deaths, Wyatt's brothers are ambushed: Morgan is killed, while Virgil's arm is maimed for life.
A despondent Wyatt and his family leave Tombstone and board a train. Followed by Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell, Wyatt sees that his family leaves safely, and then surprises the assassins who had come to kill them. Stilwell is killed, but Wyatt lets Clanton return to send a message. Wyatt announces that he is a U.S. Marshal and that he intends to kill any man he sees wearing a red sash. Wyatt, Doc, a reformed Cowboy named Sherman McMasters
(Michael Rooker
), and allies Texas Jack Vermillion
and Turkey Creek Jack Johnson, join forces to administer justice.
Wyatt and his posse are ambushed in a riverside forest by the Cowboys. Hopelessly surrounded, Wyatt strides out to seek out Curly Bill in single combat. Brocious obliges and a gunfight ensues, ending with Wyatt killing Brocious. Johnny Ringo becomes the head of the Cowboys.
Doc's health is worsening and they depend on the accommodations of Henry Hooker
(Charlton Heston
). At Hooker's ranch, they encounter Josephine, learning that Mr. Fabian was shot by Cowboys who tried to steal Josephine's watch. Wyatt finally realizes he wants to be with Josephine, but is unable to commit to her because of his ongoing fight against the Cowboys. Ringo sends a messenger (dragging McMasters' corpse) to Hooker's ranch telling Wyatt that he wants a showdown to end the hostilities and Wyatt agrees. Doc knows he is a better match for Ringo, but is in no condition for a gunfight.
Wyatt sets off for the showdown, not knowing that Doc has already beat him to the scene. Doc confronts a surprised Ringo, saying they are just finishing their previous challenge "to play for blood". They circle one another, and Doc gets the first shot off, hitting Ringo in the head and killing him. Wyatt runs when he hears the gunshot only to encounter Doc. They then press on to finish the job of eliminating the Cowboys, although Clanton escapes their vengeance.
Doc is sent to a sanatorium in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
. After a visit from Wyatt, Doc looks at his bare feet and the condition of the bed in which he is lying: realizing he is about to die with his boots off, he passes away peacefully, muttering "I'll be damned. Oh, this is funny." At Doc's urging, Wyatt pursues Josephine, locating her in Denver. The movie ends with Robert Mitchum
narrating an account of their long marriage, ending with Wyatt's death in Los Angeles in 1929.
.
According to an interview with Kurt Russell, Kevin Jarre
and Kevin Costner
were going to make the movie together, but disagreed over its focus. Costner felt that the emphasis should be on Wyatt Earp and decided to make his own movie
with Lawrence Kasdan
. Russell made an agreement with producer Andrew G. Vajna to finance Tombstone with a budget of $25 million.
Jarre and Russell wanted to cast Willem Dafoe
as Doc Holliday, but Buena Vista
refused to distribute the film if he was cast, due to Dafoe's role in the controversial The Last Temptation of Christ
. As Costner was making a competing Wyatt Earp film, he used his then-considerable clout to convince most of the major studios to refuse to distribute Tombstone – Buena Vista was the only studio willing to do so. Jarre and Russell then went with their next choice, Val Kilmer.
Filming was plagued with several problems. Russell and Kilmer both have said that the screenplay was too long (Russell estimated by 30 pages). According to Kilmer, "virtually every main character, every cowboy, for example, had a subplot and a story told, and none of them are left in the film." He has said that over 100 people, cast and crew, either quit or were fired over the course of the production. Russell even went so far as to cut his own scenes in order to let other actors have more screen time.
Early in the production, screenwriter Jarre was fired as director due to his refusal to cut his screenplay. Disney panicked because the film was two weeks behind schedule and contacted George P. Cosmatos. After Cosmatos' death in 2005, Russell began to claim Cosmatos had in fact ghost-directed the movie on Russell's behalf. Every night, Russell claimed he gave Cosmatos a shot list for the next day, and developed a "secret sign language" on set to exert influence.
Robert Mitchum
was originally set to play Newman Haynes Clanton, but suffered a horse riding accident which left him unable to work. Mitchum ultimately narrated the film, while the part was written out of the script. Much of Old Man Clanton's dialogue was spoken by other characters, particularly Curly Bill, who was effectively made the gang leader in lieu of Clanton. Glenn Ford
was also cast as Marshall White, while Harry Carey, Jr.
was to play a wagonmaster, but Ford dropped out of the project and Carey was cast as White.
label on December 25, 1993. On March 16, 2006, an expanded two-disc version of the film score was also released by Intrada Records. The expanded soundtrack features additional musical compositions by the Sinfonia of London
session orchestra. The score for the film was composed and produced by Bruce Broughton
. David Snell conducted the score, while Patricia Carlin edited the film's music.
The score contains strong echoes of Max Steiner's music for John Ford's 'The Searchers' (1956) with variations on the 'Indian Traders' theme used midway through the Ford movie.
reported that 77% of 39 sampled critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 6.3 out of 10. Following its cinematic release in 1993, Tombstone was named "One of the 5 greatest Westerns ever made." by True West Magazine
. The film was also called "One of the year's 10 best!" by KCOP-TV
in Los Angeles, California.
In a mixed review, Chris Hicks writing in the Deseret News said, "aside from Russell and Val Kilmer's scene-stealing, sickly, alcoholic Doc Holliday, there are so many characters coming and going, with none of them receiving adequate screen time, that it becomes difficult to keep track of them all." But he did comment that there were "some very entertaining moments here, with Russell spouting memorable tough-guy lines". Overall, he felt "Taken on its own terms, with some lowered expectations, Western fans will have fun." Emanuel Levy
of the Variety staff
believed the film was a "tough-talking but soft-hearted tale" which was "entertaining in a sprawling, old-fashioned manner." Regarding screenwriter Jarre's dialogue, he noted that "Despite the lack of emotional center and narrative focus, his script contains enough subplots and colorful characters to enliven the film and ultimately make it a fun, if not totally engaging, experience." The film however, was not without its detractors. James Berardinelli
writing for ReelViews offered an almost entirely negative review recalling how he thought that "Not only is the last hour anti-climactic, but it's dull. Too many scenes feature lengthy segments of poorly-scripted dialogue, and, in some cases, character motivation becomes unclear. The gunplay is more repetitious than exciting. The result — a cobbled-together morass of silly lines and shoot- outs — doesn't work well."
Stephen Holden
writing in The New York Times
saw the film as being a "capacious western with many modern touches, the Arizona boom town and site of the legendary O.K. Corral has a seedy, vaudevillian grandeur that makes it a direct forerunner of Las Vegas." He expressed his satisfaction with the supporting acting saying that the "most modern psychological touch is its depiction of Josephine (Dana Delany), the itinerant actress with whom Wyatt falls in love at first sight, as the most casually and comfortably liberated woman ever to set foot in 1880's Arizona." Critic Louis Black, writing for The Austin Chronicle viewed Tombstone as a "mess" and that there were "two or three pre-climaxes but no climax. Its values are capitalist rather than renegade, which is okay if it's metaphoric rather than literal. Worse, as much as these actors heroically struggle to focus the film, the director more successfully hacks it apart." Owen Gleiberman
of Entertainment Weekly
gave the film a C– rating calling it "preposterously inflated" at "135 minutes long". He observed the film as being a "three-hour rough cut that's been trimmed down to a slightly shorter rough cut" with "all that holds the film together is Kurt Russell's droll machismo." Author Geoff Andrew of Time Out commented that "Kilmer makes a surprisingly effective and effete Holliday". He negatively acknowledged that there was "a misguided romantic subplot and the ending rather sprawls" but ultimately exclaimed the film was "'rootin', tootin' entertainment with lots of authentic facial hair."
Richard Harrington of The Washington Post
highlighted on the film's shortcomings by declaring, "too much of Tombstone rings hollow. In retrospect, not much happens and little that does seems warranted. There are so many unrealized relationships you almost hope for redemption in a longer video version. This one is unsatisfying and unfulfilling." Alternately though, columnist Bob Bloom of the Journal & Courier openly remarked that the film "May not be historically accurate, but offers a lot of punch for the buck." He concluded by saying it was "A tough, guilty-pleasure Western."
and Kasdan
's version, Wyatt Earp
, on December 24, 1993 in wide release throughout the United States. During its opening weekend, the film opened in 3rd place grossing $6,454,752 in business showing at 1,504 locations. The film's revenue increased by 35% in its second week of release, earning $8,720,255. For that particular weekend, the film jumped to 3rd place screening in 1,955 theaters. During its final weekend in release, Tombstone opened in a distant 14th place with $1,761,844 in revenue. The film went on to top out domestically at $56,505,065 in total ticket sales through a 7-week theatrical run. For 1993 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a box office performance position of 20.
video format on November 11, 1994. The Region 1 Code
widescreen
edition of the film was released on DVD
in the United States on December 2, 1997. Special features for the DVD include French and Spanish subtitles, Dolby Digital Surround Sound, original theatrical trailers, and chapter search options. A director's cut of Tombstone was also officially released on DVD
on January 15, 2002. The DVD version includes a two-disc set and features The Making Of Tombstone Featurette in three parts; "An Ensemble Cast," "Making An Authentic Western," and "The Gunfight At The O.K. Corral". Other features include audio commentary by Director George P. Cosmatos, an interactive Tombstone timeline, Director's Original Storyboards: O.K. Corral Sequence, The Tombstone "Epitaph" – an actual newspaper account, Faro At The Oriental: Game Of Chance – DVD-ROM Feature, and a collectible Tombstone map.
The widescreen hi-definition Blu-ray Disc
edition of the theatrical cut was released on April 27, 2010. Special features include, the making of Tombstone; director's original storyboards; and trailers & TV spots. A supplemental viewing option for the film in the media format of Video on demand
is available as well.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
set in the Old West
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
directed by George P. Cosmatos, along with uncredited directorial efforts by actor Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
and writer Kevin Jarre
Kevin Jarre
Kevin Jarre was an American screenwriter, actor, and film producer.Jarre was born in Detroit, Michigan, to actress Laura Devon who subsequently married Maurice Jarre in the mid-1960s, and hence was the adoptive half-brother to French composer Jean-Michel Jarre...
. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Jarre.
The film is based on events relating to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a roughly 30-second gunfight that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, of the United States. Outlaw Cowboys Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran from the fight, unharmed, but Ike's brother...
, along with the Earp Vendetta
Earp vendetta ride
The Earp Vendetta Ride, lasting from March 20 to April 15, 1882, was a manhunt for outlaw Cowboys led by newly appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp. He was searching for men he held responsible for maiming his brother Virgil, the Tombstone Marshal and Deputy U.S. Marshal, and assassinating his...
which followed it soon after in Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million...
during the 1880s. Tombstone depicts a number of western outlaws and lawmen, such as Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
, William Brocius
William Brocius
William "Curly Bill" Brocius was a gunman, rustler and an outlaw Cowboy in the Cochise County area of Arizona Territory during the early 1880s. He had a number of conflicts with the lawmen of the Earp family, and he was named as one of the individuals who participated Morgan Earp's assassination....
, Johnny Ringo
Johnny Ringo
John Peters "Johnny" Ringo was an outlaw Cowboy of the American Old West who was affiliated with Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell in Cochise County, Arizona Territory during 1881-1882.-Early life:...
, and Doc Holliday
Doc Holliday
John Henry "Doc" Holliday was an American gambler, gunfighter and dentist of the American Old West, who is usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...
as it explores crime, political corruption and law enforcement in the old American West.
Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
, Sam Elliott
Sam Elliott
Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...
, Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
and Dana Delany
Dana Delany
Dana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
, among others, are featured in supporting principal roles, and the film is narrated by Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
.
The film was a co-production between Cinergi Pictures
Cinergi Pictures
Cinergi Pictures Entertainment Inc. was a small independent production company that was founded by Andrew G. Vajna, after he had sold his interest in his first production company, Carolco International Pictures in 1989, which he had started with his partner Mario F. Kassar in 1975.-Cinergi...
and Hollywood Pictures
Hollywood Pictures
Hollywood Pictures is one of The Walt Disney Company's several alternate movie divisions. Like Disney's Touchstone Pictures brand, it produces films for a more mature adult audience than Walt Disney Pictures.-History:...
. It was commercially distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Buena Vista (Walt Disney Company)
Buena Vista is a brand name frequently used for divisions of The Walt Disney Company, whose primary studios and offices are located on Buena Vista Street in Burbank, California. It was originally created by Walt Disney in 1953 after the release of Peter Pan to distribute his film and television...
theatrically and by Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment for home media.
It failed to garner award nominations for production merits or acting from any mainstream motion picture organizations. The original soundtrack, composed by musician Bruce Broughton
Bruce Broughton
Bruce Broughton is a film, video game, and television soundtrack composer who has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career, including American music classics such as "Homeward Bound," "Silverado", "Tombstone," and wonderfully lyric music for "Miracle on 34th...
, was released by the Intrada Records
Intrada Records
Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California...
label on December 25, 1993. On March 16, 2006, an expanded two-disc version of the film score was released by Intrada Records; it features supplemental musical compositions by the Sinfonia of London
Sinfonia of London
The Sinfonia of London is a session orchestra based in London, England. Muir Mathieson, the director of music for Rank Films, founded the ensemble in 1955 specifically for the recording of film music...
session orchestra.
Tombstone premiered in theaters in wide release in the United States on December 24, 1993, grossing $56,505,065 in domestic ticket sales. The film was viewed as a moderate financial success after its theatrical run, and was generally met with mixed critical reviews. A widescreen Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
edition featuring the making of Tombstone, director's original storyboards, trailers and TV spots was released in the United States on April 27, 2010.
For the Western genre
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
as a whole, Tombstone ranks number 12 in the list of highest grossing films since 1979.
Plot
Wyatt EarpWyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
(Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
), a retired peace officer with a legendary reputation, re-unites with his brothers Virgil
Virgil Earp
Virgil Walter Earp fought in the Civil War. He was U.S. Deputy Marshal for south-eastern Arizona and Tombstone City Marshal at the time of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the Arizona Territory. Two months after the shootout in Tombstone, outlaw Cowboys ambushed Virgil on the streets of...
(Sam Elliott
Sam Elliott
Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...
) and Morgan
Morgan Earp
Morgan Seth Earp was the younger brother of Deputy U.S. Marshals Virgil and Wyatt Earp. Morgan was a deputy of Virgil's and all three men were the target of repeated death threats made by outlaw Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. This conflict eventually...
(Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
) in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, where they venture on towards Tombstone
Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million...
, a small but growing mining town, to settle down. There they encounter Wyatt's long-time friend Doc Holliday
Doc Holliday
John Henry "Doc" Holliday was an American gambler, gunfighter and dentist of the American Old West, who is usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...
(Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
), a Southern gambler and expert gunslinger
Gunslinger
Gunfighter, also gunslinger , is a 20th century word, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun...
, who seeks relief from his tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in Arizona's drier environment. Also newly arrived in Tombstone with a traveling theatre troupe are Josephine Marcus
Josephine Earp
Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp was an American part time actress and dancer who was best known as the wife of famed Old West lawman and gambler Wyatt Earp. Known as "Sadie" to the public in 1881, she met Wyatt in the frontier boom town Tombstone, Arizona Territory when she was living with Cochise...
(Dana Delany
Dana Delany
Dana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
) and Mr. Fabian (Billy Zane
Billy Zane
William George "Billy" Zane, Jr. is an American actor, producer and director. He is probably best known for his roles as Caledon Hockley in Titanic, The Phantom from The Phantom, John Wheeler in Twin Peaks and Mr...
).
Wyatt's wife, Mattie Blaylock
Mattie Blaylock
Celia Ann "Mattie" Blaylock was a prostitute who became the romantic companion and common-law wife of Old West lawman and gambler Wyatt Earp for about 8 years...
(Dana Wheeler-Nicholson
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson is an American actress.Sometimes credited as Dana Wheeler Nicholson, she has appeared in numerous movies, but is probably best known for her role in Fletch as Gail Stanwyk and in Tombstone as Mattie Blaylock Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (born New York City, New York, October 9,...
), is becoming dependent on laudanum
Laudanum
Laudanum , also known as Tincture of Opium, is an alcoholic herbal preparation containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight ....
. Just as Wyatt and his brothers begin to benefit from a stake in a gambling emporium and saloon, they have their first encounter with a band of outlaws called the Cowboys. Led by "Curly Bill" Brocious
William Brocius
William "Curly Bill" Brocius was a gunman, rustler and an outlaw Cowboy in the Cochise County area of Arizona Territory during the early 1880s. He had a number of conflicts with the lawmen of the Earp family, and he was named as one of the individuals who participated Morgan Earp's assassination....
(Powers Boothe
Powers Boothe
Powers Allen Boothe is an American television and film actor. Some of his most notable roles include his Emmy-winning 1980 portrayal of Jim Jones and his turn as Cy Tolliver on Deadwood, as well as Vice-President Noah Daniels on 24....
), the Cowboys are identifiable by the red sashes worn around their waist. Conflict is narrowly avoided upon Wyatt's insistence that he is retired and no longer interested in a career enforcing the law. This is also the first face-to-face meeting for Holliday and the sociopath
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
ic Johnny Ringo
Johnny Ringo
John Peters "Johnny" Ringo was an outlaw Cowboy of the American Old West who was affiliated with Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell in Cochise County, Arizona Territory during 1881-1882.-Early life:...
(Michael Biehn
Michael Biehn
Michael Connell Biehn is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in James Cameron's science fiction action films The Terminator as Kyle Reese, Aliens as Cpl. Dwayne Hicks, and The Abyss as Lt. Coffey. He has also acted in such films as Tombstone, The Rock, and Planet Terror...
), who take an immediate dislike to one another.
Wyatt, though no longer a lawman, is pressured to help rid the town of the Cowboys as tensions rise. Shooting aimlessly after a visit to an opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
house, Curly Bill is approached by Marshal Fred White
Fred White
Frederick G. "Fred" White was a young lawman, the first "town marshal" of the new mining boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory. White was elected to the town police position on January 6, 1880...
(Harry Carey, Jr.
Harry Carey, Jr.
Harry Carey, Jr. is an American film actor. He appeared in over 90 films. He is mostly remembered for appearing in Western films — notably those by his friend John Ford — and in television programs.-Early life:...
) to relinquish his firearms. Curly Bill instead shoots the marshal and is forcibly taken into custody by Wyatt. The arrest infuriates Ike Clanton
Ike Clanton
Joseph Isaac Clanton was born in Callaway County, Missouri. He is best known for being a member of group of outlaw Cowboys that had ongoing conflicts with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil, Morgan Earp and Wyatt's friend Doc Holliday. The Clantons repeatedly threatened the Earps because they interfered with...
(Stephen Lang
Stephen Lang (actor)
Stephen Lang is an American actor and playwright. He started in theatre on Broadway but is well known for his film portrayals of Stonewall Jackson in Gods and Generals and George Pickett in Gettysburg , as well as for his 2009 roles as Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar and as Texan lawman Charles...
) and the other Cowboys, who threaten Wyatt, his shotgun-toting brothers and Doc. Curly Bill stands trial, but is found not guilty due to lack of witnesses.
The married Wyatt attempts to resist a strong attraction to Josephine, who unlike other ladies of her time is quite forward towards men. There is a spark between them that neither can deny.
Virgil, unable to tolerate lawlessness, becomes the new marshal and imposes a weapons ban within the city limits. This leads to the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a roughly 30-second gunfight that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, of the United States. Outlaw Cowboys Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran from the fight, unharmed, but Ike's brother...
, in which Billy Clanton (Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
) and Frank (Robert John Burke) and Tom McLaury are killed, Virgil and Morgan are wounded, and the allegiance of county sheriff Johnny Behan
Johnny Behan
John Harris Behan was from April, 1881 to November, 1882 sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona Territory. Behan was appointed the first sheriff of the newly-created county in February, 1881. The mining boomtown of Tombstone was the new county seat and Behan's headquarters...
(Jon Tenney) to the Cowboys is made clear. As retribution for the Cowboy deaths, Wyatt's brothers are ambushed: Morgan is killed, while Virgil's arm is maimed for life.
A despondent Wyatt and his family leave Tombstone and board a train. Followed by Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell, Wyatt sees that his family leaves safely, and then surprises the assassins who had come to kill them. Stilwell is killed, but Wyatt lets Clanton return to send a message. Wyatt announces that he is a U.S. Marshal and that he intends to kill any man he sees wearing a red sash. Wyatt, Doc, a reformed Cowboy named Sherman McMasters
Sherman McMasters
Sherman McMaster was an outlaw turned lawman, who was one of the six men involved in the Earp vendetta ride.-Early life:Sherman W. McMaster was born in 1853 in Rock Island, Illinois, the son of Sylvester W. McMaster. Not much is known of his life before heading out west, but he was believed to...
(Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...
), and allies Texas Jack Vermillion
Texas Jack Vermillion
John Wilson Vermillion , alias "Texas Jack" and later as "Shoot-Your-Eye-Out" Vermillion, was a gunfighter of the Old West known for his participation in the Earp vendetta ride and his later association with Soapy Smith.- Early life :...
and Turkey Creek Jack Johnson, join forces to administer justice.
Wyatt and his posse are ambushed in a riverside forest by the Cowboys. Hopelessly surrounded, Wyatt strides out to seek out Curly Bill in single combat. Brocious obliges and a gunfight ensues, ending with Wyatt killing Brocious. Johnny Ringo becomes the head of the Cowboys.
Doc's health is worsening and they depend on the accommodations of Henry Hooker
Henry Hooker
Henry Clay Hooker was a prominent and wealthy rancher of the American Old West, and personal friend to lawman Wyatt Earp during the early 1880s.-Life:Henry Clay Hooker was born January 10, 1828 in Hinsdale, New Hampshire....
(Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
). At Hooker's ranch, they encounter Josephine, learning that Mr. Fabian was shot by Cowboys who tried to steal Josephine's watch. Wyatt finally realizes he wants to be with Josephine, but is unable to commit to her because of his ongoing fight against the Cowboys. Ringo sends a messenger (dragging McMasters' corpse) to Hooker's ranch telling Wyatt that he wants a showdown to end the hostilities and Wyatt agrees. Doc knows he is a better match for Ringo, but is in no condition for a gunfight.
Wyatt sets off for the showdown, not knowing that Doc has already beat him to the scene. Doc confronts a surprised Ringo, saying they are just finishing their previous challenge "to play for blood". They circle one another, and Doc gets the first shot off, hitting Ringo in the head and killing him. Wyatt runs when he hears the gunshot only to encounter Doc. They then press on to finish the job of eliminating the Cowboys, although Clanton escapes their vengeance.
Doc is sent to a sanatorium in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. After a visit from Wyatt, Doc looks at his bare feet and the condition of the bed in which he is lying: realizing he is about to die with his boots off, he passes away peacefully, muttering "I'll be damned. Oh, this is funny." At Doc's urging, Wyatt pursues Josephine, locating her in Denver. The movie ends with Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
narrating an account of their long marriage, ending with Wyatt's death in Los Angeles in 1929.
Cast
- Kurt RussellKurt RussellKurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
as Wyatt EarpWyatt EarpWyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known... - Val KilmerVal KilmerVal Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
as Doc HollidayDoc HollidayJohn Henry "Doc" Holliday was an American gambler, gunfighter and dentist of the American Old West, who is usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral... - Sam ElliottSam ElliottSamuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...
as Virgil EarpVirgil EarpVirgil Walter Earp fought in the Civil War. He was U.S. Deputy Marshal for south-eastern Arizona and Tombstone City Marshal at the time of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the Arizona Territory. Two months after the shootout in Tombstone, outlaw Cowboys ambushed Virgil on the streets of... - Bill PaxtonBill PaxtonWilliam "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
as Morgan EarpMorgan EarpMorgan Seth Earp was the younger brother of Deputy U.S. Marshals Virgil and Wyatt Earp. Morgan was a deputy of Virgil's and all three men were the target of repeated death threats made by outlaw Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. This conflict eventually... - Powers BoothePowers BoothePowers Allen Boothe is an American television and film actor. Some of his most notable roles include his Emmy-winning 1980 portrayal of Jim Jones and his turn as Cy Tolliver on Deadwood, as well as Vice-President Noah Daniels on 24....
as "Curly Bill" BrociousWilliam BrociusWilliam "Curly Bill" Brocius was a gunman, rustler and an outlaw Cowboy in the Cochise County area of Arizona Territory during the early 1880s. He had a number of conflicts with the lawmen of the Earp family, and he was named as one of the individuals who participated Morgan Earp's assassination.... - Michael BiehnMichael BiehnMichael Connell Biehn is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in James Cameron's science fiction action films The Terminator as Kyle Reese, Aliens as Cpl. Dwayne Hicks, and The Abyss as Lt. Coffey. He has also acted in such films as Tombstone, The Rock, and Planet Terror...
as Johnny RingoJohnny RingoJohn Peters "Johnny" Ringo was an outlaw Cowboy of the American Old West who was affiliated with Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell in Cochise County, Arizona Territory during 1881-1882.-Early life:... - Charlton HestonCharlton HestonCharlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
as Henry HookerHenry HookerHenry Clay Hooker was a prominent and wealthy rancher of the American Old West, and personal friend to lawman Wyatt Earp during the early 1880s.-Life:Henry Clay Hooker was born January 10, 1828 in Hinsdale, New Hampshire.... - Jason PriestleyJason PriestleyJason Bradford Priestley is a Canadian-American actor and director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role which catapulted him to recognition in the early 1990s....
as Billy BreakenridgeBilly BreakenridgeWilliam Milton "Billy" Breakenridge was an American lawman, teamster, railroader, soldier and author. He was assistant Tombstone City Marshal in the Arizona Territory when the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place.... - Terry O'QuinnTerry O'QuinnTerry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
as Mayor John ClumJohn ClumJohn Philip Clum was an Indian agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in the Arizona Territory. He implemented a limited form of self-government on the reservation that was so successful that other reservations were closed and their residents moved to San Carlos. Clum later became the... - Jon Tenney as Sheriff Johnny BehanJohnny BehanJohn Harris Behan was from April, 1881 to November, 1882 sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona Territory. Behan was appointed the first sheriff of the newly-created county in February, 1881. The mining boomtown of Tombstone was the new county seat and Behan's headquarters...
- Stephen LangStephen Lang (actor)Stephen Lang is an American actor and playwright. He started in theatre on Broadway but is well known for his film portrayals of Stonewall Jackson in Gods and Generals and George Pickett in Gettysburg , as well as for his 2009 roles as Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar and as Texan lawman Charles...
as Ike ClantonIke ClantonJoseph Isaac Clanton was born in Callaway County, Missouri. He is best known for being a member of group of outlaw Cowboys that had ongoing conflicts with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil, Morgan Earp and Wyatt's friend Doc Holliday. The Clantons repeatedly threatened the Earps because they interfered with... - Thomas Haden ChurchThomas Haden ChurchThomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
as Billy Clanton - John Corbett as Barnes
- Dana DelanyDana DelanyDana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
as Josephine MarcusJosephine EarpJosephine Sarah Marcus Earp was an American part time actress and dancer who was best known as the wife of famed Old West lawman and gambler Wyatt Earp. Known as "Sadie" to the public in 1881, she met Wyatt in the frontier boom town Tombstone, Arizona Territory when she was living with Cochise... - Billy ZaneBilly ZaneWilliam George "Billy" Zane, Jr. is an American actor, producer and director. He is probably best known for his roles as Caledon Hockley in Titanic, The Phantom from The Phantom, John Wheeler in Twin Peaks and Mr...
as Mr. Fabian - Paula MalcomsonPaula MalcomsonPaula Malcomson is a Northern Irish actress born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Malcomson is sometimes credited as Paula Williams.She starred as "Trixie" in the HBO series Deadwood and Colleen in ABC's Lost...
as Allie Earp - Lisa CollinsLisa Collins (actress)Lisa Collins is an Australian actress most well known for her star role in the 1997 movie Fix. Collins is also the ex-wife of actor Billy Zane...
as Louisa Earp - Dana Wheeler-NicholsonDana Wheeler-NicholsonDana Wheeler-Nicholson is an American actress.Sometimes credited as Dana Wheeler Nicholson, she has appeared in numerous movies, but is probably best known for her role in Fletch as Gail Stanwyk and in Tombstone as Mattie Blaylock Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (born New York City, New York, October 9,...
as Mattie BlaylockMattie BlaylockCelia Ann "Mattie" Blaylock was a prostitute who became the romantic companion and common-law wife of Old West lawman and gambler Wyatt Earp for about 8 years... - Joanna Pacuła as Big Nose KateBig Nose KateMary Katherine Horony Cummings , known as Big Nose Kate, was the Hungarian-born long-time companion and common-law wife of fabled gambler and gunfighter Doc Holliday in the American Old West....
- Michael RookerMichael RookerMichael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...
as Sherman McMastersSherman McMastersSherman McMaster was an outlaw turned lawman, who was one of the six men involved in the Earp vendetta ride.-Early life:Sherman W. McMaster was born in 1853 in Rock Island, Illinois, the son of Sylvester W. McMaster. Not much is known of his life before heading out west, but he was believed to... - Harry Carey, Jr.Harry Carey, Jr.Harry Carey, Jr. is an American film actor. He appeared in over 90 films. He is mostly remembered for appearing in Western films — notably those by his friend John Ford — and in television programs.-Early life:...
as Marshal Fred WhiteFred WhiteFrederick G. "Fred" White was a young lawman, the first "town marshal" of the new mining boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory. White was elected to the town police position on January 6, 1880... - Billy Bob ThorntonBilly Bob ThorntonBilly Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
as Johnny Tyler - Tomas AranaTomas Arana-Life and career:Arana was born in Auburn, California. He grew up in San Francisco and studied classical theatre at the prestigious American Conservatory Theater and at the City College of San Francisco. Afterwards he relocated to New York and acted in off-Broadway productions...
as Frank StilwellFrank StilwellFrank C. Stilwell was an outlaw Cowboy who murdered at least two men in Cochise County during 1877-1882. For four months he was a deputy sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona Territory for Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan... - Paul Ben-VictorPaul Ben-VictorPaul Ben-Victor is an American actor.Ben-Victor was born Paul Friedman, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Leah Kornfeld, a playwright, and Victor Friedman. Ben-Victor debuted on the small screen in 1987 in the made-for-TV movie Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife and on an episode of Cagney &...
as Florentino Cruz - Frank StalloneFrank StalloneFrank P. Stallone, Jr. is an American actor, singer/guitarist and Golden Globe and Grammy Award-nominated songwriter. He has appeared in many Hollywood films and television. He is the younger brother of Sylvester Stallone.-Early life:...
as Ed Bailey - Buck TaylorBuck TaylorWalter Clarence "Buck" Taylor, III is an American actor and water color artist best known for his role as gunsmith-turned-deputy Newly O'Brien in 113 episodes during the last eight seasons of CBS's Gunsmoke television series . In recent years, he has painted the portrait of his friend and Gunsmoke...
as Turkey Creek Jack Johnson - Peter Sherayko as Texas Jack VermillionTexas Jack VermillionJohn Wilson Vermillion , alias "Texas Jack" and later as "Shoot-Your-Eye-Out" Vermillion, was a gunfighter of the Old West known for his participation in the Earp vendetta ride and his later association with Soapy Smith.- Early life :...
Filming
The film was shot primarily on location in ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
According to an interview with Kurt Russell, Kevin Jarre
Kevin Jarre
Kevin Jarre was an American screenwriter, actor, and film producer.Jarre was born in Detroit, Michigan, to actress Laura Devon who subsequently married Maurice Jarre in the mid-1960s, and hence was the adoptive half-brother to French composer Jean-Michel Jarre...
and Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
were going to make the movie together, but disagreed over its focus. Costner felt that the emphasis should be on Wyatt Earp and decided to make his own movie
Wyatt Earp (film)
Wyatt Earp is a 1994 American semi-biographical Western film, written by Dan Gordon and Lawrence Kasdan and directed by Kasdan. It stars Kevin Costner in the title role as lawman Wyatt Earp, and features an ensemble cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Isabella Rossellini, Mark Harmon,...
with Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Edward "Larry" Kasdan is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Kasdan was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sylvia Sarah , an employment counselor, and Clarence Norman Kasdan, who managed retail electronics stores.His Brother is the writer/producer Mark...
. Russell made an agreement with producer Andrew G. Vajna to finance Tombstone with a budget of $25 million.
Jarre and Russell wanted to cast Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
as Doc Holliday, but Buena Vista
Buena Vista (Walt Disney Company)
Buena Vista is a brand name frequently used for divisions of The Walt Disney Company, whose primary studios and offices are located on Buena Vista Street in Burbank, California. It was originally created by Walt Disney in 1953 after the release of Peter Pan to distribute his film and television...
refused to distribute the film if he was cast, due to Dafoe's role in the controversial The Last Temptation of Christ
The Last Temptation of Christ (film)
The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the controversial 1953 novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. It stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, David Bowie as...
. As Costner was making a competing Wyatt Earp film, he used his then-considerable clout to convince most of the major studios to refuse to distribute Tombstone – Buena Vista was the only studio willing to do so. Jarre and Russell then went with their next choice, Val Kilmer.
Early in the production, screenwriter Jarre was fired as director due to his refusal to cut his screenplay. Disney panicked because the film was two weeks behind schedule and contacted George P. Cosmatos. After Cosmatos' death in 2005, Russell began to claim Cosmatos had in fact ghost-directed the movie on Russell's behalf. Every night, Russell claimed he gave Cosmatos a shot list for the next day, and developed a "secret sign language" on set to exert influence.
Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
was originally set to play Newman Haynes Clanton, but suffered a horse riding accident which left him unable to work. Mitchum ultimately narrated the film, while the part was written out of the script. Much of Old Man Clanton's dialogue was spoken by other characters, particularly Curly Bill, who was effectively made the gang leader in lieu of Clanton. Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
was also cast as Marshall White, while Harry Carey, Jr.
Harry Carey, Jr.
Harry Carey, Jr. is an American film actor. He appeared in over 90 films. He is mostly remembered for appearing in Western films — notably those by his friend John Ford — and in television programs.-Early life:...
was to play a wagonmaster, but Ford dropped out of the project and Carey was cast as White.
Soundtrack
The original motion picture soundtrack for Tombstone, was originally released by the Intrada RecordsIntrada Records
Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California...
label on December 25, 1993. On March 16, 2006, an expanded two-disc version of the film score was also released by Intrada Records. The expanded soundtrack features additional musical compositions by the Sinfonia of London
Sinfonia of London
The Sinfonia of London is a session orchestra based in London, England. Muir Mathieson, the director of music for Rank Films, founded the ensemble in 1955 specifically for the recording of film music...
session orchestra. The score for the film was composed and produced by Bruce Broughton
Bruce Broughton
Bruce Broughton is a film, video game, and television soundtrack composer who has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career, including American music classics such as "Homeward Bound," "Silverado", "Tombstone," and wonderfully lyric music for "Miracle on 34th...
. David Snell conducted the score, while Patricia Carlin edited the film's music.
The score contains strong echoes of Max Steiner's music for John Ford's 'The Searchers' (1956) with variations on the 'Indian Traders' theme used midway through the Ford movie.
Novel
A paperback novel published by Berkley Publishers titled Tombstone, was released on January 1, 1994. The book dramatizes the real-life events of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Earp Vendetta, as depicted in the film. It expands on western genre ideas written by Kevin Jarre's screenplay, which took place during the 1880s.Critical response
Among mainstream critics in the U.S., the film received mixed to positive reviews. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 77% of 39 sampled critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 6.3 out of 10. Following its cinematic release in 1993, Tombstone was named "One of the 5 greatest Westerns ever made." by True West Magazine
True West Magazine
True West Magazine is an American magazine that contains glossy articles and covers; reporting about events that happened in the "Old West" era.-History:True West began publication in 1953...
. The film was also called "One of the year's 10 best!" by KCOP-TV
KCOP-TV
KCOP-TV, channel 13, is a television station in Los Angeles, California. Owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, KCOP is a sister station to Fox network outlet KTTV , and is affiliated with the MyNetworkTV programming service...
in Los Angeles, California.
| "Grafted onto this traditional framework, the film's meditative aspects are generally too self-conscious to fit comfortably. Especially when the movie tries to imagine a more enlightened role for women in the Old West, the screenplay begins to strain." |
| —Stephen Holden, writing in The New York Times |
In a mixed review, Chris Hicks writing in the Deseret News said, "aside from Russell and Val Kilmer's scene-stealing, sickly, alcoholic Doc Holliday, there are so many characters coming and going, with none of them receiving adequate screen time, that it becomes difficult to keep track of them all." But he did comment that there were "some very entertaining moments here, with Russell spouting memorable tough-guy lines". Overall, he felt "Taken on its own terms, with some lowered expectations, Western fans will have fun." Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy is an American film critic and professor.-Life:Emanuel Levy began his studies at Tel Aviv University, where he received B.A. in sociology, anthropology and political science. He did graduate work in sociology, film, and culture studies at Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D...
of the Variety staff
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
believed the film was a "tough-talking but soft-hearted tale" which was "entertaining in a sprawling, old-fashioned manner." Regarding screenwriter Jarre's dialogue, he noted that "Despite the lack of emotional center and narrative focus, his script contains enough subplots and colorful characters to enliven the film and ultimately make it a fun, if not totally engaging, experience." The film however, was not without its detractors. James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
writing for ReelViews offered an almost entirely negative review recalling how he thought that "Not only is the last hour anti-climactic, but it's dull. Too many scenes feature lengthy segments of poorly-scripted dialogue, and, in some cases, character motivation becomes unclear. The gunplay is more repetitious than exciting. The result — a cobbled-together morass of silly lines and shoot- outs — doesn't work well."
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
writing in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
saw the film as being a "capacious western with many modern touches, the Arizona boom town and site of the legendary O.K. Corral has a seedy, vaudevillian grandeur that makes it a direct forerunner of Las Vegas." He expressed his satisfaction with the supporting acting saying that the "most modern psychological touch is its depiction of Josephine (Dana Delany), the itinerant actress with whom Wyatt falls in love at first sight, as the most casually and comfortably liberated woman ever to set foot in 1880's Arizona." Critic Louis Black, writing for The Austin Chronicle viewed Tombstone as a "mess" and that there were "two or three pre-climaxes but no climax. Its values are capitalist rather than renegade, which is okay if it's metaphoric rather than literal. Worse, as much as these actors heroically struggle to focus the film, the director more successfully hacks it apart." Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the film a C– rating calling it "preposterously inflated" at "135 minutes long". He observed the film as being a "three-hour rough cut that's been trimmed down to a slightly shorter rough cut" with "all that holds the film together is Kurt Russell's droll machismo." Author Geoff Andrew of Time Out commented that "Kilmer makes a surprisingly effective and effete Holliday". He negatively acknowledged that there was "a misguided romantic subplot and the ending rather sprawls" but ultimately exclaimed the film was "'rootin', tootin' entertainment with lots of authentic facial hair."
| "From the audience's viewpoint, it's difficult to assign responsibility for the most serious of this film's shortcomings, but one thing is clear: somewhere along the way, the creative process misfired. Large segments of Tombstone belong buried at Boot Hill." |
| —James Berardinelli, writing for ReelViews |
Richard Harrington of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
highlighted on the film's shortcomings by declaring, "too much of Tombstone rings hollow. In retrospect, not much happens and little that does seems warranted. There are so many unrealized relationships you almost hope for redemption in a longer video version. This one is unsatisfying and unfulfilling." Alternately though, columnist Bob Bloom of the Journal & Courier openly remarked that the film "May not be historically accurate, but offers a lot of punch for the buck." He concluded by saying it was "A tough, guilty-pleasure Western."
Box office
Tombstone premiered in movie theaters six months before CostnerKevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
and Kasdan
Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Edward "Larry" Kasdan is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Kasdan was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sylvia Sarah , an employment counselor, and Clarence Norman Kasdan, who managed retail electronics stores.His Brother is the writer/producer Mark...
's version, Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp (film)
Wyatt Earp is a 1994 American semi-biographical Western film, written by Dan Gordon and Lawrence Kasdan and directed by Kasdan. It stars Kevin Costner in the title role as lawman Wyatt Earp, and features an ensemble cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Isabella Rossellini, Mark Harmon,...
, on December 24, 1993 in wide release throughout the United States. During its opening weekend, the film opened in 3rd place grossing $6,454,752 in business showing at 1,504 locations. The film's revenue increased by 35% in its second week of release, earning $8,720,255. For that particular weekend, the film jumped to 3rd place screening in 1,955 theaters. During its final weekend in release, Tombstone opened in a distant 14th place with $1,761,844 in revenue. The film went on to top out domestically at $56,505,065 in total ticket sales through a 7-week theatrical run. For 1993 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a box office performance position of 20.
Home media
Following its cinematic release in theaters, the film was released in VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
video format on November 11, 1994. The Region 1 Code
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
edition of the film was released on DVD
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
in the United States on December 2, 1997. Special features for the DVD include French and Spanish subtitles, Dolby Digital Surround Sound, original theatrical trailers, and chapter search options. A director's cut of Tombstone was also officially released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on January 15, 2002. The DVD version includes a two-disc set and features The Making Of Tombstone Featurette in three parts; "An Ensemble Cast," "Making An Authentic Western," and "The Gunfight At The O.K. Corral". Other features include audio commentary by Director George P. Cosmatos, an interactive Tombstone timeline, Director's Original Storyboards: O.K. Corral Sequence, The Tombstone "Epitaph" – an actual newspaper account, Faro At The Oriental: Game Of Chance – DVD-ROM Feature, and a collectible Tombstone map.
The widescreen hi-definition Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
edition of the theatrical cut was released on April 27, 2010. Special features include, the making of Tombstone; director's original storyboards; and trailers & TV spots. A supplemental viewing option for the film in the media format of Video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
is available as well.
External links
- Tombstone at the Movie Review Query EngineMovie Review Query EngineThe Movie Review Query Engine also known as MRQE, is an index of movie reviews published online. Registered users are able to access movie-specific forums and provide their own reviews. The site aggregates reviews, news, interviews, and other material associated to specific movies...
- TOMBSTONE, an original screenplay by Kevin Jarre, Fourth draft, March 15, 1993