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Tombstone (film)

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Tombstone
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge P. Cosmatos
Kurt Russell (uncredited)'[1]
Written byKevin Jarre
Produced byJames Jacks
Sean Daniel
Bob Misiorowski
StarringKurt Russell
Val Kilmer
Sam Elliott
Bill Paxton
Narrated byRobert Mitchum
CinematographyWilliam A. Fraker
Edited byFrank J. Urioste
Roberto Silvi
Harvey Rosenstock
Music byBruce Broughton
Production
company
Distributed byHollywood Pictures (USA)
Entertainment Film Distributors (UK from 1994-2009)
Release date
  • December 25, 1993 (1993-12-25)
Running time
130 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million

Tombstone is a 1992 Western film written by Kevin Jarre. George P. Cosmatos is the credited director, but its star Kurt Russell ghost-directed. [1] The film, which boasts an ensemble cast with 85 speaking roles, involves Wyatt Earp and his brothers moving to Tombstone, Arizona, where they and Doc Holliday face off against a band of criminals called the Cowboys. The movie is loosely based on historic incidents occurring in 1883-1884.

Plot

Wyatt Earp (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 salon, 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 sociopathic 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.

Cast

Production

In 1984, Kurt Russell was given the script for Tombstone. At the time, Kevin Jarre and Kevin Costner were going to make the movie together but disagreed over the film's focus. Costner felt that the emphasis should be on Wyatt Earp and decided to make his own movie with Lawrence Kasdan.[1] Russell signed on and made an agreement with producer Andrew G. Vajna to finance it with a budget of $25 million.[1]

Originally, Jarre and Russell wanted to cast Willem Dafoe as Doc Holliday but Buena Vista (Walt Disney Company) refused to distribute the film if he was cast, due to Dafoe's role in the controversial The Last Temptation of Christ.[1] 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 thus the only studio willing to distribute.[1] Jarre and Russell went with their next choice, Val Kilmer.

Filming was plagued with several problems. Both Russell and Kilmer have said that the screenplay was too long (Russell estimated by 30 pages).[1] 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."[1] He has said that over 100 people, cast and crew, either quit or were fired over the course of the production.[1] Russell even went so far as to cut down his scenes in order to let other actors have more screen time.[1] Early in the production, screenwriter Jarre was fired as director due to his refusal to cut down the length of his screenplay.[1] Disney panicked because the film was two weeks behind schedule, and contacted George P. Cosmatos. After the death of Cosmatos in 2005, Russell began to claim Cosmatos had in fact ghost-directed the movie for Russell. 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.[1] Despite the allegations that Cosmatos had ghost-directed the film, he gave an accurate account of the making of the film on the deluxe DVD release. The commentary also compared the climactic gunfight to other depictions in other films, most notably Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Robert Mitchum was originally set to play Old Man Clanton, but suffered a horse riding accident which made him unable to play the part. Mitchum ultimately narrated the film, while the part was written out of the script. Much of Old Man Clanton's dialogue, however, was spoken by other characters, particularly Curly Bill, who was effectively made the gang leader in lieu of Clanton. Glenn Ford was also originally cast as Marshall White, while Harry Carey, Jr. was to play a Wagonmaster who helped Wyatt track down the Cowboys. Ford dropped out of the project and Carey was cast as White after the wagonmaster was written out of the script.

Release

Critical response

Tombstone is currently certified 77% "fresh" on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Accolades

Val Kilmer's performance was praised and garnered two MTV Movie Award nominations in 1994 for Best Male Performance and Most Desirable Male.

Box office

Tombstone made it to movie theaters six months before Costner and Kasdan's version, Wyatt Earp, in turn earning Tombstone $54 million domestically on a $21 million budget,[2] while Wyatt Earp made $20 million on a $42 million budget.[3] This does not include VHS and DVD sales since both features have been released on both mediums.

Home Video History

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Henry Cabot Beck (2006-10-01). "The "Western" Godfather". True West Magazine. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
  2. ^ "Tombstone". Box Office Mojo.
  3. ^ "Wyatt Earp". Box Office Mojo.
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