Tombstone

Tombstone

Westerns reborn

The story of Tombstone is pretty contained. Wyatt Earp, and family (Virgil and Morgan), arrive in the city of Tombstone seaking nothing more than fortune. Having spent a lifetime as badass protectors of the peace, the boys just want to be left alone to retire relaxed. Regretfully, that’s disrupted when the ‘Cowboys’ enter the town and create moments of havoc. Starting with the death of the town marshal, the Cowboys go off on a killing spree that eventually sucks in the Earps. Guns are a blazing!

Before Tombstone, most westerns simply looked like something out of an 80s action film. Good guys versus bad and the good guys always won. What draws people to Tombstone is the realism of the characters. More specifically, the pacifist side of Wyatt Earp that has been rarely displayed in past films involving the character is developed quite well, and accurately, in Tombstone. Russell’s Earp wants nothing to do with violence for nearly half of the film. He avoids it, despite other characters provocation, and wants to walk away before situations occur. Most westerns never took this road less traveled in the genre and therefore Tombstone created a different dimension for films based in the old west.

Trust me, this was new for the genre. It was an absolutely brilliant way to tell the story of Wyatt Earp and family/friends, and it worked out really quite well.

Speaking of working out well, the cast they put together for the film was nothing short of brilliant. Kurt Russell (Snake Plissken to some) was perfect for his role as the ‘man’ himself, Wyatt Earp. He commands the screen, took control of the character and brought some really intense moments (see the last moments of Morgan for details). Beside him was the ever-country Sam Elliott (you can’t have a modern western without this man, it’s a crime), who never seems to age and who plays a very intense Virgil Earp. The weak link in the group, Bill Paxton, plays Bill Paxton. Shifting gears, the best role of the film has to be Val Kilmer’s witty, sick and dangerous Doc Holliday. Kilmer’s sickly demeanor and strong words make the movie memorable and could be considered the best reason to watch Tombstone. On the ‘bad guys’ side we have Michael Biehn’s Johnny Ringo leading the way as the best a-hole in the film. Killing a priest? That’s bad. Rivaling him is Stephen Lang’s Ike Clanton. You may not recognize the name, but you should watch Avatar to remind yourself how positively badass this man is as a bad guy. Regretfully, he doesn’t prove himself tough as much as he proves to be the best biggest coward in a western. This guy deserves a nomination for most likely to piss you off after watching the film. I still wish I could have seen Ike die.

Just a tremendous cast of actors that come together to play their hearts out in one of the better westerns in modern film history.

Now, not all is perfect in the film. About three-fourths of the film works perfectly and the rest just seems to drag on without a ‘real’ conclusion to it. I could have lived an entire lifetime without seeing the demise of Doc Holliday. Historically it was needed, but I never wanted to see that character go (he’s got tuberculous, it’s not like I’ve ruined it for you — sheesh). When the boys track down the Cowboys I think it should have ended with intertitles explaining the conclusion of each character. Instead, director George P. Cosmatos felt the need to drag it out to an awkward ending, which this reviewer believes hurt the film. It was if no one was sure how to end this great film, so they kept going until they found an ending. By that time it was far overdue for a conclusion.

It’s my only complaint.

Making progress on re-releases

Walt Disney should be commended for their efforts in making Tombstone worth the $29.99 you’ll be paying for it.

Starting with the menu system, there have been plenty of re-released movies to Blu-ray that have given their viewers a basic, non-moving, uncreative introduction to a Blu-ray film. You usually get a still image with the possibility of music on the menu and shoddy selections. For Tombstone you get a moving menu that goes to sepia tone colors and looks and feels like the old west. WD really sets the tone for the film from the get-go and that’s commendable.

For the movie itself, the video was gorgeous, though not filling the entire screen (I’ve been spoiled! I use to love the black bars, now I hate them!), the video quality is nearly great. On occasion there are moments of graininess, but nothing you can’t look beyond once you see the Wild West frontier silhouetted against sunset. It’s really quite gorgeous, folks. The biggest upgrade for this film on Blu-ray has to be the audio. The sound effects have been perfectly remastered in 5.1 DTS-HD.  You’ll hear some pretty strong gunfire, some great horse movements and Val Kilmer’s TB infected voice perfectly.

When you get to the features you may wane a little on the love affair. Here’s what to expect:

– The making of Tombstone

– Director’s Original Storyboards

– Trailers/TV Spots

Not much here and what you do get is in SD (and probably a rehash from the original DVD). You can’t expect everything to be upgraded, but a reviewer can dream.