Tombstone

UPC: 717951000064

Studio: Walt Disney Video

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Questionable for Children, Western Violence, Suitable for Teens]

Summary: 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, Rovi

Category: Western

Features: French and Spanish tracks
Spanish subtitles
Original theatrical trailers
Chapter search

Tombstone

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 12/02/1997

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DS Dolby Surround (4.0)

Runtime: 130 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Chapter Selection
1. Program Start [:36]
2. Narrator/"The Cowboys" [1:22]
3. Brothers' Reunion [1:22]
4. Doc Holliday [6:52]
5. 25 Percent of the House [1:23]
6. An Enchanted Moment [:41]
7. The Bird Cage Theatre [7:33]
8. At the Faro Table [6:48]
9. Wyatt and Josephine [1:14]
10. Wyatt and Mattie [8:11]
11. Law Dog [1:20]
12. Virgil Earp's Decision [4:34]
13. A Fight A-Comin' [2:42]
14. Doc's Good Woman [2:18]
15. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral [3:04]
16. Ambushed! [2:17]
17. It's Over! [5:13]
18. Hell's Comin' [3:26]
19. A Senseless Murder [4:43]
20. Forgiven [1:27]
21. Showdown [1:53]
22. The Last Charge of Wyatt Earp and His Immortals [4:10]
23. At the Glenwood Sanatorium [4:28]
24. A Dance and Then We'll Call Room Service [4:07]
25. Narrator/Closing Credits [4:12]

Derek Armstrong

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, Rovi

Cast and Crew: John Corbett  Actor 
Joanna Pacula  Actor 
Cecil Hoffmann  Actor 
John Philbin  Actor 
Billy Bob Thornton  Actor 
Frank Stallone  Actor 
Lisa Collins  Actor 
Christopher Mitchum  Actor 
Shane McCabe  Actor 
Gary Clark  Actor 
Hugh O'Brian  Actor 
Charles Schneider  Actor 
Thomas Haden Church  Actor 
Robert Mitchum  Actor 
Paul Ben-Victor  Actor 
Lora Kennedy  Actor 
Pat Brady  Actor 
Stephen Lang  Actor 
Tomas Arana  Actor 
Don Collier  Actor 
Peter Sherayko  Actor 
Grant James  Actor 
Sandy Gibbons  Actor 
Bruce Broughton  Composer (Music Score) 
George Pan Cosmatos  Director 
Sean Daniel  Producer 
John Fasano  Screenwriter 
Buzz Feitshans  Executive Producer 
Kevin Jarre  Screenwriter 
Bob Misiorowski  Producer 
J.Jack Misiorowski  Producer 
Andrew G. Vajna  Executive Producer 
James Jacks  Producer 
Kurt Russell  Actor 
Val Kilmer  Actor 
Michael Biehn  Actor 
Powers Boothe  Actor 
Robert John Burke  Actor 
Dana Delany  Actor 
Sam Elliott  Actor 
Terry O'Quinn  Actor 
Bill Paxton  Actor 
Jason Priestley  Actor 
Michael Rooker  Actor 
Jon Tenney  Actor 
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson  Actor 
Billy Zane  Actor 
Buck Taylor  Actor 
Harry Carey, Jr.  Actor 
Pedro Armendariz, Jr.  Actor 
Charlton Heston  Actor 

Country: USA