The most famous lawmaker from the old west is Wyatt Earp (1848 – 1929), largely because he survived and actually went to work for Hollywood in his old age during the silent era, hob knobbing with directors John Ford and Raoul Walsh, and actors William Hart, Tom Mix, and Harry Carey. Some say he even had an influence on a young John Wayne.Earp was first featured in the 1923 "Wild Bill Hickok" and Earp himself worked behind the scenes with his buddy William Hart (who played Hickok). He appeared again in "Frontier Marshall" (1934) and John Ford produced the first notable film about Earp, called "My Darling Clementine" (1946).The "Wyatt Earp" TV series (1955 – 61) gave birth to the 1957 film "Gunfight at OK Corral". John Sturges directed this film and re- visited the era with "Hour of the Gun" (1967). In the 1990s, "Tombstone" (1993) and "Wyatt Earp" (1994) gave us more intense portraits. In Tombstone, we have Kurt Russell (Earp), Val Kilmer (Doc) and Stephen Lang (Ike Clanton) with Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton as the Earp brothers, Powers Boothe as an unredeemable Curly Bill Brocius and Michael Biehn as the deadly Johnny Ringo.Actors who played Earp include Henry Fonda ("My Darling Clementine"), Hugh O'Brien ("Wyatt Earp" TV series), Burt Lancaster ("Gunfight at OK Corral"), James Garner ("Hour of the Gun"), and Kurt Russell ("Tombstone"). For my tastes, the best Earp was Hugh O'Brien on the TV series, followed by Kurt Russell ("Tombstone") whom I think was the more realistic Earp.Actors who played Doc Holiday include Victor Mature who played a wonderful coughing Doc Holiday ("My Darling Clementine") as does Dennis Quaid in this film. Val Kilmer ("Tombstone"), Kirk Douglas ("Gunfight at OK Corral"), Jason Robards ("Hour of the Gun"), and Douglas Fowley ("Wyatt Earp" TV series) also played Doc. Val Kilmer is my favorite Doc Holiday, though I am partial to TV's Douglas Fawley.Old Man Clanton was played savagely by Walter Brennan ("My Darling Clementine") but otherwise rarely shown. For villains, no one was as despicable as Walter Brennan ("My Darling Clementine") although Powers Boothe ("Tombstone") came close and I was also fond of Michael Biehn ("Tombstone").Ike Clanton has been played by Robert Ryan ("Hour of the Gun"), Lyle Bettger ("Gunfight at OK Corral"), and Stephen Lang ("Tombstone")Billy Clanton was played by John Ireland ("My Darling Clementine"), Dennis Hopper ("Gunfight at OK Corral"), and Thomas Haden Church ("Tombstone"). Hopper's cowardly Clanton is the most memorable.The Brothers Earp have been played by Ward Bond and Tim Holt ("My Darling Clementine"), DeForest Kelley and Martin Milner ("Gunfight at OK Corral")Johnny Ringo has only occasionally been featured in films dealing with Wyatt Earp. He appeared in "Gunfight at OK Corral" by John Ireland and in "Tombstone" by Michael Biehn.Curly Bill Brocius has only occasionally been featured, by Jon Voight ("Hour of the Gun") and Powers Boothe in "Tombstone". Boothe is the stand-out.With this as background, how does 1994's "Wyatt Earp" stand up? Pretty poorly. "Wyatt Earp" had Kevin Costner (Earp), Dennis Quaid (Doc), and Jeff Fahey (Ike Clanton) along with a host of women who played the Earp's extended family. We even had Gene Hackman in a cameo as the father. It is a seemingly never-ending tale about Wyatt's entire life, with very little action and almost no character development among the critical players like Ike Clanton, Curly Bill, and Johhny Ringo. As such, it's nearly impossible to understand what is happening. (FWIW – the only film to make an attempt to explain the behind the scenes happenings is "Tombstone").This isn't the worst Wyatt Earp film. That honor goes to "Hour of the Gun". But it is a colossal waste of talent. The only memorable scene is at the very end of the film.

Director Lawrence Kasdan went mythic in scope and breadth with his majestic ode to the great lost American West for "Wyatt Earp". It's just full-on romantic sweep, hard-nosed stoicism, and pioneer spirit -- making for one of the most rousing pleasures in the entire genre. An initially overlooked classic, having had the misfortune to arrive under the still looming shadow casts just prior by the similar themed (and also great) "Tombstone". The two very different films share old west lawman Wyatt Earp as their main protagonist, but only overlap in depicting the episodes that culminated in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral -- which occurred in Tombstone's namesake; So naturally that film -- which focuses squarely on the particulars of those specific events -- wins, in rendering fuller aspect to its isolated circumstances.Whereas 1993's "Tombstone" was a cracking contained rollicking rampage of a buddy action western, 1994's "Wyatt Earp" acted as the saga of a man, a family, and a country -- a lavish production spanning the majority of its titular figure's lifetime.Kevin Costner is every bit as excellent in his own way here portraying Wyatt Earp as Kurt Russell was in his unique fashion for "Tombstone". But instead of being as hellbent and primal, Costner goes for quiet simmering dread. He's a peaceful realist haunted by violence, willing to warily adapt to triumph within those means. A harsh man with heart, convicted by the decency dispersed down to him by his disciplined and principled patriarch father, memorably played to perfection in just a few scenes by the always wonderful Gene Hackman. Doc Holiday is not the breakout star in this opus like he was in Val Kilmer's show stealing performance for "Tombstone", but rather he shows up maybe half way through and is played very believably and seriously by Dennis Quaid. More amusingly cantankerous in his witty retorts than Kilmer's swaggeringly deft provocateur. I imagine Quaid's less seductive Doc Holiday is honestly more realistic than Kilmer's, although Kilmer wins in entertainment value and greater sense of unpredictable danger. For the Tombstone set portion that occurs in "Wyatt Earp", it's really very well done, but admittedly it's mostly bettered in "Tombstone" simply because of that film's ability to flesh out just that story over the course of its entire running time. But also, I think the casting is slightly better, or at least flashier, there too -- I mean "Tombstone" has Bill Paxton, Sam Elliot, Powers Booth, Michael Biehn, and Stephen Lang just gnawing on the scenery and spitting it out! Although Michael Madson and Linden Ashby are no slouches as Earp bother's Virgil and Morgan, neither is Mark Harmon's local sheriff stooge Behan. One casting the two movies have in common that I find "Wyatt Earp" has a resounding superiority over "Tombstone" in though, is that of Wyatt's great lasting love Josie; In "Tombstone" she is played quite shrill and to my taste unappealing by Dana Delany, whereas Joanna Going here is so very graceful and lithely empowered that one easily imagines Wyatt's old weather-beaten heart's sudden exposure to the supple elements of such a fine specimen of femininity being quite enough to absolutely consume it. What I'm saying is Joanna Going is very pleasant in deed, which is especially good, because Josie plays a more integral role in "Wyatt Earp" as well. "Wyatt Earp" is so much more expansive than "Tombstone" however, and therefore has so many more fantastically casts roles throughout. Besides the aforementioned Gene Hackman, there's Bill Pullman and Tom Siezmore as Ed and Bat Masterson, plus young Ian Bohen is really good as the boyhood Wyatt. Veteran character actor, James Gammon makes a nice appearance. Even Jim Caviezel shows up briefly as the youngest Earp brother. And the Earp wives and women actually hint at some genuine human agency, nicely realized by Mare Winningham, Catherine O'Hara, JoBeth Williams, Alison Elliott, and Betty Buckley. So, an unequivocally great cast.The set design looks wonderful and appears proper in depicting the burgeoning West under construction. The costuming feels authentic, but "Tombstone" also felt appropriate and had the added benefit of cutting an indelibly iconic silhouette with Doc and the Earp brothers drapped all in black as near undertakers in those long duster coats and Wyatt's wide flat brimmed hat. Kurt Russell and Sam Elliot also clearly won the mustache war. Not that "Tombstone" wasn't a well photographed film in its own right, but oh-my, what wonders do dazzle brilliant in "Wyatt Earp"! Owen Roizman provides some of the most exhilaratingly lush pastoral scope cinematography you're likely to ever lay your gaze upon, yet then counterpoints that with wonderfully moody chiaroscuro lighting evoking the very best in film noir. It really is about as good as it gets. Yet not to be outdone, composer James Newton Howard goes on ahead and throws his hat in the arena of the very best Western film scores ever. In fact, the differences between these two iconic cinematic Earp offerings can perhaps be best encapsulated in their music scores, with Bruce Broughton composing an equally perfect accompaniment to his picture's less lofty but more rugged ambitions. But "Wyatt Earp" is just working on a whole other level, as is its moving score compositions. Although "Tombstone" was the breakout box- office hit, both succeeded wonderfully true to their aim. A provocative pulp novella, and a sumptuous sprawling tome; "Tombstone" is one terrific juicy burger, and "Wyatt Earp" is one magnificent four- course-meal. And just as a delicious entree, movies and music are treats of taste meant to be consumed and enjoyed; they're not subject to monogamous fidelity, and won't become hurt or jealous of time spent or pleasure derived from another!

I remember having to be somewhere. I had rented this movie back in the day, and I had to return it to the video store. So I watched it while my family was away. It went on and on and on. I can't complain about the acting or the production value. But it covered such a sprawling period of time and so many issues in the man's life, it was too big. Historically, Wyatt Earp was one of the most complex characters ever. He was more a politician than Sheriff, always trying to get re-elected and always having to overcome his past and come shady characters. His marriage was a disaster. His wife was needy and mean spirited and because Wyatt was an honorable man, he remained true to her. The big gunfight was so fictionalized that we don't really ever get to see it accurately portrayed except in documentaries. This isn't an awful movie. They just bit off too much for the time they had. And they had a lot of time.

Continuing my plan to watch every Kevin Costner movie in order, I come to Wyatt Earp, his second movie from 1994.It's impossible to talk about this movie without mentioning Tombstone, simply because it was released six months before, and focused on the only part of Earps life people care to know about. The gun fight at the OK Coral. One is a mindless popcorn flick, the other is a serious biopic. Audiences flocked to one, and sadly stayed away in droves from the other.Plot In A Paragraph: a biopic of Wyatt Earp (KC) a man who loved his family, and became one of the Wild West's most famous men.Over long, bloated, unfocused, dull, self indulgent, rambling, too serious and "a flat and uninspired mess" are all expressions I've heard used when talking about Lawrence Kasdans Wyatt Earp. All unfair in my opinion, one review I read said "Wyatt Earps biggest problem is that it isn't Tombstone" what the hell?? When did a movie automatically become a bad one, just because a shorter, flashier version was released 6 months before?? With negative reviews like that, how was the movie meant to have a chance?? With A Perfect World massively under performing and nobody going to see his supporting role in The War, the critics were out in full force to attack KC and they used this movie as a stick to beat him with. It came as no surprise when the movie was nominated for multiple razzie's. Sod the razzie nominations, people often don't realise that this movie was nominated for a single Oscar, one Best Cinematography. I think it should have had more. Wyatt Earp doesn't want to be just one more retelling of the gunfight at the OK Corral. The subject is the whole life span of Wyatt Earp, and is a much more serious movie than the flashier Hollywood pleasing characters portrayed in Tombstone. I don't believe the Russell and Kilmer versions of Earp and Holliday were anything close to real life, I believe Earp was a moody, bad tempered, bad ass like KC plays him, and that Holliday was unpleasant, but loyal like Quaid plays him, not the flashy and fun, but ruthless gambler always ready with a one liner, that Kilmer played. That's not taking anything away from Tombsone and its performances as I enjoy them too, but this movie is more authentic. Whilst it's KC and Dennis Quaid who dominate the movie, from the minute we first see him, KC is in practically everyday scene. Mark Harmon, Bill Pullman and Tom Sizemore all offer solid support, but Gene Hackman is disappointingly under used, and Michael Masden is surprisingly subdued. As well as strong male characters, there are also some strong women too, not commonly found in a western. Catherine O Hara standing out especially. Weirdly though, the only non whore or former one, is the actress Earp falls in love with, and she is often called a whore.I also need to mention the score by James Newton Howard. It's epic.Nobody can accuse KC of playing it safe, he didn't back out of PrinceOf Thieves when another Robin Hood movie was being made at the same time,,and he won. Whilst it would have made sense to pull out here, he stuck to his guns (yes pun intended) but the gamble didn't pay off this time. Despite the negative criticism, scathing reviews and the Tombstone effect, Wyatt Earp still grossed $25 million at the domestic box office (more than the much loved Leon: The Professional) to end the year the 55th highest grossing movie of 1994. Obviously for a movie with a $60 million budget, that was a disappointment. But KC didn't stand still and he was on to his next project before this even opened.