Wyatt Earp [US Import] [HD DVD] [1994]

Average customer rating:

Unmissable

Well worth the 3 hours time you'll invest

"Blood counts the most."

Will always be compared to 'Tombstone'

Boring

Wyatt Earp [US Import] [HD DVD] [1994]
Starring: Todd Allen , David Andrews , Linden Ashby , MacKenzie Astin , and Greg Avelone
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

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Similar Items:

Wild Bill [1995]

Tombstone [1993]

Open Range [2004]

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ASIN: B000U1ZVD0
Release Date: 2007-09-25

Customer Reviews:

Unmissable.......2008-02-01

Extraordinary film, well worth even twice the money. A cinematography delight in every respect. Doc Holliday steals the film with his wonderful quirky humour and his enigmatic screen prescence, nearly out-shining Mr Earp himself.

Well worth the 3 hours time you'll invest.......2007-09-11

After reading previous reviews on Costner's "Wyatt Earp" I have to say that most people miss the point of this movie. Rather than trying to be an entertaining "Indiana Jones cliff-hanger" I feel the film's producers and director wanted more of a biography of the Earp family that is more historically accurate, as opposed to a "rock 'em sock 'em" adventure. This is why the film runs so long, it needs to tell a long story. The Earp's time in Tombstone and the famous OK Corral gunfight was only a fraction of the Earp's existence. It has been made into, via Hollywood and endless story-telling throughout the years, much more than it really was -- a feud between rival factions that was common in America's move West during the 19th century.

In my opinion, if the makers of the film made any blunders in the story-line and plot in regards to making an interesting big-budget western epic, they dwell too much on the old Hollywood formula of making the famous gunfight the "excitement fulcrum," thus forcing the early part of the film to spend lots of time leading up to it. This forces the rest of the film's story of the "vengeance ride" -- a part of Wyatt Earp's and Doc Holliday's lives that was by itself exciting, with enough material for its own separate film -- seem anti-climatic. In other words, the film tries to tell too much.

That being said, I highly recommend watching this film, not for its lack of being exciting (it does has its moments however), but as a wonderful western bio-epic that captures the spirit of the old West. Dennis Quaid puts on a stellar performance as Doc Holliday (much better than Val Kilmer's more-or-less comedic approach in "Tombstone"), and it is beautifully shot, with scenes constantly augmented with a soaring soundtrack. Kevin Costner in the lead Wyatt Earp role doesn't try to make something out of nothing by over-acting. He allows the story of the Earps tell itself -- something you don't see much from actors. The strength and appeal of this movie lies in its sum and essence, not its "excitement factor."

As far as the lengthy edit goes, set aside 3 hours of your time, settle back, and get yourself an extra bowl of popcorn. You're in for a treat.

"Blood counts the most.".......2007-08-23

Having won the battle of the Robin Hoods, Costner wasn't so lucky with Wyatt Earp: forget Waterworld, this is still the biggest box-office disaster of Costner's career, a $63m epic Western that struggled to make $25m at the US box-office yet somehow managed to avoid being nicknamed 'Kevin's Gate' (although it did earn Michael Madsen's unending animosity when the lengthy shoot prevented him from playing Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction). Originally intended as a mini-series and tracing the famed lawman's life from farm boy, freight driver, law student, drunk, horse thief, buffalo hunter to the aftermath of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, it's an ambitious attempt at an American epic with an increasingly unlikeable main character, but it's more of an occasionally ambitious failure than a genuine success.

Not nearly as much fun as the rival Tombstone, it's often at its best in the early scenes detailing the side of Earp that the movies previously overlooked as he goes from idealism to bitterness and misogyny following the death of his first wife. Taking its lead from Nicholas Earp's credo that family comes first and "Blood counts the most," Costner's determination not to play likable is admirable, but it casts a dour shadow over a film with increasingly little lightness or humour to break up its bleak view of an embittered man whose only real talent is for violence and make it more palatable. America tends to like its heroes cut and dried, but Costner's Earp is not so much flawed as downright unsympathetic at times - more of a 70s anti-hero than one who would find favour in the 90s, leaving a cruelly overlooked at Oscar time Dennis Quaid (stunningly good) as Doc Holliday to carry the audience sympathy.

Once the film enters more familiar territory with Earp's years as a lawman, the flaws start to become more significant. Even in the extended laser disc directors cut many of the huge supporting cast tend to get lost and forgotten and at times it feels like its treading water, never really going into much detail about the reasons for the feud between the Earps and the Clantons and the McLaurys, while the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral itself is badly staged - even the 'walk thing' makes Wyatt, Doc and the brothers just look like a bunch of angry Mennonites - and the film loses momentum afterwards, which is surprising considering the aftermath is in many ways far more interesting than the gunfight itself. On a visual level, Kasdan's direction is somewhat disappointing: despite having huge resources at his disposal, there's a striking lack of long shots to take advantage of them that becomes much more noticeable on the small screen than the big, while despite the length there are increasingly few memorable or significant scenes en route to the contentious epilogue. One of the most misconceived endings of the 90s (at least until Costner's The Postman came along), a clumsy flashback-led variation on 'Print the legend' that seems to be arguing that the legend is indeed true, it does the film no favours and probably did much to leave audiences unimpressed.

It's a shame, because for all its faults there's much in the film to admire, from some fine supporting performances among the huge cast - the aforementioned Quaid, horribly gaunt and convincingly tubercular, Gene Hackman, Bill Pullman, Michael Madsen, Tom Sizemore, Annabeth Gish - and a superb score from James Newton Howard. Perhaps for once a little less ambition and a little more light rather than constant shade would have yielded a more successful result.

The film is annoyingly spread over two sides of a single disc, although boasts a good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer. Along with the full theatrical trailer (but not the teaser, which included somedeleted scenes) it also includes the deleted scenes from the Director's Cut as well as two featurettes on the making of the film culled from interviews shot at the time.

Will always be compared to 'Tombstone'.......2007-06-13

I admire the fact that "Wyatt Earp" tries to give the viewer a more comprehensive look at the legendary lawman, however "Wyatt Earp" falls short as a movie. It was worthwhile to show Earp's early brush with the law and his early career as a lawman in Dodge. Unfortunately, most of the events were presented in such a slow, laid back style that rarely the story achieved dramatic tension. This laconic style seems to have muted the vibrancy of the acting performances. There are many good actors in this movie like Michael Madsen and Tom Sizemore yet only Dennis Quaid's Doc Holliday was memorable. Long movies need to have a big payoff at the end. "Wyatt Earp" unfortunately just fizzled after the famous gunfight in Tombstone and the murder that causes Earp's ride for vengeance. As a more complete picture of the legendary Old West figure, this is worth a viewing, but someone looking for a dramatic, entertaining movie see "Tombstone" instead.

Boring.......2006-08-01

I love Tombstone but thought i would give this a chance as it may have stuff that has been missed out in tombstone. It did not it was too long like all costner epic movies are. Tombstone is much better and more entertaining Val Kilmer is an ace Doc Holiday but Dennis Quaid did do an ok job and lost weight for the role but if i had a choice of which one to watch TOMBSTONE everytime.

Average customer rating:
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ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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