Wyatt Earp (Single Disc Edition)

I thought the HD video looked very good...sometimes soft in the long shots but almost always sharp in the close-ups. The audio was Dolby Digital Plus (640 kbps) and although not the best I've heard it was adequate for much of the movie. The surround sound stage was most pronounced in the two biggest gunfights - at the O.K. Corral and in the ambush scene in the rocky pass.

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.

I own the VHS two disc version of this, and was very excited when this came out. I purchased it thinking it was the extended edition, but it was just the normal version with deleted scenes that were in the VHS version. I ended up giving this away. BEWARE!!!! If you want the extended version, it is only available on VHS.

A long movie that takes awhile to pick up steam, particularly since it serves as a virtual biography of Wyatt from his youth to the aftermath of Tombstone. Costner plays a very pensive and hard character sharply in contrast to Kurt Russell's version, which may be why Costner needed to show Earp's loss of his young wife. But once the film evolves after showing Wyatt's difficulties and steps up into the mature portion of his life, the film becomes very interesting particularly when he meets the Masterson brothers. The movie is pretty accurate in historic detail such as the death of Ed Masterson with Wyatt moving on to other towns with emphasis of course on Tombstone. The heavy part of this Wyatt version is his domination over his brothers, which seems less likely as his older brother Virgil was already in the southwest New Mexico or Arizona area before and they were all interested in the mining boom town potential of Tombstone. Costner's character is pretty sublime and not too dimensional; however, historians describe the real Earp as a true quiet, strong, no nonsense type that was action oriented with a unique ability to talk people out of causing trouble in a direct style or he would use the buffalo technique with his pistol rather than shooting at first opportunity. The cast is very good, the action not as dynamic as the movie Tombstone but realistic. Dennis Quaid does a fantastic job as Doc Holiday, not as memorable as Val Kilmer's in Tombstone, but very well done. Between the two films, Tombstone and Costner's, Costner's Earp is very believable as a driven man who without much emotion stands up at the end in his revenge drive to kill the responsible cowboys that murdered his brother Morgan and crippled his brother Virgil in an ambush. The strongest part of the film of course occurs at the end of the Tombstone saga when the Earps confront their enemies directly near the back lot of the OK corral and when Wyatt goes on his revenge raid after the cowardly shooting of his brothers. This is where Costner's Earp is very believable as he methodical goes after the killers. I recommend seeing both, Tombstone first than Wyatt Earp, they are both worth seeing and an interesting contrast. Just prepare yourself for the three hour plus time of Costner's. Editting wouldhave enhanced the film but after seeing it through, it will go down as being a superior film. I have recently visited Tombstone and it is truly a wonderful place to visit with many historic buildings and a well preserved section of the town. Best to go in the third week of October during Helldarado days when western re-enactors invest the town in authentic period regalia.

The reason I gave it an OK was Kevin Costners acting. He acts the same in every movie he makes...wooden. On the bright side was Dennis Quaids portrayal of Doc Holiday. Great acting Dennis!!