This Western has become a modest cult favorite since its release in 1993, when the film was met with mixed reviews but the performances of Kurt Russell (as Wyatt Earp) and especially Val Kilmer, for his memorably eccentric performance as the dying gunslinger Doc Holliday, garnered high praise. The movie opens with Wyatt Earp trying to put his violent past behind him, living happily in Tombstone with his brothers and the woman (Dana Delany) who puts his soul at ease. But a murderous gang called the Cowboys has burst on the scene, and Earp can't keep his gun belt off any longer. The plot sounds routine, and in many ways it is, but Western buffs won't mind a bit thanks to a fine cast and some well-handled action on the part of Rambo director George P. Cosmatos, who has yet to make a better film than this. --Jeff Shannon
Kurt Russell | Wyatt Earp |
Val Kilmer | Doc Holliday |
Sam Elliott | Virgil Earp |
Bill Paxton | Morgan Earp |
Powers Boothe | Curly Bill Brocius |
Michael Biehn | Johnny Ringo |
Charlton Heston | Henry Hooker |
Jason Priestley | Billy Breckinridge |
Jon Tenney | Behan |
Stephen Lang | Ike Clanton |
Thomas Haden Church | Billy Clanton |
Dana Delany | Josephine Marcus |
Paula Malcomson | Allie Earp |
Lisa Collins | Louisa Earp |
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson | Mattie Earp |
Bruce Broughton | Composer |
William A. Fraker | Cinematographer |
Harvey Rosenstock | Editor |
Roberto Silvi | Editor |
Frank J. Urioste | Editor |
Catherine Hardwicke | Production Designer |