Plot
Wyatt Earp is a movie about a man and his family. The movie shows us the good times and the bad times of one of the West's most famous individuals.

Release Year: 1994

Rating: 6.5/10 (19,377 voted)

Critic's Score: 47/100

Director: Lawrence Kasdan

Stars: Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman

Storyline
Wyatt Earp is a movie about a man and his family. The movie shows us the good times and the bad times of one of the West's most famous individuals.

Writers: Dan Gordon, Lawrence Kasdan

Cast:
Kevin Costner - Wyatt Earp
Dennis Quaid - Doc Holliday
Gene Hackman - Nicholas Earp
David Andrews - James Earp
Linden Ashby - Morgan Earp
Jeff Fahey - Ike Clanton
Joanna Going - Josie Marcus
Mark Harmon - Sheriff Johnny Behan
Michael Madsen - Virgil Earp
Catherine O'Hara - Allie Earp
Bill Pullman - Ed Masterson
Isabella Rossellini - Big Nose Kate
Tom Sizemore - Bat Masterson
JoBeth Williams - Bessie Earp
Mare Winningham - Mattie Blaylock

Taglines: The epic story of love and adventure in a lawless land.

Release Date: 24 June 1994

Filming Locations: 777 Ranch, Hermosa, South Dakota, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $63,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $7,543,504 (USA) (24 June 1994) (1 Screen)

Gross: $25,052,000 (USA)

Runtime: 191 min  | USA: 212 min (extended edition)

Trivia:
Originally conceived as a six-hour mini-series.

Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: In the film's first scene, Wyatt is shown sipping coffee in a darkened room. But the heavy cloud of steam coming from the cup indicates that there is no real coffee inside; actual coffee that hot would badly burn his lips if he attempted to drink it.

Quotes:
Wyatt Earp: Mister, I've been in a really bad mood for the last few years, so I'd appreciate it if you'd just leave me alone.

Very enjoyable film

Rating:

I've done extensive reading and research on Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and this era. With that as a start, let me continue.

The roles of Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp were well-cast and portrayed. The actors bore reasonable physical resemblance to the real men. Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday was superb; I thought his portrayal was more accurate than that of Val Kilmer in "Tombstone", his personality and his appearance.... although with friends, Doc Holliday was a pretty affable gentleman.

The story was a nice story, although there were significant problems with some of the historical accuracy. First, Morgan and Virgil were NOT shot on the same night... actually 3 months apart. Things like that bother me when seeing a supposedly historically accurate film. But what I considered the weakest part of this movie (and "Tombstone" as well) was the very incomplete and weak buildup to the gunfight. There was so much more that happened, so much that affected the relationship between the good guys and the bad, so much missing that both films almost made the fight look like a spur of the moment battle... which is far from factual. What many people don't realize is that Bat Masterson spent time in Tombstone during this era, although not directly involved in the "action"; also, Luke Short was a major ally of Wyatt's throughout this time.

I very much liked that Wyatt's young life was shown... his time as town constable, his marriage to Urilla Sutherland, her death and his resulting devastation, his pony stealing in Arkansas... all things that most folks never realized.

I would very much liked to have seen more of Wyatt's revenge ride and subsequent deaths and scattering of the Clanton gang. Also, the absence of any sequence involving the robbery of the Benson stage and the killing of Bud Philpot and Peter Roehrig is regrettable, as this was a major factor leading to the battle. Also, as a result of the stage robbery, we should have seen a sequence regarding Wyatt's agreement with Ike about turning in the robbers. Finally, how Behan backed out on his deal with Wyatt regarding the sheriff's office... a major factor in the animosity between the two men.

Yes... there are many other missing historical incidents that would have made the film more accurate and real.

Anyone who has an interest in this era should see the film. If you're not a stickler like I am for total historical accuracy, you should enjoy the film.

Comments: