Tombstone (4K UHD Review)

• Reviewed by: Bill Hunt
• Review Date: Apr 08, 2025
• Format: 4K Ultra HD
• 

Director

George P. Cosmatos, Kurt Russell, Kevin Jarre

Release Date(s)

1993 (April 22, 2025)

Studio(s)

Hollywood Pictures/Cinergi Productions/Buena Vista Pictures (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

• Film/Program Grade: A
• Video Grade: A
• Audio Grade: A
• Extras Grade: C+

Review

The year is 1879, the place: Tombstone in the Arizona Territory, then a bustling boomtown thanks to rich local silver ore deposits. Prospectors, ranchers, drovers, outlaws, lawyers, speculators, businessmen—opportunists of all stripes are flocking in, drawn by the chance to make an easy fortune. Among the newcomers are ex-lawmen Wyatt and Virgil Earp, and their younger brother Morgan (Kurt Russell, Sam Elliot, and Bill Paxton), each with their wives in tow. But while the Earps seek riches and the chance to live as a family, Wyatt’s old friend “Doc” Holiday (Val Kilmer)—an ex-dentist suffering from tuberculosis—has arrived in town too with his girlfriend Kate to drink, gamble, and otherwise abuse himself until his illness finally claims him.

Unsavory types are drawn to Tombstone as well, including a gang of rustlers and cutthroats known as the Cowboys, who’ve fled the United States proper to avoid the law. Led by “Curly Bill” Brocius (Powers Boothe), gunman Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn), and brothers Ike and Billy Clanton (Stephen Lang and Thomas Haden Church), these bandits raid south into Mexico for cattle to sell north of the border. The Cowboys want only one thing—the freedom to do whatever they like, no matter who gets hurt. But when the good people of Tombstone are caught in the crossfire, the Earps feel compelled to protect them. So it’s not long before tensions flare, bullets fly, and the Earps, Doc, and the Cowboys will have their fateful gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

The first thing to be said about Tombstone is that it’s a terrific American Western, with crackling dialogue, iconic performances, and a remarkably accurate depiction of real historical events. But the second thing that must be said is that it’s a miracle the film was ever completed. Though credited to George P. Cosmatos, the project began under the guidance of Kevin Jarre, a John Milius protege who’d previously won acclaim for writing the script for Ed Zwick’s Glory. A lifelong student of history, Jarre followed this with a screenplay based on the life of Wyatt Earp that was originally pitched to Kevin Costner. Sources conflict as to whether the actor read Jarre’s script first, or had already begun developing his own Earp screenplay with writer Dan Gordon. In any case, Costner chose to go his own way, and worked behind-the-scenes in Hollywood to ensure that no studio would back Tombstone against his own Wyatt Earp effort at Universal. (Note: The project that eventually became Lawrence Kasdan’s Wyatt Earp feature film from Warner Bros. originated as a TV miniseries project at Universal Television.)

But when Kurt Russell got his hands on Jarre’s script, he championed the project to a friend at Cinergi, which had a distribution deal with Hollywood Pictures. On the strength of this script—one of the best I’ve ever read—casting proceeded and Tombstone began filming in May of 1993 with Jarre at the helm. There was just one problem: He’d never directed a movie before, and had little instinct for it. Attempting to emulate the style of the great John Ford, Jarre shot mostly wide using awkwardly-framed masters with little movement, combined with close-ups that sometimes violated the 180-degree rule—all against the advice of cinematographer William Fraker. Having seen nearly five hours of this footage, much of it unusable, I’m not surprised that Jarre was subsequently fired.

Of course this created a problem: Tombstone’s production was now a month behind schedule and over budget, with the cast and crew out on location in the Arizona desert. The project’s savior was none other than Russell, who—at the request of the studio—essentially took over. But Russell didn’t want all the pressure on his shoulders, so he convinced the producers to hire George Cosmatos as Jarre’s de facto replacement, with Russell ghost-directing. (Cosmatos had done similar duty for Sylvester Stallone on Rambo: First Blood, Part II.) It was Russell who decided which scenes to keep and which to cut (as much as thirty percent of the script, in fact) in order to stay within budget, often sacrificing his own role to keep other actors involved. He also created daily shot lists for Cosmatos to work from. And say what you will about Cosmatos, the man knew how to frame his action.

Two and a half months later, Tombstone was in the can. Cosmatos had reshot nearly the entire film (only one scene and a few stray shots remain from Jarre’s work.) But Russell had to leave immediately to begin work on Roland Emmerich’s Stargate, so Cosmatos and the producers took on the task of editing. The “director’s” first cut was over 210 minutes long, so an additional 80 minutes’ worth of scenes were eventually sacrificed, including many with the Cowboys early in the film, as well as Wyatt’s horse getting stolen by Billy Clanton and his effort to recover it, and scene after scene set during Earp’s “vendetta ride.” Wyatt and Josephine’s romantic encounter was cut from actual sex to something more implied. The character of Billy Breakenridge (Jason Priestley) had a story arc that was all but eliminated, as was that of Sherman McMasters (Michael Rooker). The Cowboy attack on the stagecoach was cut too. Doc’s parting with Kate was eliminated and his final scene was shortened. And another character was cut to save money before his scenes could be filmed—Old Man Clanton played by Robert Mitchum, who became the film’s narrator instead.

And yet… despite all of these script and scene omissions, a full month lost, a failed director, and scores of other production issues, the 130-minute film that finally made it into theaters on Christmas Day of 1993—fully six months before Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp—earned generally decent reviews and was a modest box office success, despite the fact that Disney had no idea how to promote the film (and so essentially didn’t). Many critics couldn’t even get screenings, yet still saw the film because the audience “word of mouth” was so good. Old West historians consider Tombstone to be one of the most realistic depictions of its time and setting, with everything from sets, props, and costumes period authentic. It’s also a remarkably accurate retelling of the real Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, apart from the usual changes required to streamline the story for a two-hour film.

But it’s the writing and acting that truly shine here; there’s not a bad performance in this entire film. In fact, it would be fair to say that none of these character actors has ever been better. Though he may have been distracted by the need to keep the film on track, Russell gives the quintessential Wyatt Earp performance, portraying a man full of flaws but also virtue and with a steady moral compass. Elliot and Paxton are perfect as brothers Virgil and Morgan. So too is Dana Delany as Josephine, who makes the most of her few chances to shine. And though the Cowboys also get too little screen time, they still manage to tear up everything in sight, particularly Boothe and Biehn—these are far from stock villains. But it’s Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday that steals scene after scene, drunken yet deadly and compelled to be his best self by his friendship with Wyatt. Kilmer should have been nominated for an Oscar for this role, and his performance here will live on for all time. The supporting cast includes Charlton Heston, Paula Malcomson, Billy Bob Thornton, Harry Carey Jr., Tomas Arana, Paul Ben-Victor, Frank Stallone, Robert John Burke, Billy Zane, John Corbett, Buck Taylor, Lisa Collins, John Tenney, John Philbin, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Joanna Pacula, Terry O’Quinn, Peter Sherayko, and Wyatt Earp III. And the script! Even so reduced, it’s still a gem. I defy anyone to find another Western modern or classic that contains so many memorable lines, with dialogue that’s actually period accurate. Today, Tombstone is both a cult and fan favorite, and is widely considered to be one of the best American Westerns of the last fifty years. Many consider it to be one of the best of all time. (I count myself among them.)

Tombstone was shot by Fraker (Rosemary’s Baby, 1941, WarGames) on 35mm photochemical film using Panavision Panaflex Gold cameras with Panavision Primo, C-, E-Series and Cooke Cine Varotal anamorphic lenses. It was finished photochemically at the 2.35:1 aspect ratio for theaters. For its release on Ultra HD, Disney has commissioned a new 4K scan of the original camera negative and master interpositive elements, digitally restored the image with grading for high dynamic range (compatible with both Dolby Vision and HDR10), and encoded the result for release on a 66GB disc. The result—despite the choice of 66 over 100GB—is absolutely spectacular. Whereas the 2010 Blu-ray release exhibited muddy detail, abundant edge enhancement, inconsistent colors, crushed shadows, and highlights that were too often blown out, every aspect of the image here is improved.

Overall detail is both significantly greater and vastly more refined in 4K, with texturing that’s precise at all times. The improved dynamic range lends itself to much deeper shadows and bolder highlights, each of which retains greater detail at the extremes. You can actually see detail in the clouds now in the film’s opening sequence, and it appears that many of the film’s optically-produced transitions (dissolves and the like) have even been redone digitally to prevent generation loss. The film’s palette is expanded in 10-bits, with richer colors and greater nuance of variations and shadings. The grade is far more natural looking too, with warm and accurate skin tones. Red Cowboy sashes are vivid, sunsets and “magic hour” landscapes are truly bold and luminous. Dimly-lit interior scenes are more accurate and visible. Encoding is efficient, with data rates averaging in the 50 Mbps range. A light to light-moderate wash of organic photochemical grain remains in evidence throughout. A few shots are optically soft, and the usual anamorphic softness remains around the edges of the frame at times, but this is—without a doubt—the best that Tombstone has ever looked on disc before. In fact, I’ve never seen this film looking so good before period, on disc or in the very best theatrical screenings I’ve attended. This 4K presentation is highly cinematic, and absolutely beautiful from start to finish.

Sonically, Sony’s 4K disc includes its primary English audio in a fine lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix, essentially the same track that was included on the previous Blu-ray. But that’s not a problem, because the mix was excellent in 2010 and it remains so now. It’s set at a slightly lower level than the previous Blu-ray, but once you match the levels they’re identical in every way. The soundstage is big and wide across the front, with enveloping surround channel play, robust bass, and blustery dynamics. Dialogue is clean and full sounding at all times, while there’s plenty of smooth panning in action scenes, and lots of atmospheric immersion. The score by composer Bruce Broughton—a last minute replacement for Jerry Goldsmith, who had to leave due to scheduling conflicts—isn’t typical of the Western variety, but it perfectly captures the spirit of the narrative, with flourishes that recall the work of Aaron Copeland. It’s presented in excellent fidelity. Additional audio mixes include English 2.0 Descriptive Audio, French, Castilian Spanish, Italian, and Japanese 2.0 Dolby Digital, Quebec French, Latin Spanish, and Polish 5.1 Dolby Digital, and German 5.1 DTS-HD. Optional subtitles are available in English for the Hearing Impaired, French, Quebec French, Castilian Spanish, Latin Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

Sony’s 4K Ultra HD package (it seems so strange to say Sony here instead of Disney) is a 2-disc set that includes the remastered film in 4K on UHD as well as 1080p HD on a Blu-ray (and yes, this disc is also remastered). While there are no extras on the 4K disc, the Blu-ray does carry over the following legacy special features:

• The Making of Tombstone (SD – 3 parts with a “play all” option – 27:19 in all)
  • An Ensemble Cast (SD – 12:37)
  • Making an Authentic Western (SD – 7:03)
  • The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (SD – 7:38)
• Director’s Original Storyboards: O.K. Corral Sequence (SD – 4:00)
• Theatrical Trailer (SD – 2:35)
• Teaser Trailer (SD – 1:26)
• TV Spots
  • Friends (SD – :30)
  • Owned (SD – :31)
  • Legend (SD – :32)
  • Place (SD – :32)
  • Cast (SD – :31)
  • Family (SD – :32)
  • Justice (SD – :17)

That’s most of the bonus content from Disney’s 2002 Vista Series DVD release, though you’re obviously missing the Director’s Cut of the film, the Cosmatos audio commentary, the interactive historical timeline of events, the text pages taken from the actual Tombstone Epitaph newspaper account of the gunfight, the Easter egg (of poster art and set designs), and the DVD-ROM Faro at the Oriental game. So I would suggest keeping that 2-disc DVD release if you have it. The 3-part The Making of Tombstone piece is of the early EPK variety, but it’s still surprisingly substantial. Interview clips with almost all of the major cast members are included (even Charlton Heston, who has only a small role in the film), and there’s discussion of the real historical events the film is based upon. And the trailers and TV spots are interesting for including brief clips of scenes that were later cut from the film, as well as music from Peter Gabriel’s The Rhythm of the Heat. Note that a Movies Anywhere Digital Code is also included on a paper insert in the Steelbook packaging.

So what about the possibility of a true Director’s Cut? As many of you know, the Vista Series DVD included a version of the film that was about 5 minutes longer. But there’s so much more footage that was shot and could be restored. Kurt Russell has said many times in interviews over the years that a better (or at least more complete) version of the film might be created one day, if he was ever of the mind to do it. With both Jarre and Cosmatos now gone, and with the recent passing of Val Kilmer as well, I certainly hope that Russell gives the idea serious thought. I love this film regardless, but having read multiple drafts of Jarre’s original screenplay—at least one of which you can find online—trust me when I say that Tombstone is an even richer experience on the page. And I would dearly love to hear Russell’s feature-length audio commentary for whatever version of the film he’d care to speak to.

If I were to list my favorite Westerns of all time, I would certainly have to begin with Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). John Ford’s My Darling Clementine (1946) would be right there too, and I would also add Kevin Costner’s under-appreciated Open Range (2003)—which I believe to be the best film Costner ever made. But ranked highly among them would be Tombstone. Whether Jarre, Russell, or Cosmatos deserves more of the credit for the film almost doesn’t matter at this point; the one thing that’s certain is that it wouldn’t have been the same without each of them. I have personally spent so many years lobbying behind-the-scenes for Disney to give this film the respect it deserves on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD that at times I thought it might never happen. So I am thrilled beyond measure to report that their new 4K remastering is superb. I know the Steelbook edition is expensive, but if you appreciate this film as much as I do, it’s worth every single penny. My sincere thanks to everyone at Disney who made it happen.

(Now, if you’d care to deliver the perfect UHD encore, Costner’s Open Range is right there and waiting… just a suggestion!)

- Bill Hunt

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