Rating: Summary: Enhanced DVD could be better Review: If you're even considering buying this DVD then you've probably seen the movie already and loved it. So I'm not gonna tell you how good the movie itself is. This is a review of the new DVD treament of Tombstone, more of a content review. I waited for the newer version of this DVD to come out before buying. While the transfer to DVD is perfect and the sound kicks ass, a two DVD set like this should really offer more (e.g. Hannibal, Fight Club, Star Wars I). The movie itself does have a few added scenes making it a "directors cut", but there aren't any deleted scenes or outakes on either disc which, I feel, is what you'd expect from a set like this. There are some decent features, like the director's commentary and the mini documentary "An Ensemble Cast" provides some great insight into how the actors view their characters, but that's about it. There's some real garbage on here too. Do yourself a favor and skip the Tomstone Timeline and Epitaph. And unless you want to cheapen your opinion of a great movie, for God's sake, do not watch the trailers and TV spots. Atrocious! Were they really this bad? Perhaps the studio is gauging the interest of the public before putting out a third version of this DVD with a few more features. I say 5 stars for the film but three stars for the added features. Right now, this is the version you want (enhanced sound, documentaries, etc), but don't expect to be completely satisfied.
Rating: Summary: Best Wyatt Earp Movie Ever!! Review: With the Exception of Henry Fonda's Earp...Kurt Russell is Wyatt Earp. And Val what can be said? He is so Doc Holiday that I think he must have really died in that sick bed.
Rating: Summary: selective viewing will make this easier to stomach Review: I used to love this movie, but as I've developed my tastes, my opinions have definitely gone down. Tombstone is filled with so many cheesy moments and shots that sometimes I have to turn the other way. Like when Wyatt Earp is pointing a gun at someone, its thundering out, and he's screaming, "Hell's coming with me!" Just about anything Josephine -the singer, actress- says makes me gag. The saving grace to this movie comes from Doc Holiday, played masterfully by Val Kilmer. Only in him do we see a character go through mental changes in a world rife with violence and insolence, not a hospitable environment for introspection. Moreoever, he persistently delivers great one liners and witty threats to the enemies that he gives almost an outside the box look at what is going on right in front of him, as it happens. This gives some of the movie's themes -having gain peace by enforcing justice with more violence- much more complexity, since Holiday both looks down on other ruffians and also indulges in violence himself. Were it not for this character, Tombstone would be another "Yee haw! Wyatt!" romanticized, historically inaccurate, Western.
Rating: Summary: great movie, good dvd Review: First off this is a great improvement over the orginal bare bones dvd, But I wish there would have been a few more features the second disc was not really necceserry it would have all fit on one disc. The featuretees were nice and intreasting but two of them were only seven minutes and the other one just over twelve minutes. My mom enjoyed the newspaper artcile although i found it difficuilt to read, i wish they would have reproduced it on paper intead of on the dvd.The storyboard of the o.k corral was nice and the interactive timeline informative. There is also a nice booklet and map included with set. the dvdrom game works unlike tombraider and sherk and is quite fun. There is easter egg if you scrooll right on the dvd rom icon a star will appear click on it and you will get a nice still gallery of artwork and poster conncepts. People this is probbally going to be the best tombstone dvd you can get, so if you are a fan of the movie buy this but dont expect a moulin rogue type of bonus feature disc you wont find it here.
Rating: Summary: Undeniably the best telling of this legendary story. Review: George P. Cosmatos directed what is the best and most historically accurate version of the legendary story of the Earpps and the fight at the O.K. corall.Other versions have been to clean to peaceful to at often times see the brutal ways of the wild west and this historic gunfight but with an all star cast with brillant perfomances by Kurt Russell ,Val Kilmer( wich this by far is still his best perfomance of his career),Sam Elliot,and Bill Paxton makes this the best film version by far of legendary Tombstone. Wyatt Earpp has hanged up his guns and retired from being a sheriff him and his family wish to live the good life in Tombstone with gambling to make profits for them.But only to realize that along with moving to Tombstone he inherits it's problems as Ike Clanton and his cronies do everything to give Wyatt and his family trouble he does not mind he knows how to handle situations because of his experience as a sheriff.But when lawlessness threatens the people of the town of Tombstone.His brothers become sheriffs they uphold the law with the Clantons until the inevitable the Clantons want a showdown at the O.k Corall wich is portrayed with amazing realism in the film and lasts about as long as the gunfight itself 22 seconds.After the fight on a dark stormy night the rest of the clantons shoot down and kill mourge Wyatt's brother , but they pick the wrong guy to mess with because Wyatt is coming and hell is coming with him . A worthwhile edition to your DVD collection and with DTS sound who like me have never heard it in this sound is an awsome experience you really feel like your there and the maps and the original Tombstone paper shows how amazingly accurate the film along with a worthwile documentary you can't go wrong justice is coming to tombstone and experience it in realistic sound and the way it was ment to be.
Rating: Summary: The Director's Cut Hits The Bullseye Review: Although I'm a greater fan of the Lawrence Kasdan / Kevin Costner version of Wyatt Earp's life, TOMBSTONE -- the Director's Cut -- is a marked improvement from the original threatrical version. Several key scenes are extended from the original release, and many new scenes are added that give the characters a bit more emotional depth. While much of the action still remains over the top, Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer epitomize the violence so prevalent between the lawmen and the Cowboys of the time period. Don't be duped, however, by the documentaries; they're very short, and they truly don't add much to the experience. While some interesting tidbits are thrown out about the making of the picture, very little is of relative substance.
Rating: Summary: The best western ever (and one of the best of any genre) Review: Without question, this is the definitive western of the last 45 years of movie making. For western fan and non-fan alike, this is the best of the genre. While there is plenty of "shoot 'em up" action to satisfy the western lover and a typical Hollywood morality play quality to the film, there is much more. Val Kilmer positively steals the show with his exquisite performance as Doc Holliday. His wit and warmth toward Wyatt, his self-confessed only friend, add a charm to the film that transcends the story and will make you want to watch it over and over. Even when he is in the background of his scenes, he is always watching over Wyatt, hovering like some Colt-toting guardian angel, determined to protect him without regard for his own life. His electrifying delivery of his line "why, Johnny Ringo; you look like someone just walked over your grave" near the end of the film will raise both hair and goose bumps on your arms and send a chill down your spine. And you will find yourself quoting Doc's dialogue, which is delivered with Picasso-like artistry by Kilmer and is as infectious as the tuberculosis that eventually kills him. Kurt Russell does a good job as Wyatt, but seems slightly miscast in the part, if only because he doesn't quite have the right "look". Sam Elliot delivers his usual excellent effort as Virgil Earp and Bill Paxton's Morgan Earp deftly handles the not-so-subtle awe in which he holds his older brother, Wyatt. Billy Bob Thornton, Powers Booth, Billy Zane, Dana Delaney and Michael Biehn each do a fine job in their respective parts. And, see if you can spot Jason Priestley in one of his early film roles. Charlton Heston's bit part is done with the satisfying professionalism one expects from this screen legend, leaving only the desire that it had been larger. The photography is transparent, making it easy to watch without realizing just how good of a job the cinematographer did. Sure, the story isn't completely accurate from a historical perspective, but you will find that minor flaw doesn't matter. This one is a "must have" for anyone who wants the best movies, regardless of genre. It is not just the best western ever; it is one of the top 10 of all time in ANY genre. Don't wait, get it now. "You're a daisy if you do."
Rating: Summary: "Director's Cut" A Mild Disappointment Review: This has always been one of my favorite movies of all time and I have been waiting for a quality DVD Edition to come out, hopefully with some missing scenes. The DVD looks and sounds absolutely great; no complaints about the transfer. A second disc loaded with extras, including about 30 minutes worth of behind the scenes interviews and the like, also adds to the overall value. My biggest disappointment is with the so-called 'directors cut' edition of the film. As far as I can tell, there is roughly four minutes worth of additional scenes added to the movie and off the top of my head, this amounts to four scenes of mixed quality in terms of moving the story along (in particular, a mercifully short scene with Doc Holiday's inebriated solo ranting on the night Morgan and Virgil are shot does absolutely nothing to move along the story and it is obvious why this was cut from the theatrical release). There are a couple of good scenes added, both of which explain further the demise of the relationship between Wyatt and his wife as well as Doc and Kate the Prostitute. Here is what really, really bugs me; when you watch the trailers or commercials for this movie (and the second disk is loaded with them), you can see plain as day that there are at least three other scenes which were shot in some form that are of some interest that never ever made it to this director's cut! Check it out on the trailers and note: Kurt Russell and Dana Delaney getting passionate in the woods, Doc helping Wyatt up from the river following the gunfight with Curly Bill and his gang, and Jason Priestley nervously pulling a rifle on somebody. Where were these scenes on this disk? All in all, the movie is a must have on DVD and the quality of the transfer as well as the movie itself rates very, very highly. I just feel somewhat 'had' over the lack of these scenes, which I myself was looking forward to finally seeing.
Rating: Summary: Great presentation, but skimpy on extras for a 2 disc set Review: (This review is of the Collector's Edition -- the image above may not represent the correct edition) First off, the picture and color in this widescreen presentation is beautiful! And with the DTS sound, each gunshot rings your ears hollow. Director George P. Cosmatos provides a detailed commentary (in which he makes repeated assertions that this movie's depiction of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral is the most accurate one yet filmed) and you can feel his love for this movie and the actors in it. Only drawback -- the extra features included are few and brief enough that they probably could have been included on the first disc. We've all seen 2-disc collector's sets that have hours and hours of bonus goodies, but this TOMBSTONE 2-disc set has a comparatively anemic second disc. This is certainly a fun and exciting movie, but reign in your expectations about the volume of bonus goodies. But if you have a DTS sound system and a good sized TV for the widescreen presentation, you will enjoy it nonetheless.
Rating: Summary: Win, Lose, or Draw Review: Tombstone is a first rate western with a top notch cast! The film tells the story of the now infamous gunfight at the OK corral between the Earps and the Clantons. As well as the events before and after. The film is so much more than the umteenth version of this classic tale. Kurt Russell. Sam Elliot, Bill Paxton, and Michael Biehn all give great performances. However, Val Kilmer as "Doc Holiday " gives, I think, the best perfomance of his seasaw career. He lives and breathes the part. Bravo!! Director Cosmatos keeps this one moving at a very nice pace. I even applaud this new cut. At no time does the added footage seem like padding or filler. The script has fully fleshed out its main characters and that translates very well on the screen There are also some minor parts for Billy Zane, Robert Mitchum (Voice Over off camera), and Charlton Heston thrown in too. The new VISTA SERIES 2 disc DVD set has some pretty good extras that make this editon worth a look over the movie only edition. The DOLBY DIGITAL 5.1 mix sounds just awesome and will blow you away. The commentary by Cosmatos is very good and should please you. The "making of" stuff worked better as a single documentary than when it was viewed in sections There is also a neat game and an interactive timeline for viewers to enjoy. The only negative feature for me is the newspaper archive. I expected it to have a better presentation All in all a fine addition to anyone's DVD collection!!
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