Rating: 
Summary: Sprawling Widescreen Epic
Review: Have to say I thoroughly enjoyed Laurence Kasden's film, which goes further than any other in it's dramatisation of the life and times of Wyatt Earp.
Kevin Costner, in the title role, is perfectly cast, aging from Earp's younger days into old age. The performance is notable in it's gradual changing and mood from a care free, wild individual to a middle aged and hardened man - and ultimately into a serious, but thoughtful Wyatt Earp at the conclusion. It must be said that Denis Quaid's incredible Doc Holiday outdoes all the rest. The viewer has to look twice to recognise that it is indeed Denis Quaid playing the role. The Actor had lost so much weight for the part, that he looks like the dying gunfighter and gambler one would expect, suffering from TB, in a portrayal which no other actor, including Victor Mature, Kirk Douglas and more recently Val Kilmer, can compete with. His Southern accent is also flawless. He also paints Holiday in a more caring light then before, less self centred, but no less capable of violence.
The movie itself, with a running time of over three and a half hours, is a relatively factual chronicle of the life of the mythical Lawman, and of his complicated relationships with his brothers and their wives, and of the hardships that shaped and moulded him. He comes across as a very deliberate person, but also very cold and ultimately inconsiderate, as well as being heroic and the paragon of justice. One thinks of Burt Lancaster as Earp in "Gunfight at the OK Corral", but it is rather Lancaster's role in Michael Winner's "Lawman", that Costner evokes in his role. The notion of "when the legend becomes fact, print the legend" from 'The Man Who shot Libery Valance', is also brought to mind at the conclusion with the re-telling of the Tommy O' Rourke legend. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent with Gene Hackman perfect as the Paternalistic mentor of the Earp familly. The whole conflict between the Clanton and McLowery clans is more clearly examined, although they don't dominate proceedings in the way that Walter Brennan as Ike Clanton did in "My Darling Clemintine" It's also nice to see Karen Grassle in a small part, along with Bill Pullman, Tim Sizemore and Jobeth Williams. Mare Winningham is also notable in her role as the tragic prostitute who assumes Earp's name in the vain hope that some day he would love her and marry her, and Issabella Rossalini plays Doc Holiday's Kate, tempestuous and attractive, but violent and hard. This edition is presented in it's full widescreen aspect, and is best viewed as such, taking in the wide prarie vistas, and detailed railroad scenes. James Newton Howard contributes a memorable epic score.
A must for all movie epics.
Rating: 
Summary: Ambitious and underrated!
Review: "Silverado" is one of the best westerns ever made, and "Wyatt Earp" is another worthy western by Lawrence Kasdan. The film is a big sprawling attempt to capture the whole of the iconic lawman's life, from his boyhood just after the Civil war through the Tombstone years, and onward toward the Alaska gold-fields. "Wyatt Earp" is unusually ambitious in this regard for a Hollywood film, and attention to historical detail was wonderful. I loved Costner as Wyatt Earp: as an actor he is very much in the Gary Cooper mold; not overly expressive, and this is just the right note for a legendary lawman, & steely gunslinger. Dennis Quaid is a phenomenon as Doc Holiday: skinny and haggard, he looks tubercular (unlike the well fed Val Kilmer in the laughable "Tombstone.") The photography is sumptuous, & the film score dramatic and memorable. I can even laud the make-up artists who made the 40 something Costner look believably youthful for his scenes as Wyatt Earp in his 20's. Yes the movie is long, and a tighter hand could have prevailed during editing, but compared to the typical Hollywood schlock one sees, "Wyatt Earp" is well worth the hours you invest in viewing it. One of my favorite films of the last ten years. A great film in the western genre!
Rating:
Summary: An Underrated & Unforgettable Gem of a Epic Western!
Review: Despite much harsh criticism this film endured upon its June 1994 theatrical release, it's a pleasure to see WYATT EARP garnering the attenion it has always deserved. Those who voted it a lost cause a decade ago due to disappointing box office results surely did not expect the popularity this film later earned on the home video and cable television markets, thus exposing it to a much broader audience. Originally developed by Kevin Costner and his producing partner Jim Wilson to be a large-scale cable television mini-series for HBO or Showtime, Costner's longtime friend Lawrence Kasdan stepped in and revamped it as a full-scale motion picture epic, compressing the project in mind a little bit for better interpretation on a wider canvas. With vast landscapes, a stellar cast, lush cinematography and produced with a passion not only for the genre, but for old school epic filmmaking, WYATT EARP is a superb film that deserves its still-growing attention and accolades. Unlike the so-so comic book-esque TOMBSTONE, WYATT EARP tells the real story and takes its time doing so. The result is an unforgettable motion picture experience that you will surely watch again and again. I am very happy that Warner Brothers decided to include on the 2-disc set not only a brand new feature-length documentary, but a little gem of a documentary called "Wyatt Earp: Walk With A Legend" that originally aired on CBS in 1994 the night before the film was released theatrically. I was hoping they would include that featurette so I could retire my aging video copy recorded ten years ago. Superb epic filmmaking still exists, film fans...WYATT EARP proves this in droves!
Rating:
Summary: Stellar Performances
Review: Kevin Costner was the perfect choice for Wyatt Earp and Dennis Quaid deserved at the very least an Oscar nod for his performance as Doc Holliday. This caliber of movie and acting is rarely found in movies today which is one of the main reasons I don't watch many. The time was well spent worth the watch. I'm sure Tombstone can be referred to as the condensed soup version of this movie. I was surprised to learn that the "fight at the OK Corral" didn't take place at the OK Corral and that more than just the Clantons were involved. I guess the other "movied clones" just liked the sound of OK Corral. I am also a historical fiction buff. This is one video tape that is definitely going to be added to my movie library. Thank you to the supporting cast, the writer, director, cinematographer, Kevin, Dennis, et al. for believing in a project and taking the time to make it come to fruition.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed but impressive epic western comes to DVD
Review: Larger than life and with twice as many brothers, "Wyatt Earp" struts onto the DVD scene in a "Special Edition" that looks stunning but is less filling than one might have expected. This sprawling episodic tale begins with Wyatt as a child preparing to run away from home and join the Union army like his brothers Virgil and James. His father (Gene Hackman in a brief but powerful performance)catches him as he leaves and returns him back home. While Wyatt clearly yearns from the adventure he feels his brothers are experiencing, his father knows the truth about war and sets him straight.Later, James and Virgil return home both exhausted and beat up from serving in the army. Their father has put on his traveling shoes and announces that the family will be moving West where there's opportunity for a lawyer and rich land is ready to be farmed. Wyatt after many trials and tribulations ends up out west as a lawman. He manages to interest his brothers in coming out to help clean up Dodge City as well. We also get the thunderous conflict at the OK Corral as part of the conclusion of the film and witness a wonderful performance by Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday. While the narrative is a bit too episodic and flawed, the film manages to retain one's interest throughout it's 190 minute running time due to Costner's unassuming portrayal as Wyatt. The real highlight, though, is Quaid as Doc capturing the fragile gunfighter as he fights the consumption that eats him alive. With the long wait for "Wyatt Earp" to appear on DVD, one would have hoped to have a special edition with a commentary from director Lawrence Kasdan, star Costner and a look back at the film's reception when it was first released a decade ago. Unfortunately, the Warner Special Edition sticks to the basics for the most part: we get the original 190 minute theatrical cut of the film (sans the extended scenes that were added to the video version); two documentaries one "new" one that includes vintage interviews and the other a 1994 TV special; "lifted scenes", i.e., the footage included in the special video edition and the theatrical trailer. Let's stark with the good stuff first. The stunning anamorphic widescreen transfer finely does justice to Kasdan's epic vision for this larger than life western biography. The remastered 5.1 sound captures just about every nuance from the original theatrical exhibition 10 years ago. Honestly, "Wyatt Earp" hasn't sounded this good since it was first released in 1994. The negatives are few but worth noting. The documentaries are pretty good although a bit too brief. Perhaps Kasdan preferred his original theatrical cut to the extended version. That could explain why these sequences show up on the second disc and aren't integrated into the film. The lack of a commentary track is a big minus for the disc, though, as 1)Knowing how the film compared to the life of Earp would have been fascintating and 2) Kasdan's plans while shooting the film and comments would have been welcome. With the recent deluxe release of "Open Range", I would have hoped for better from this release. On the other hand, great care was used in transferring this for DVD and the extras are roughly what "Unforgiven" received when it was re-released. Kudos to Warner for such a marvelous looking DVD although, again, more extras should have been included.
Rating:
Summary: Great film! NO special edition!
Review: If the film Tombstone was a cheeseburger and fries, then Wyatt Earp is a nice thick ribeye. After an inexplicably long wait however, Wyatt Earp arrives on DVD in only a decent package at best. The picture's new digital transfer and the remastered 5.1 soundtrack are terrific. Two nice documentaries (albeit brief) are added as well as the trailer and the extra scenes from the expanded edition. What are disappointments are the fact that the extra scenes were not incorporated in the film here (only accessable as an extra feature), no commentary from ANYONE, no animated menus, no biogrophies or filmogrophies. You can't really call this a special edition, especially after you compare this with Tombstone's double disc pack. The cast (especially Dennis Quaid) is what makes this film great. Costner, who traditionally doesn't hold up strong playing legends certainly made one tough gunslinger and a VERY believable Wyatt Earp. With that moustache, hat, and cold stare, he sure was intimidating! While Tomstone's cast looked like actors playing cowboys, Wyatt Earp aims for realism and hits its mark dead on. If you're a fan of this film, then this DVD is definitely worth getting. However, if you only collect DVDs with a lot of extra glitz, this will be a bit of a letdown.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie but flawed
Review: Saddle up, Costner fans -- "Wyatt Earp" has finally made it to DVD. This epic Western biography bombed in theaters, and on video it's obvious why. The movie is long, long, long. It's best to watch this gigantic movie over a two-day period, stopping at the halfway point and picking up where you left off. "Wyatt Earp's" length is its biggest flaw. I hated the movie the first time I saw it, on a pan-and-scan videotape, but DVD has restored the film's visual glory. Physically, this is a beautiful movie. Some of the shots are so lavishly stunning that we are reminded of the landscapes in "Dances With Wolves." This is the ultimate usefulness of the DVD format -- giving old(er) movies back their original beauty. Costner is better than I remembered in the title role. He does a pretty good job of playing Wyatt from his early 20s to his 60s. He's especially good in the Dodge City sequences, dressed in black, teaching the Mastersons a thing or two about law enforcement. Is he as good as Henry Fonda in "My Darling Clementine?" Not quite, but this is not a bad performance by any stretch of the imagination. The other actors are pretty good, too. Dennis Quaid is strong as Doc Holliday, though Doc really doesn't have that much to do and he has little onscreen chemistry with Costner (I didn't quite buy that these two men were great friends, mostly because Costner's Wyatt is so stand-offish.) Tom Sizemore, Michael Madsen and Bill Pullman also lend strong support. This being very much a guy movie, the female characters don't come off as well and are given scant notice, though Catherine O'Hara earns some praise as Allie Earp. The movie's extreme length, though, almost kills it. "Wyatt Earp" could have used tighter editing and a stronger, more focused story. It does have some good action scenes, and the gunfight at the OK Corral is well handled. Unfortunately, the movie seems to be building toward nothing. I'm surprised it didn't carry us all the way to Wyatt's deathbed scene. Still, I respect the movie; it's an impressive Western, and I'm glad to have it on DVD at last. And it's far from being the worst of Kevin Costner's movies.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, DVD could've been better
Review: I find this movie more interesting and entertaining then "Tombstone", which to me seemed a little bit too cartoony and overacted(although I DO like that movie). I was disappointed, however, at the severe lack of extras and the movie being split onto 2 disc when the running time is shorter than other movies I have bought that were on 1 disc. One review mentioned that there was longer version of this movie on VHS. That version is on this DVD BUT it is under the 'lifted scenes' so you get the same movie but split as what is essentially deleted scenes. A great movie(it's hard to mess up a western) but the DVD was a slight letdown. If you are a fan of westerns or Kevin Costner & Dennis Quaid then this movie is definitely worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: Look closely
Review: I was hoping that this would be the expanded cut that was created for the deluxe laserdisc box set. Good thing I looked at the case closely. Unfortunately, the DVD is the shorter theatrical edition. The laserdisc featuring the expanded edition is still the best way to see this film.
Rating:
Summary: at long last on DVD
Review: This movie is a defintive western. No doubt about it. The look of it makes the cartoony Tombstone pale by comparison. Not only that, but the cover art (which was the movie poster) is one of the most beautiful pieces of wild west art I have ever seen. I own the poster for that reason. Many did not like this movie, as it came out 6 months after the more flambouyant Tombstone. But this one is the real deal. It is painstakingly historically accurate and has a keen attention to detail. I loved this movie from the first time I saw it, and own the directors cut VHS (let's hope this release is that cut as well). It is an acquired taste for sure, but do give it a chance. Some fine acting all around for an amazing cast that includes: Tom Sizemore, Bill Pullman, Mark Harmon, Gene Hackman, (a young pre-Jesus) Jim Caviesel and Tia Leon -- many in early roles before bigger careers. Hackman as Earp father is as always amazing. And Dennis Quad's Doc Holliday shines. Costner gives a wholly unlovable portrayl as Wyatt (which may have turned some off -- not liking the main character is not always good for films), but he gives us a deeply layered man with a haunting past and a lot of guilt. Kasdan as director gives his best here, and you can tell he loves the genre. The real pity here is that this isn't the directors cut like the VHS I have. I would rather have that on DVD rather than the extra scenes taken out of the context of the movie. If only there was a way to play the movie with or without those scenes like the choice of the ABYSS DVD of the theatrical release and the fuller directors release. Oh well
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