Wyatt Earp
             
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Year: 1994
Rating: 6.5
After watching a number of films about Wyatt Earp and also reading about him, I had been thinking that what he really needed was a quality mini-series that stuck close to the truth. His life was fascinating, he was everywhere, he knew all of the legends of the books, he was the West in some ways. Then I watched this and realized that director Lawrence Kasdan had already attempted to do that in this three-hour journey into the past. Kevin Costner is his Earp. After Silverado, The Untouchables, Bull Durham and Field of Dreams who else could it be. He was our Henry Fonda. Some would add Dances with Wolves to that list, but I hate that movie. Kasdan begins the film with the brothers heading to the O.K. Corral and then pulls back to the cornfields of Iowa and Earp as a young man running through them in order to escape his father (Gene Hackman) to join the Civil War and fight the Rebs. Pure Americana. Pure mythmaking. Possibly true.



And it continues that way for a while as Earp goes West to make his way. I thought - this is going to be great - Kasdan is going to use Earp as a vehicle to explore the story of the West in epic fashion. The building of the railroads, the migration west, the hunting of the buffalo, the sudden growth of the towns due to gold, silver and cattle, the anarchy, the robbers and finally the peace makers who brought these towns under control. It could have been that movie. It should have been that movie. But Kasdan loses his focus, brings it down to earth, digs too deep into the weeds with scenes of the Earp families, their squabbles, their troubles. He tries to make Earp human - too human and generally not a very nice one. A prick. We finally get a film about Earp that sticks very close to the truth, but we didn't need it all. I wanted majesty. Americana above his story.



There is of course the walk down the street in Tombstone - nothing is more iconic than that in the West - four men walking into destiny. And here again the film gets it right. Face off with some six feet of earth between them and just blasting away for seconds. Long enough for some to die. With that and the trail of revenge, Kasdan recaptures the legend and ends it beautifully with Earp many years older being reminded by a young man who recognizes him of one of his heroic moments. If it was true. Even Earp isn't sure. The only other person in the film that really matters is of course Doc Holliday. He is the shadow of Wyatt - the person I think Wyatt wants to be, but his father has ingrained a sense of the law into him that doesn't allow him to be Holliday. And Holliday wants to be more like Earp but his sickness won't allow that. Holliday is played by Dennis Quade who lost 35 pounds for the role and every one of those pounds is staring you in the face. He is emaciated and stricken. It is a terrific performance. Not as showy as Val Kilmer's was in Tombstone but more grounded in reality.



It is beautifully shot with grand vistas, striking earthy tones and wonderfully framed shots. I had expected to find that it was a European cinematographer - it reminded me of some of their films - but in fact he is an American, Owen Roizman, who went to my small college in Gettysburg. So, I am now a fan - Grand Canyon, Tootsie, Network and Three Days of the Condor among many others. And I never knew he went to my school. There are too many well-known names in the cast to name - but they are all fine. Kasdan was going for something big here and I respect him for that. At a time when the Western was generally over, six months after Tombstone and three hours in length was perhaps pushing it. It was a failure at the box-office and was generally buried by the critics ending up on many Worst Films of the Year lists. That is just silly.  It lumbers at times when it should race but it also has some wonderful scenes.