Tombstone (1993)
(George P. Cosmatos, US 1993, 130 min., 35mm)
Disney’s entry in the great Wyatt Earp film wars was this adaptation, a straight-forward Western action thriller. The tale takes on a biblical import when, early in the film, a priest warns “Curly” Bill Brocius (Powers Boothe) to beware the “Fourth Horseman.” Later, four horsemen - the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday (Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, and Val Kilmer) - ride into Tombstone to make their fortune. When they run afoul of the “The Cowboys,” led by Brocius and Ike Clanton (Stephen Lang), they must return to law enforcement to save the town, and their lives. George P. Cosmatos is credited as the director on this film, but Russell claims that he did much of the work behind the camera. The cast also includes Michael Biehn, Charlton Heston, Jason Priestley, Thomas Haden Church, Dana Delany, Michael Rooker, and Billy Bob Thornton.