Wyatt Earp (1994)
(Lawrence Kasdan, US 1994, 191 min., 35mm)
In the early 1990s, two competing star-studded Wyatt Earp projects were being undertaken by major Hollywood studios, with different tones and effects. Warner Bros.’s project was this epic contemplation of the dying West and its reflection in the Tombstone shootout. Writer-director Lawrence Kasdan returned to the Western after his success with Silverado and brought along Kevin Costner, who had won an Oscar for his Western, Dances With Wolves. More of a biography than the other films, this story follows Earp from his teenage years in Illinois to through to the fateful shootout and beyond. The cast also includes Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Jeff Fahey, Michael Madsen, Catherine O’Hara, Mark Harmon, Bill Pullman, Isabella Rossellini, Tom Sizemore, JoBeth Williams, Mare Winningham, Annabeth Gish, Betty Buckley, Jim Caviezel, and Tea Leoni.