Press Release BVHE Press Release: Tombstone (1993) (4k UHD Combo) (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

One of the most frustrating things about the Wyatt Earp movie is the way it basically skims through the Tombstone chapter, as if expecting you'd already seen that other Tombstone movie and didn't need it repeated. However, nothing else in Wyatt Earp's life was really quite as interesting as that part he was most famous for.

It was very interesting to me because I didn’t know those parts of his life while being very familiar with the famous gunfight.

 

[Koschei]

George Cosmatos was a real filmmaker, who sometimes even actually directed the movies his name is listed on. That was reportedly the case on Leviathan.

However, Cosmatos was also infamous for occasionally working as a proxy director for other parties who could not contractually claim a directing credit. He'd done that for Sylvester Stallone on Rambo: First Blood Part 2. Kurt Russell has said that he actually directed Tombstone himself after original director Kevin Jarre was fired early in the shoot, and that Cosmatos was brought in as a figurehead to take credit for the job.

For those unacquainted with Tombstone's trouble production, I highly recommend seeking out the two-part series the podcast What Went Wrong did on the film. They cover it in detail, including the hazy truth surrounding who actually directed the film.

(The podcast also answers a question I've had for more than 30 years now: why was there a building on fire in the background when the Earps & Doc were walking toward the OK Corral? The answer: because Cosmatos thought it looked cool.)

 

[TravisR]

However, Cosmatos was also infamous for occasionally working as a proxy director for other parties who could not contractually claim a directing credit. He'd done that for Sylvester Stallone on Rambo: First Blood Part 2. Kurt Russell has said that he actually directed Tombstone himself after original director Kevin Jarre was fired early in the shoot, and that Cosmatos was brought in as a figurehead to take credit for the job.

I don't like when people take or are given credit after the fact but looking at some of Cosmatos' movies which are "so bad, they're good" if I'm feeling charitable, he suddenly become a much better director from a few years earlier or someone else directed Tombstone. In short, I definitely buy that Kurt Russell directed it.

 

[Ignacio]

William A. Fraker, the films cinematographer ("Bullitt", "Rosemary's Baby", "1941"...), was also a director ("Monte Walsh", "A Reflection of Fear", "The Lone Ranger", some TV work as well) and got an associate producer credit for this movie.

I'm not saying he directed it, but probably he helped enough to get a producer's credit, which probably means something.

 

[Malcolm R]

I imagine Russell, Fraker, and a few others behind the scenes may have pitched in more than usual when the original director was fired and Cosmatos was brought in with no prep time, but I'm skeptical that Russell fully directed the film. He may have had lots of input, but he's seemingly never directed another thing in the years since (no desire or ability? Who knows?) and reportedly said at the time he didn't want to be the director, so why change the story now? Others in the cast, including Val Kilmer, have also seemingly stopped short of actually saying Russell was THE director. Costmatos has been dead for 20 years, so there's no ego or reputation to protect any longer.

 

[JoeDoakes]

I don't agree with you. I think Wyatt Earp is a better and more accurate movie. However, I do concede that Tombstone is a more popular movie.

Idk about accuracy, but I watched this for the first time ever last week. I really thought it was an attempt to update My Darling Clementine. There are so many aspects that seem to directly recall Ford's work including Doc Holliday as an aristocrat (Southern like John Carradine in Stagecoach rather than Bostonian), the Shakespearean actor, the relationship among the Earp brothers, and more. Russell's Earp even says, shortly after arriving in Tombstone, "What kind of town is this?" Just like Henry Fonda did.

 

[MarkantonyII]

…Val Kilmer wrote in 2017 that Kurt Russell was a major influence in the directing of this film and that he was "solely responsible for Tombstone's success, no question."

According to Kilmer, "I was there every minute and although Kurt's version differs slightly from mine, the one thing he's totally correct about is how hard he worked the day before, for the next day's shot list, and tremendous effort he and I both put into editing, as the studio [Hollywood Pictures] wouldn't give us any extra time to make up for the whole month we lost with the first director. I watched Kurt sacrifice his own role and energy to devote himself as a storyteller, even going so far as to draw up shot lists to help our replacement director, George Cosmatos, who came in with only two days prep."

Russell admitted as much in a 2006 interview with True West magazine, when the actor said he made it clear to studio brass he did not want his name listed as director, but that he did help out behind the scenes quite a bit…

 

[Ignacio]

I imagine Russell, Fraker, and a few others behind the scenes may have pitched in more than usual when the original director was fired and Cosmatos was brought in with no prep time, but I'm skeptical that Russell fully directed the film. He may have had lots of input, but he's seemingly never directed another thing in the years since (no desire or ability? Who knows?) and reportedly said at the time he didn't want to be the director, so why change the story now? Others in the cast, including Val Kilmer, have also seemingly stopped short of actually saying Russell was THE director. Costmatos has been dead for 20 years, so there's no ego or reputation to protect any longer.

Don't forget either there's a DGA rule (after Clint Eastwood, the star of "THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES", replaced Philip Kaufman as director in 1976) that says that no one already involved in a production can replace the director (at least, officially, and get a credit).

 

[Dave H]

As for the two having the misfortune to face off against one another, they were released six months apart. Tombstone was the clear winner, having been made for much less money and grossing more at the box office. It wasn't a huge hit, but it was profitable, whereas Wyatt Earp was a decided flop.

It seems like there was a little bit of this going on in the mid 90s. For some reason, I am thinking about Independence Day that was released in July 1996 with Mars Attacks getting released in December of that year and flopping. Different expectations and poor timing perhaps.

 

[Lord Dalek]

It seems like there was a little bit of this going on in the mid 90s. For some reason, I am thinking about Independence Day that was released in July 1996 with Mars Attacks getting released in December of that year and flopping. Different expectations and poor timing perhaps.

Its the Dangerous Liaisons rule. Everyone loved the former film while Valmont came out a few months later and was quickly forgotten.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

 

[Rodney]

I'm all in for the Steelbook, and put me down as happy it is the original theatrical cut, which I prefer over the Director's cut.

 

[Konstantinos]

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Is this regular release a US one, or a Polish that I saw at the other forum?

 

[Dave H]

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So regular version coming too?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

So regular version coming too?

That is what is being suggested

 

[DanH1972]

I get the feeling that the overpriced (even on street date) steel book only version will be for North America and the standard pack and steel book will be overseas. It was the same way with "Inside Out 2," which was a Sony disc too. Plus, that REALLY was a limited release version. Sony has yet to do a reprint.

Given that "Tombstone" will probably sell out quickly, I just hope Disney made a half-way decent effort and not blunder aimlessly like "Pirates" or "Heat" with their extremely dim grading. Maybe they gave it to Sony to work on... who knows?

 

[SD_Brian]

It seems like there was a little bit of this going on in the mid 90s. For some reason, I am thinking about Independence Day that was released in July 1996 with Mars Attacks getting released in December of that year and flopping. Different expectations and poor timing perhaps.

See Also: Armageddon vs Deep Impact, Volcano vs Dante's Peak, Antz vs A Bug's Life

 

[Keith Cobby]

This is the first 4k announcement that has interested me so far this year, I'm in for the regular edition.

 

[Robert Saccone]

Wonder when the preorder is going up? 4/22 is getting closer.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Wonder when the preorder is going up? 4/22 is getting closer.

Probably within the next few days