4K Blu-Ray Review: Tombstone

The Film

Tombstone is the work of ego run amok. It's also a near-perfect piece of fiction that has nothing to do with the historic events it portrays. Nonetheless, it's a masterpiece born out of conflict. To this day, there are few films like it that capture the old-school glory of star-studded vehicles like this.

In essence, Tombstone is a biopic of Wyatt Earp, the legendary lawman who stands as a kind of icon of the American frontier. Like all icons, his story is embellished and cleaned up and mostly bullshit, but it's an entertaining yarn despite these shortcomings.

Tombstone is also a massive vanity project for Kurt Russell, who, in later years, has on and off claimed to have directed the film in secret. Originally, Tombstone was the passion project of Kevin Jarre, who was booted off the picture as the studio felt the scale was getting away from him. In his place, they brought in George P. Cosmatos, a reliable journeyman director who could be easily bullied by the star and producer, Russell.

The result is very much a film about what a manly man Russell is, and maybe a part of that is how great Earp also happened to be. There's a lot of ego on display, and it requires every inch of the 35mm film to capture it.

That being said, Russell's instincts were spot on: Tombstone is a masterpiece. It's a shamelessly entertaining old-school presentation of the west that removes every aspect of the ugliness that American imperialism brought on, and replaces it with simplistic good guys vs. bad guys shootouts. Simplistic? Yes. Reductive? Absolutely. Immensely watchable? Darn tootin'.

It helps that Russell is aided by an incredible cast of character actors. Everywhere you look, it's a recognizable face who brings their A-game to the table. Val Kilmer was outrageously overlooked at the Oscars for his career-defining turn as Doc Holliday, while Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, and Michael Biehn look like they've been ripped straight from the history books onto screen. There has never been a cast this ruggedly handsome sharing the same space, and I doubt there ever will be.

Despite the two hour runtime, Tombstone is a surprisingly brisk epic. It covers years in Earp's illustrious life, yet we never get a sense of who he was as a cowboy. He remains a cypher, an enigma with a gun and an imposing mustache. By the end, when the narration asks us to feel the enormity of his legend, it comes off as self-serving. Yet it's so brazen you can't help but admire the bravado.

The action is brilliant, the sets are immaculate, the acting is big and broad in the best kind of way, and it's funny as hell. Tombstone isn't a nuanced and brilliant deconstruction of the American icon like The Assassination of Jesse James. In fact, it's exactly the opposite. It's hero worship turned up to eleven, and that makes it just as valuable as a film.

It's also just shamelessly fun.

Video

For years, the only way to see Tombstone was through terrible DVD and Blu-Ray copies, each of which came with significant compromises to the sumptuous visuals. Not so here, as the 4K restoration is simply perfect.

Check out, for example, the first sequence where the Earp brothers arrive into Tombstone. Look at how the sun reflects off the period-accurate costumes, or how you can count the fine detail in the wood they've used to build the town. By the time Dana Delaney arrives on screen, you can practically feel the room grow hotter just by her presence alone.

The night time scenes, of which there are many, benefit from the glorious Dolby Vision high dynamic range. The blacks are inky black, the shadows deep, and every shaft of light pierces the darkness in the kind of old school operatic way that's reminiscent of biblical films. It's all gaudy and pointed, and that's intentional.

This is a highly operatic film, and the gorgeous presentation does it justice. No other version of Tombstone can compare.

Audio

Equally impressive is the Master Audio mix that is punchy and vibrant throughout. The dialog is crystal clear, especially in places where I remember the DVD being particularly muddled.

But it's in the big sequences, like in the introduction of the town proper, that Tombstone really shines. You can hear carts and hooves in the rear speakers, background chatter in the sides, and there's an all-encompassing immersion that really brings the film to life. Once again, it's the old-school showmanship that throws everything at the viewer and pounds them into submission. If you like that sort of thing, you'll love Tombstone in every way.

Extras

Sadly, the Nordic release completely drops the additional Blu-Ray disc that other regions get, which means no extras are available. They weren't great to begin with, especially considering how there's a wealth of stories available from behind the scenes, but at least they're something.

With the aging cast now mostly gone, it's unlikely we'll ever get a full and comprehensive look at the history behind the film, so it's a shame the 4K release skimps out on even the minimal material we do have.

Overall

Tombstone is a must-buy title simply because it's the best way to experience Kurt Russell's gunslinger classic. As far as audio and video go, there's no way to get a better package than seeing it at the movies.

Sadly, the Nordic copy is again a lackluster release on the extras front, and we're missing anything even resembling good value.

That said, if you like westerns and old-school grandiose epics, you owe it to yourself to buy Tombstone. Warts and all, it's worth getting.