I watched Wyatt Earp last night, and it feels natural to compare it to Tombstone, seeing as how they both tell parts of the same story. On the first glance, Tombstone seems like the better movie. It's got Sam Elliot as Virgil and some rather proper mustaches in it. It's also in most areas the most aesthetically pleasing of the pair, being slightly less gritty, and having given the story a 'shave', if you'll excuse the pun.
Kurt Russel also does the, in my eyes, cooler interpretation of Wyatt Earp himself. While having less personality, on account of less backstory, he still somehow looks better. This might be because most of the lines in Wyatt Earp were boring and less aesthetic. Also, adversaries in Tombstone have actual personalities. Well, not all of them, since they come by the bucketload, but at least there's Curly Bill Brocius, Johnny Ringo and Ike Clanton. They are all in Wyatt Earp, but they have no memorable lines whatsoever, and since they are all so grubby and shabby, I found it hard to tell one from the other. Wyatt Earp does have Jayne, though, which is a merit. Or, well, it's got Adam Baldwin playing a cowboy, which is pretty much as close to Jayne as you can get.
Now, on to the most important aspect of both films, as well as the comparison.
I'm not sure why, it might be historical accuracy or it might be that both directors harbor secret homosexual crushes, but it seems somehow impossible to make a movie about Wyatt Earp without having John Henry 'Doc' Holliday show up and immediately steal the show.
In Wyatt Earp, Dennis Quaid (How the hell is that pronounced?) plays the part. I have been completely unable to find a proper picture of the guy in that role, which is strange, since he looks Fucking Awesome.
This one will have to do, with Holliday on the right (And Costner looking like an uncharismatic sack of potatoes with a mustache). Great beard/stache-combo. This Holliday is sightly more serious than the other, both looking and sounding more dangerous.
In Tombstone, the role is played by Val Kilmer. You know, the dude that sucked as Batman. He. Is. Awesome. While looking less awesome than Quaid, the Holliday he shows us is by far the greatest. Less serious, more fun.
Both Hollidays have a few memorable lines, and it's rather hard to pick a favorite in that department. Kilmer's Holliday is a tad biased towards one-liners.
Doc Quaid:
"Dave Rutabaugh is an ignorant scoundrel! I disapprove of his very existence. I considered ending it myself on several occasions but self-control got the better of me."
Doc Kilmer:
"Look, darling, it's Johnny Ringo. The deadliest pistoleer since Wild Bill, they say. What do you think, darling? Should I hate him? There's just something about him. Something around the eyes, I don't know, reminds me of... me. No. I'm sure of it, I hate him."
Well, all in all, I'd say Tombstone is the best of the two. There is little to praise in Wyatt Earp apart from Doc Quaid, but he is overshadowed by Doc Kilmer anyway, so it's somewhat of a moot point.
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6 comments:
I must say that even without having seen any of the two I am leaning towards your judgement simply because of this: Kevin Costner plays Wyatt Earp in Wyatt Earp. I think that speaks for itself, if not I will quote a friend of mine that has seen way too many movies: "Have you seen Mr. Brooks?" "Uhm, no. I saw that Costner plays the main character and discarded it." "Well, yes I know, I did that too but then a friend told me to see it because it's actually a GOOD movie with Kevin Costner!"
Hey now, he's in Prince of Thieves and JFK, both of which I like. Haven't seen JFK in years, but I remember liking it way back when i saw it. I don't mind Costner all that much, it's just that he plays against Doc Holliday, and that just doesn't seem to do anyone any good.
And, of course, that he makes Wyatt Earp seem boring and dull.
It's called 13 days, not JFK. And he is so utterly... boring. I don't now why or how he does it be he's just so full of himself that any movie he does becomes unbearable to watch. And the only really good one I've seen is Dancing with Wolves.
No, it's called JFK.
And I don't remember him being boring it it. Not that I remember much from it. But I don't really resent Costner in general, at least.
My apologies, he's played in a movie called "13 Days" about the cuban missile crisis. Sidenote: According to the X-Files it was the Cigarette Smoking Man who killed JFK in Dallas because of the way he handled the Cuban missile crisis...
And my resentment for Kevin Costner is mainly due to the fact that he always plays the same character. A bit like Hugh Grant, but less embarrassing.
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