Review of "Wyatt Earp," DVD version starring Kevin Costner

Review of

Wyatt Earp, DVD version starring Kevin Costner

Four out of five stars

 Given the amount of positive and negative discussion of the life of Wyatt Earp, the most famous of all the men with guns in the old west, in most cases it is impossible to separate fact from fiction. Therefore, any statement as to how well this movie is historically accurate is invariably tainted. Earp and his brothers were not always on the right side of right and the law as it existed back then, Wyatt operated saloons, brothels, gambled heavily and was widely believed to have fixed a prizefight. When he wasn’t shooting people of course. One amazing fact that is unquestionably true is that Wyatt was never so much as grazed by a hostile bullet, that alone will make a mystique.

 The movie emphasizes the lawful side of the Earp brothers, there are only hints of their less scrupulous actions. The Earp brothers show tender sides to the women in their lives, yet always make it clear that their first loyalty is to each other. The acting is at times a bit stiff and formulaic with the dialog sometimes predictable. There are love scenes that are rather tame for the modern world of cinema, in the world of blazing guns, they are a high point of the movie. The gunfights are standard imagery of westerns.

 Given all the laudatory material written about Wyatt Earp, his brothers and their pal Doc Holliday, this movie is about as historically accurate as can be done.