The iconic Western Tombstone was released with a major source of compeтιтion at the box office in Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp biopic, but the legendary Sam Elliott never had a doubt that Tombstone would win the day. 32 years after its release, Tombstone is still viewed as one of the very best Westerns of all time, and is one of the most memorable movies of the 1990s regardless of genre. It is loaded with well-known quotes and memorable performances, while its direct compeтιтion from that same calendar year is all but forgotten by most audiences.

As the de facto director of Tombstone, it makes sense that Kurt Russell would be concerned about its performance, even if he hadn’t carried any of the blame if it didn’t perform well. While the outcome is now well-known, at the time there was a very real concern that Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp biopic would outshine Tombstone, given its star power, a more willing studio, and higher budget to work with. However, Russell’s co-star Sam Elliott, who played Wyatt’s brother, Virgil Earp, didn’t share the same worries, entirely due to his confidence in their finished product.

Sam Elliot Didn’t Share Kurt Russell’s Worry About Tombstone’s Compeтιтion

Russell Was Concerned About Kevin Costner’s Other Wyatt Earp Film

Kurt Russell is widely regarded as the real director of Tombstone after original director Kevin Jarre was overwhelmed and dismissed from the project. Action director George P. Cosmatos is technically credited as the movie’s director, but it was reportedly Russell who made most of the most influential decisions, including cutting down his character Wyatt Earp’s role. Given how much behind-the-scenes strife there was, Elliott recounted to Entertainment Weekly in 2019 that Russell was genuinely worried about how Tombstone would stack up against the other Wyatt Earp-focused movie:

I remember sitting in the Holiday Inn one night. It was before we started, and Kurt was kind of angst-ridden about all of it because he was looking at a much bigger picture that I was, much bigger than all of us. I said, ‘What the f— are you worried about, man?’ He said, ‘What do you mean?’ We had this kind of contentious relationship throughout, and I think it was really born in the relationship of the brothers, and we never got past that. I said, ‘They haven’t got this f—ing script and they haven’t got this f—ing cast.’ And that was the f—ing truth, you know? ‘Apart from that, sweat all you want.’

Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp had more than double the budget of Tombstone, and with Costner at the height of his powers in the early 1990s, the studio behind it was far more willing to back his vision. Conversely, the studio behind the movie was so concerned about Tombstone that they essentially hid it from Siskel and Ebert, the premier movie critics of the 90s. However, Elliott knew that they had caught lightning in a bottle with Russell’s pared-down, well-paced script and a talented cast that gave outstanding performances, directorial uncertainty notwithstanding.

Sam Elliot Was Right, Tombstone Was A Better Movie Than Wyatt Earp

It’s Superior In Just About Every Way That Matters

As it turned out, Sam Elliott could not have been more correct in his ᴀssessment. Tombstone destroyed Costner’s Wyatt Earp at the box office, tripling its more modest investment, while the drearier biopic failed to even recoup its budget. Simply put, Tombstone was a better movie in just about every way that matters, from entertainment value to rewatchability and theater experience. Wyatt Earp is beautifully sH๏τ and well-acted, but as is the case with many of Kevin Costner’s epics, the story drags and meanders to the point that it becomes unenjoyable.

Pick any movie review platform and it’s evident that time has only made the gap between the two movies grow larger. Tombstone‘s Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score nearly doubles that of Wyatt Earp, and the majority of the current reviews are unkind to Costner’s epic. Tombstone became a cult classic thanks to how quotable it is, its string of amazing, iconic scenes, and the incredible, committed performances of the whole cast. Elliott was right to not be concerned about Tombstone‘s success way back in 1993, as time has proven him to be prophetic.

Source: Entertainment Weekly, Rotten Tomatoes