Tombstone (1993) Reviews

• I'm your Huckleberry

  www-soulreaper5552007-09-28

  Probably the best Western I have ever seen, if mostly due to Kilmer's outstanding portrayal as Doc Holliday. He lacks, in my opinion, much of the gruffness of John Wayne which, although good, gets boring after so many films. The look on Ringo's face when he realises his opponent is Holliday, not Earp, is priceless, and shows you just how great a reputation Doc has that a man praised as "The deadliest pistoleer since Wild Bill" is now making excuses not to go up against him. Russel's performance is also commendable, showing a man who has seen too much blood in his life and wishes simply to settle down, but Kilmer simply cannot be ignored as the drunken but suave gambler.

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• Cowboys are my weakness!

  princesss_buttercup32008-06-19

  It's funny, but I notice most of the prior comments are from guys, but speaking as a woman, this is by no means just a guy's flick. It's been one of my favorite films since the day it came out. It's got everything- drama, romance, action, and an honest to goodness story. There are even interesting themes, like the moral dilemma that Wyatt finds himself in-- Is he compelled to help fight the Cowboys even though he's "retired" and just wants to live out his life in peace? Is there a moral equivalence between killing for justice and killing for retribution? How far can a man go to sacrifice his own integrity and better judgment? Even though the Earps are the "good guys", the movie doesn't glamorize violence. Doc Holliday and some of the Earps' other sidekicks ("Creek Johnson" and "Texas Jack") are obviously pretty shady characters, but at the end of the day, are forced to choose between right and wrong, and they choose correctly. It doesn't get much better than Val Kilmer's performance as Doc Holliday, and I can't for the life of me understand why he didn't get nominated for it. I also appreciate the fact that the love story between Wyatt and Josephine didn't dominate the film and take away from the real plot, ala "Titanic". The love story simply served its purpose in helping viewers to better understand the character of Wyatt. Also the friendship between Wyatt and Doc was portrayed tenderly but not wussily. And okay, as a woman, let me just say that there is no one sexier than Sam Elliot. Man alive, if there ever was a person born to portray a cowboy, that guy is IT. If you've never seen a Western, or are not a fan, try this movie. It will make a believer out of you.

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• A Terrific Homage to Classic Westerns!

  cariart2003-08-27

  TOMBSTONE, one of two epic westerns about Wyatt Earp released within a few months of each other (1993-94) lacks the lyrical, 'warts-and-all' quality of Kevin Costner's WYATT EARP, but is a more successful film, with tighter pacing, more clearly drawn characters, and a reverence to the genre that has made it the most popular Western of the last twenty years. From the opening scene, narrated by the legendary Robert Mitchum, a nod to the great Hollywood Westerns of the past is evident; a gang of outlaws calling themselves 'The Cowboys' break up a Mexican wedding in a small town, ruthlessly killing nearly all the men, including village priest Pedro Armendáriz Jr. (son of the legendary Western actor), in a scene reminiscent of ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. Led by two of Hollywood's flashiest character actors, swaggering Powers Boothe, and coldly psychotic Michael Biehn (playing Johnny Ringo), the presence of such pure evil sets the stage for the Earps' arrival in Tombstone. A powerful cast is essential for a great Western, and you couldn't find a better group of actors as the Earp brothers; Kurt Russell, chiseled, squinty-eyed, and razor-thin, is an ideal Wyatt; Sam Elliott, one of Hollywood's best Western actors, plays Virgil with a growl but a twinkle in his eye; and Bill Paxton, soon to achieve stardom in APOLLO 13 and TWISTER, makes a terrific Morgan. Then there is Val Kilmer, as Doc Holliday...While Dennis Quaid, in WYATT EARP, gave the most realistic portrayal of the dying dentist-turned-gambler/gunfighter ever recorded on film (he was superb), Kilmer, relying on bloodshot eyes, an ambiguous sexuality, and a Brando-esque line delivery, literally steals TOMBSTONE, and has become the 'Doc' everyone remembers. He is so charismatic that you nearly forget that the Earps are the focus of the story! Watch for his early scene confronting a shotgun-wielding (and chubby!) Billy Bob Thornton (three years before SLING BLADE), out to kill Wyatt, and you'll see my point. The events leading up to the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral are clearly and decisively presented, from Wyatt's first meeting with future wife Josie (Dana Delany), to the murder of Tombstone's Marshal (Harry Carey, Jr., son of another legendary Western star, and a staple of many John Ford films), which leads to Virgil taking the badge and making his brothers (in Wyatt's case, reluctantly) deputies, to the friction with Ike Clanton (GODS AND GENERALS' Stephen Lang) that explodes into the short but bloody shootout that became legendary. Where TOMBSTONE and WYATT EARP both excel is in presenting the aftermath of the gunfight. Unlike MY DARLING CLEMENTINE or GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL, the true story doesn't tie up neatly with a happy ending at the Corral, but becomes darker and bloodier. The Earps are placed under house arrest, and after they are acquitted in court, friends of Clanton (in TOMBSTONE, Ringo and other Cowboys), cold-bloodedly murder Morgan and cripple Virgil. Wyatt explodes, and grimly sets about, with Holiday and a small band of gunmen, to execute every possible Clanton ally he can find ("You tell him I'm coming! And hell's coming with me!"). Becoming a wanted fugitive himself, he only stops his mission of vengeance long enough to take the ailing Holiday to a friend's cabin (Charlton Heston has a brief but memorable cameo as the rancher), but the gambler returns in time for the gunblazing climax of the film. TOMBSTONE is the kind of Western that critics love to say aren't made anymore, a throwback to the golden days of Ford and Hawks, when Good and Evil were clearly defined. Director George P. Cosmatos grew up on those films, as well as those of Sergio Leone, and he said, of TOMBSTONE, that it was made to honor the Westerns he loved so much. It is his love of the Western that makes TOMBSTONE a truly superior film!

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• Very enjoyable

  MrsFuzzy2004-05-16

  I decided to watch 'Tombstone' as there was nothing else on, and I am so glad I did. Conforming as I do to the stereotypical 'female who does not like Westerns' it was mainly Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer that drew me in. Not knowing much about the 'OK Corral' I envisioned a long drawn out gunfight scene somewhere out in the desert. To discover it happened in the middle of town was only one of the educational experiences. Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp gives a strong portrayal of a man who didn't want to get involved until circumstances gave him no option. However, the movie does 'belong' to Val Kilmer. He gave a real sense of fatalism as 'Doc' Holliday, wanting to die in a blaze of gunfire rather than fading away from tuberculosis. A great view of the Wild West.

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• A significant Western…

  Nazi_Fighter_David2006-03-27

  The legendary O.K. Corral incident in Tombstone, Arizona has been told previously in Edward L. Cahn's Law and Order (1932), Lewis Seiler's Frontier Marshal (1934), Allan Dwan's Frontier Marshal (1939), William C. McGann's Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die (1942), John Sturges' Gunfight at O.K. Corral (1957), John Sturges' Hour of the Gun (1967), and Frank Perry's Doc (1971). It was also filmed by Lawrence Kasdan in Wyatt Earp (1994), a year after George P. Cosmatos' "Tombstone." Cosmatos visualizes "Tombstone" in a new different way… He introduces Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) leaving Dodge City for the silver mining town of Tombstone to seek peaceful and profitable life… There, he is joined by his brothers Virgil (Sam Elliot), and Morgan (Bill Paxton), and their wives… Once arrived, they catch up with Wyatt's highly cultured friend, the flashy gambler and gunman, John Henry 'Doc' Holliday (Val Kilmer), accompanied by his voluptuous Hungarian consort Kate Horony (Joanna Pacula). In Tombstone the Earps found that the wild town is controlled by an elite body of gunmen (the vile Clantons as well as their ally) known by the red silk sashes they wore around their waists…They call themselves the "Cowboys." All the elements of entertaining cinema are here—the upstanding hero figure and his unyielding nature (Earp); the eccentric, tragic sidekick (Doc Holliday); the lawless gang of villains led by the roughneck Curly Bill (Powers Boothe) and the testy Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn); and the terrific action, which is, by its very nature, the classic elements of the Western... We also have good romance, funny lines and gun fighting skills… Cosmatos chooses to focus the attention on Wyatt's bloodiest days in Tombstone… With Russell and Kilmer, he creates two characters that are both human and heroic… The shootout at the O.K. Corral sparks with real excitement… As the Earps with Doc Holliday step into the street and head down for their ultimate approach, they unexpectedly do look like their myth… Four tall figures in long black coats advancing in a line, stern and unstoppable, a transient moment in time congealed eternally in our minds…

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