Tombstone (Vista Series)

Rating:
Summary: It's A Modern Classic
Review: "Tombstone" is a strange creature. It's loaded with more action than you can shake a stick at coupled with some rather long moments. It has some great actors in it coupled with some not-so-hot ones. It has one-liners that make "I'll be back" seem forgettable coupled with some hokey proclamations that come across as just silly. In all, it's the perfect stew of good, bad, and ugly(pun intended).

But that is what makes this film so great and deserving of "classic" status. Painstaking accuracy was put into certain parts of the movie. For instance, according to court records, the famed "gunfight at the O.K. Corral" lasted roughly thirty seconds. Time that showdown in the film and see just how accurate it is on screen. Read the famous "No Les, No More" epitaph on the tombstone of Lester Moore on Boot Hill. See the sheer looks of terror on the faces of the townspeople. These little things, while not very important by Hollywood's standards, are what give this film a sense of realism.

On the other hand, Bill Paxton's characterization of Morgan Earp is laughable at times. He is the weakest character in this film. Ike Clanton, although he was pretty much a cutthroat chicken according to history, is assigned the unfavorable role of comic relief. Powers Boothe is a little over-the-top as Curly Bill Broscius, and you have to admit that Kurt Russell seems to be a little TOO involved with his portrayal of Wyatt Earp. Much like the accuracies of the picture, however, these little near-misses only add to the appeal of the flick.

The best portrayal of any character in this flick has to be Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday. He plays the guy with a devil-may-care attitude. He has a deathwish, which makes him deadlier than anyone else in the film. Those who have studied the history of this complex man understand that once the Yanks basically took everything from him and he contracted TB, he really had no reason to live. I think that Kilmer captured this aspect of Holliday to a tee. His relationship with "Big Nose" Kate was rough, and I think that the actress who portrayed her in "Tombstone" is perhaps a little too attractive than pictures of the real Kate reveal, but she does very well in the role. Sam Elliot, as always, is perfect in this film. He plays the eldest Earp, Virgil. He also seems to have his head on the straightest. In all, the majority of the cast does a superb job in this film. The wooden characters, most notably Paxton, however, still manage to play an important role in making this film great.

As far as the accuracy issues are concerned, this movie is rather accurate and probably the most accurate account of what really happened based on court papers. Many people laugh at some of the action in the film, but most of it really happened. To this day, people argue over who actually killed Johnny Ringo. Odds are that in a man-to-man gunfight, Earp wouldn't stand a chance against Ringo, so the legend of Holliday coming to save the day does hold some weight. No one really knows Holliday's final words, but "That's funny," seems fitting. When watching a film based on actual events, keep in mind that some creative changes were added to move the story along. Also, when dealing with the Wild West, remember that dimestore novels made men into legends. A common cattle thief can become a Billy the Kid, and even poker hands can get tagged as a "Dead Man's Hand."

In conclusion, this film is the perfect mix of accuracy, legend, good, and bad. It isn't the best Western film ever made, but it definitely ranks in the top ten. Add it to your collection today.

Highly recommended. I'd give it five stars, but we all know that this film doesn't have as much widespread appeal due to the fact that it is a Western.

Rating:
Summary: YOU'RE A 'DAISY' IF YOU GET THIS MOVIE!
Review: I have watched this movie so many times that I've lost count!!! As an old western buff (with favorites like Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, the orignal Return of Frank James, etc), I first watched this movie out of curiosity. I did not think that a modern day western could possibly match up to the powerful guns of yesteryear. How wrong I was! Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer shine in this movie, and Kilmer makes Doc Holliday a lovable character, even though the real Holliday was anything but. The story itself did not totally match the true lives of the characters, i.e. the violent relationship between Doc and Kate in real life was replaced in this movie by a 'girlfriend/boyfriend' type situation even though, clearly, Kate's desire was Doc's demise.
All in all, Tombstone, in my opinion, is one of the best movies ever made. I thoroughly enjoyed it and although the budget was much lower than the 4 hour Costner movie, Wyatt Earp, which was released around the same time, Tombstone blew it's competition out of the water! Hands down!
It is a definite 'must see' not only for western lovers, but for those who enjoy good action movies. You will not be disappointed.


Rating:
Summary: Good Stuff
Review:
They say Gone with the Wind seems richer than it really is because it had something like four directors, each of which put his slightly different vision into his scenes.

Well, much of the appeal of Tombstone is pretty well from the same source. I believe that the first director of this film was a history fanatic and wanted to make the movie extremely historically accurate - and then he was replaced by George Cosmatos, a total action movie director. He made the movie much more of an action movie...but still heavily informed by the script, acting styles, costuming and props that were already in place.

The result is a glorious mishmash. Had this movie been simply a action movie from the start, we wouldn't have got all the period costumes and dialect which is so much a part of the experience. On the other hand, without Cosmatos, would we have had the badass style and gunplay? We might have ended up with something more like Costner's Wyatt Earp (yawn).

I was obsessed with this movie in high school, and it is still the epitome of cool. Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday is just too cool - a Gone with the Wind aristocrat who has taken up killing, drinking and poker for his trade. He gets the best lines in the movie - "Why Johnny Ringo. You look like somebody just - walked over yo' *grave"..."
But his character is also rather pitiable, and his final deathbed speech is extremely moving.

Kurt Russel as Wyatt Earp is also extremely cool. Especially with his red ties.

Portions of the movie are exhaustively accurate. The leadup to the OK Corral shooting is excruciatingly accurate, with every action being shown, blow by blow, such as the pistol whipping of Ike clanton. In the shootout itself, every line is accurate as reported in the ensuing court case, and the incidents of the gunfight are accurately staged.

Yet the shootout is also a fantastic piece of gunplay. Here again is the interaction between two different aesthetics - see Costner's film for an equally accurate reconstruction of the exact same scene which is nontheless very dull...

Despite the above, this movie is very flawed. The movie seems to have been made in a rush and without much care. The inconsistencies between the two directorial styles makes some characters difficult to understand, and much of the post-OK Corrall portions are a complete mess. But the very end of the film is well made and wraps up all the characters, so the movie manages to survive its own flaws.

Rating:
Summary: Loved This Movie
Review: All the actors did a great job, but, I think Doc/Kilmer is the one who really put the fire in this movie. He was so "cool" I loved it. Nobody could beat him in anything he did, he was the best at everything and even his sickness didn't dampen his spirit. I can't watch the part when he gives his last words to his best friend Wyatt. I think it's just too sad to see such a vibrant fire burn out. (I cried everytime I seen it, so I quit watching that part) Otherwise the movie was excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Greatest Western Ever
Review: I've seen this movie a bunch of times. Doc Holiday steals this movie. Also I saw a review that says that when Doc dies he says "This is Funny" because he sees the light. NOT TRUE!!! He says that because most cowboys die with their boots on and he was not wearing his.

Rating:
Summary: I don't care if it is totally correct or not
Review: Some critics like to to point out that this more isn't all
the way accurate... Big Deal! It's a movie! If I wanted a
complete accurate story I'd read the book or something...
Anyway, this movie is very well acted with Val Kilmer having
his best and last good role.... But as somebody said, you
can't forget Russell's acting in this movie. He is pretty
good and believeable. I'm sad that they didn't get more out
of Sam Elliot out of this one.... He is a vet of these type
of movies... But seems to really fade into the background
too much. One person that should have been left out is Bill
Paxton... He is too much of a wiesel for a movie like this.