Tombstone

Rating:
Summary: - Cough, Cough -
Review: Wow, 246 Amazon reviewers, and they all think Val Kilmer is good in this movie. I don't know how anybody could watch this ludicrous performance -- the beady little raisin eyes, the strangled Brando-impersonation voice, the psychotic self-absorption -- and not recoil in embarrassment. Imagine not being able to out-act Victor Mature, who was actually a far better Doc in "My Darling Clementine." Watch that movie and you'll see this for the souped-up high school production it is.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite Western of all time
Review: "Tombstone" takes place after Wyatt Earp ( Kurt Russell) retires from being a U.S. Marshall. He wants peace, quiet, and above all else : prosperity. That is until Wyatt is forced back into the life. The ruthless band of outlaws known as the Cowboys ( led by Powers Boothe and Michael Biehn), gun for Wyatt, his family, and his best friend Doc Holliday ( Val Kilmer). Now Wyatt and Doc, along with Wyatt's brothers Morgan ( Bill Paxton)and Virgil (Sam Elliot)prepare for the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Before I saw "Tombstone", I was never really a huge fan of Westerns. However, "Tombstone" was so great that it managed to turn me into a huge fan of the western genre. The shoot out scenes and overall non stop action is amazing in this film. Tombstone also gives an extremely acurate portrayal of events as well. Kurt Russell gave the best performance possible as Wyatt Earp. He nailed the fierce determination and sense of justice. Val Kilmer gave the best performance in the film as Doc Holliday. Perfect portrayal of Holliday's lifestyle consisting of: drinking, smoking, gambling, women, and a quick trigger finger. Bill Paxton and Sam Elliot make nice additions as the Earp brothers. Dana Delaney gave a nice supporting role as the actress Josephine Marcus. Unbelieveable chemistry between her and Kurt Russell!! Other well known actors include Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Jason Priestley, Stephen Lang, and Thomas Hayden Church. Billy Bob Thorton makes a hilarious cameo in the film as well.

When Tombstone first came out on DVD, I unfortunately ended up buying it. The movie was great, but the DVD was just plain awful. However, I was overjoyed when Tombstone became a member of the Vista Series. This automatically puts the film on a whole new level. Vista Series DVD's always provide for the best quality possible, and tons of outstanding extras. You get a making of featurette in three parts, commentary from director George P Cosmatos, and more. I have seen many Westerns since "Tombstone", but it is still the greatest Western ever made in my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Western
Review: There are so many great things about this movie. It may not be the most historically accurate, but it never strays from being ridiculous, and it always keeps its sharp wit and great action.

Along with "Reservoir Dogs," "Tombstone" is a film with some of the greatest lines I've ever heard. Here's a sample:

"I'm you're Huckleberry."
"Drunk piano player...you can't hit nothing. In fact...you're probably seeing double." / "I have two guns, one for each of you!"
"I don't have the words." / "I know."
"Maybe poker just isn't you game...I know! Lets have a spelling contest!"

Don't be surprised if you find yourself using these lines in casual conversation (my friends and I often use the Huckleberry line ourselves).

But the character, the flow of the story, and the pure charisma of the characters is all there. Every one turns in a good performance, and the good script only enhances that. I could go on about how many great feelings I have for this movie, but I'll prevent myself. This is truly a modern day classic, western or otherwise.

Rating:
Summary: Out of the pages of a J. Peterman catalog
Review: It is interesting to see such a strong revival in the Western, but Tombstone resembled a J. Peterman fashion show moreso than a grim account of Earp and the boys bringing law and order the West. Kurt Russel was insufferable to watch, so busy showing off his Wyatt Earp moustache. Val Kilmer provided the only redeeming performance to this movie in his portrayal of the tuberculosis-ridden Doc Holiday. But, this movie failed to live up to the standards of the past, or provide a suitable revisionist view of events.

Rating:
Summary: Tombstone (Vista Series)
Review: If you haven't seen this one, you must! Target store has very same 2-disk Vista set for $14.95.

Rating:
Summary: Who is the "huckleberry"?
Review: Having already seen My Darling Clementine (1946) and The Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957) several times, I was curious to observe what director George Pan Cosmatos and his screenwriters would do with essentially the same material in this film. There are significant differences between and among them but suggesting comparisons and contrasts would be unfair to three different films which appeared over a 57-year period.

Now on to Tombstone. Director George Cosmatos worked with a large cast and all of the performances are first-rate. William Fraker's cinematography and Bruce Broughton's musical score are carefully integrated within the narrative and serve it well. My own opinion is that Val Kilmer (Doc Holliday) dominates each scene in which he appears. However, Kurt Russell (Wyatt Earp), Dana Delany (Josephine Marcos), Sam Elliot (Virgil Earp), and Powers Boothe (Curly Bill Brocius) hold their own.

As portrayed in the film, Tombstone (Arizona) is a western town in the last stages of being a community dominated by outlaws. The involvement of the Earps coincide with a growing local desire among residents to establish law and order. The eventual showdown at the OK Corral is a key event but by no means the only one. I was especially interested in how Cosmatos and Russell develop Wyatt Earp's character as he struggles to follow his conscience, establish some stability in his own life, and thereby complete a transition from gunfighter to private citizen.

Back to Kilmer for a moment. I do not recall a prior or subsequent film of his in which he reveals the comic timing, nuances of personality, and conflicting anxieties which he does while portraying Holliday in Tombstone. His is a masterful performance, maintaining an exquisite balance between playful humor and force of will. I recalled elements of that performance while recently observing Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. However, the Holliday character is revealed to have much greater depth and complexity than Sparrow's even as both characters demonstrate at every appropriate opportunity a unique flair for mimicry.

I do have a few minor quibbles. First, I think the pace of the plot lags unnecessarily at times. Also, the evolving relationship between Wyatt Earp and Josephine Marcos is not always in focus, even when allowing for a period of adjustment as they take each other's measure. Finally, I really don't understand the purpose of the final scene except to offer an alternative to the neat-and-tidy conclusion which so many other films offer. That said, I think that Cosmatos, his cast, and crew have created 135 minutes of generally entertaining, sometimes hilarious, and often thought-provoking material. Perhaps the more ambitious scale (e.g. timeframe and subplots) precludes the dramatic impact of its predecessors, My Darling Clementine and The Gunfight at the OK Corral. In any event, I enjoyed it.

Final point: I wish all other versions offered special features comparable with those provided by the Vista Series DVD. They include a commentary by Cosmatos, the 134 Director's Cut Edition, featurettes ("An Ensemble Cast," "Making An Authentic Western," and "The Gunfight At The O.K. Corral"), an interactive Tombstone storyline, The Tombstone Epitaph - Actual Newspaper Account, and Cosmatos' original storyboards for the O.K. Corral sequence.

Rating:
Summary: 3 cheers for Val!
Review: Val Kilmer IS Doc Holliday, and this film would have been only fair without his contribution as Doc.

Rating:
Summary: I'm your Huckleberry.
Review: Although I haven't seen the John Ford classic "My Darling Clementine" which seeing from his other classics is probably better than this, but this one remains number three on my list of the best westerns of the 90's [with "Dances with Wolves" at #1 and "Unforgiven" at #2], and one of my personal favoriet westerns in general.
And although Henry Fonda has been claimed the best Wyatt Earp on screen, Russell gives us a great performance as the great sheriff. Despite his performance as the main character, this movie undoubetly belongs to Val Kilmer who portrays the ailing Doc Holliday, which almost every film critic has said as the best Doc Holliday ever. Other notable performances in this movie are Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Robert Burke, Sam Elliot, Stephan Lang, Bill Paxton, Billy Zane, Terry O' Quinn, and a small but notable performance from screen icon Charleton Heston.
The movie starts out with the cowboys [the villians in this movie] riding in on a wedding about to take place and eventually killing quite a few people. It then moves to the town of Tombstone where Wyatt Earp and his bride have just got off the train. He soon meets up with his brothers and their wives as they try to start a buisness as he tries to get away from his past as a sheriff. This works for a while until an event sparks his fury which I won't mention so that it won't ruin it for the viewers who haven't seen it yet. At the same time Doc Holliday decides to join Wyatt in his battle against the cowboys, simply because he's the only friend he ever had. With Wyatt's wife becoming addicted to oppiom, he meets an atractive women in town for the time being and soon falls in love with her.
With George P.Cosmatos of the "Rambo" fame, the movie goes off without a hitch. The Vista Series DVD is a DIrector's Cut which has many deleted scenes and an audio commentary by the director himself, with many other special features including a card game on DVD ROM. This western won't disappoint you, and don't settle for the regular edition, go ahead and pay ten more dollars for this version, it's well worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Skin that smoke wagon and see what happens
Review: Let's see, I think in "Blazing Saddles" that was referred to as authentic western gibberish, but if it's authentic, it's about the only thing that is in this farce.

The problem with this movie is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. It starts off as a western stage piece, basically a comedy, not quite in the ham-it-up vein as say "Maverick", but not meant to be taken seriously. I mean, there's no way you can look at 100 watt teeth and the most imaculatey starched clothing this side of a stuffy French restaurant and think you're supposed to be watching a historic telling of the real gritty west.

But then it tries to transform itself into an action picture, and you're left holding the bag. There's no way any of these characters could afford to get blood on those collars. I remembering seeing the (apparently un-killable) Ike Clanton toss his sash on the ground at the end, and thinking; hey! Somebody just ironed that, you ungrateful retch!

Ah well, the underrated Val Kilmer has some nice lines, but otherwise this thing is a mess that's only worth seeing for the corny language, and to figure out how Russell could really ride a horse in those tight pants.

Rating:
Summary: Kilmer, Boothe, and Biehn
Review: There are three reasons to own a copy of this movie, and two of them are portraits of souls entangled in lives dedicated to making the wrong choices. Doc Holliday's life isn't really the model of adjustment and happiness, either - but Mr Kilmer earns the right to be called "Mister" in this movie. He doesn't just portray The Man Gone Wrong - he takes a part that could have turned into a real floater and made it himself. Mr Kilmer IS John Holliday, odd Southern idiom and all. He is a profoundly sick man - in more ways than one - who shines in his devotion to the man who may just be his only friend in the world.