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Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $11.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Catchy theme and great performance from Kirk Douglas
Review: Unforgetable to me for two reasons: First Kirk Douglas' performance as the consumptive Doc Halliday, a character at one and the same time both likeable and despicable. I disagree with some of the critics I have read in that I think Burt Lancaster ( though himself a great actor) was miscast as Wyatt Earp. I have seen this movie a number of times since I was a child, and I still don't buy it (sorry).

Compared to today's movies with their warp-speed style of direction, Gufinght at the Ok Corral does drag at times but it is esentially a character drama and therein lies its greatest strength. Dated only slightly and still a great movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: OK Corral a Classic
Review: What happened to our drive-in theaters? I first saw "Gunfight at OK Corral" at the drive-in and what an experience that was, this great western on a giant screen, the speakers blaring the rousing theme song sung by Frankie Lane, and Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, larger than life,riding across the plains. I rank it high in the many Wyatt Earp sagas, a little below "Tombstone," but very high. Yes, on video, the wide screen shrinks as in all epics, but the chemistry between Lancaster and Douglas holds up amazingly well. Lancaster's laconic but not wooden performance as Wyatt Earp is perfectly complemented by Douglas's outgoing, sardonic, consumtive coughing Doc Holliday. The villians are veteran Hollywood old hands and if you look close you'll see a very very young Dennis Hopper as Billy Clanton. The story is kind of confusing as to really why things can't be settled more peaceably but the climactic fight at OK Corral, much longer than depicted in other films treating the same incident, seems more exciting. The cinematography is wonderful, showcasing wide vistas that even register on this video.Add to this a tremendous music score by Dimitri Tiomkin and will have you wistling with Frankie Lane for days. A great western, but I miss those wide screens, as we all long for that mythical west created by Hollywood but in many parts actually existed.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: OK Corral a Classic
Review: What happened to our drive-in theaters? I first saw "Gunfight at OK Corral" at the drive-in and what an experience that was, this great western on a giant screen, the speakers blaring the rousing theme song sung by Frankie Lane, and Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, larger than life,riding across the plains. I rank it high in the many Wyatt Earp sagas, a little below "Tombstone," but very high. Yes, on video, the wide screen shrinks as in all epics, but the chemistry between Lancaster and Douglas holds up amazingly well. Lancaster's laconic but not wooden performance as Wyatt Earp is perfectly complemented by Douglas's outgoing, sardonic, consumtive coughing Doc Holliday. The villians are veteran Hollywood old hands and if you look close you'll see a very very young Dennis Hopper as Billy Clanton. The story is kind of confusing as to really why things can't be settled more peaceably but the climactic fight at OK Corral, much longer than depicted in other films treating the same incident, seems more exciting. The cinematography is wonderful, showcasing wide vistas that even register on this video.Add to this a tremendous music score by Dimitri Tiomkin and will have you wistling with Frankie Lane for days. A great western, but I miss those wide screens, as we all long for that mythical west created by Hollywood but in many parts actually existed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic in Every Respect!
Review: While "Wyatt Earp" is the only film that truly presents an accurate account of what occurred in Tombstone between the Earps and the Clantons, the inaccuracies contained in this particular film do not diminish its value as an excellent western.

The theme song sets the perfect tone and serves to tell the story in an entertaining fashion throughout the length of the film. Somewhat akin to an old west version of a Shakespearean Chorus, the song becomes a perfect narration to the unfolding events.

Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas are perfectly cast as Wyatt and Doc Holliday. Douglas turns in an excellent performance, I believe one of his best, as the dentist turned alcoholic gunfighter who discovers the importance of loyalty and friendship. It is also important to note that Douglas was the first actor to accurately portray Holliday's illness (Tuberculosis).

Also, watch for supporting performances by Dennis Hopper and DeForest Kelley.

If you want to see a more accurate account of the history of the Earp/Clanton conflict I would recommend Costner's "Wyatt Earp". However, don't miss this classic that was definitely ahead of its time in many ways.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic in Every Respect!
Review: While "Wyatt Earp" is the only film that truly presents an accurate account of what occurred in Tombstone between the Earps and the Clantons, the inaccuracies contained in this particular film do not diminish its value as an excellent western.

The theme song sets the perfect tone and serves to tell the story in an entertaining fashion throughout the length of the film. Somewhat akin to an old west version of a Shakespearean Chorus, the song becomes a perfect narration to the unfolding events.

Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas are perfectly cast as Wyatt and Doc Holliday. Douglas turns in an excellent performance, I believe one of his best, as the dentist turned alcoholic gunfighter who discovers the importance of loyalty and friendship. It is also important to note that Douglas was the first actor to accurately portray Holliday's illness (Tuberculosis).

Also, watch for supporting performances by Dennis Hopper and DeForest Kelley.

If you want to see a more accurate account of the history of the Earp/Clanton conflict I would recommend Costner's "Wyatt Earp". However, don't miss this classic that was definitely ahead of its time in many ways.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Title Tune and Kirk Douglas Make "O.K. Corral" a Classic
Review: Why is "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" an all-time western classic? Two reasons: Kirk Douglas and Frankie Lane. Sure, Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp is rock solid. But it is Douglas' unforgetable Doc Holliday that makes this a western for the ages.

Holliday drinks too much. He gambles too much. He treats his girlfriend rotten. He kills with impunity, though not without provocation. But you like him anyway--and you like him a lot--because, when law and order are hanging in the balance, he comes down on the right side. Irrespective of Holliday's own foibles, you like him because he hates bad guys, especially those rotten Clantons.

Then there is Frankie Lane singing that song. I would watch this film just for the theme song echoing through it. I mean, was there ever a better cowboy song than "O.K. Corral?" It will haunt you. And nobody could have sung it except Lane. Where did that styling, that vibrato, come from? From the cold desert evening ground of Boot Hill, maybe.

Some have said the pace of "Corral" flags at times. Well, if you are looking for the pace of a sci-fi flick, or an animated Disney film, or NHL hockey, you will be disappointed. But the pace of "Corral" is not unlike the pace of the Old West. In the Old West you had to wait around for daybreak, the stagecoach, the cavalry, and a lot of things. I recommend you quietly wait along with the Earps and the Clantons for the shootout at daybreak.


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