“I’m your huckleberry.”
Kurt Russell may be the star of Tombstone but its Val Kilmer’s grand turn as Doc Holliday that gives the film life (ironic since the character is dying). It’s a bravado acting job by Kilmer, not to mention a cast of familiar faces that at least for a time showed Hollywood that the Western still had some life in it yet.
The Earp brothers, Virgil (Sam Elliott), Morgan (Bill Paxton), and the famous Wyatt (Kurt Russell), want nothing more than to settle down and put their gun-slinging days behind them. They think the mining town of Tombstone, Arizona will be the place to do just that (legend tells us that was not to happen).
When they arrive they find that Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), an old fried of Wyatt’s, is also in town hoping the drier climate will help with his tuberculosis. The Earp’s are making good profits from their saloon and gambling emporium, but the Cowboy gang soon starts to rear its ugly head.
They’re a group of outlaws led by “Curly Bill” Brocious (Powers Boothe), and include the fast draw psycho Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) who takes a dislike to Doc. The gang is known by their distinctive red sashes. The west is not as wild as imagined as Mr. Fabian’s (Billy Zane) traveling theatre troupe arrives in Tombstone and Wyatt takes a shine to player Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany) and she takes a shine to him.
With his wife (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson) becoming a laudanum addict, Josephine’s attentions are most welcome. With the terrors of the Cowboys on the rise, the townsfolk are pressuring the Earp’s to take up the law again and rid the town of the scourge. It all comes to a head when Curly Bill shoots Marshal Fred White (Harry Carey, Jr.) and Wyatt has to come forward to subdue him.
The Cowboys and Ike Clanton (Stephen Lang) swear revenge on Wyatt. Virgil takes up the sheriff’s star to bring order to Tombstone further infuriating the Cowboys and it will all cumulate in a showdown at the O.K. Corral. The bullets will fly and the blood will flow, huckleberry.
The Western is a film genre that is always mentioned as a dead one. However, about the time they’re taking the old boy up to Boot Hill he springs back to life again. Sure, they don’t make them as much as they did in their heyday, but every once and awhile Hollywood likes to put on the boots and chaps and venture into Ford country, John that is not the automobile company.
1993 saw two competing Wyatt Earp projects vying for the spotlight. Ironically both involved Kevin Costner. He was attached to Tombstone until creative differences had him leave to head to Tombstone with Lawrence Kasdan taking the directorial reigns.
Costner’s Wyatt Earp would premiere six months after Tombstone and the public preferred the starter as Tombstone went on to success and Wyatt Earp fell flat.
Kurt Russell in recent years has stated that he ghost directed the picture and also faced some behind-the-scenes tampering from Costner. Tombstone feels more like Hollywood gloss, but in doing so it is highly entertaining. The bonus of that fun comes in the form of Val Kilmer as the great line spouting, in between tuberculosis fueled coughs, Doc Holliday.
Russell is also well cast as the stoic Wyatt and his brothers are filled by stalwarts Elliott (a face made for Westerns) and Paxton in fine form.
The supporting cast is just a delightful with Western actor and member of the John Ford Company Harry Carey, Jr. adding some old school gravitas. Robert Mitchum narrates (he was supposed to play a role but an accident kept him from it) and Charlton Heston also appear to add even more old Hollywood luster to the show.
Even the supporting cast of younger faces shine in their roles, witness the rivalry between Kilmer and Biehn. Fantastic stuff, no matter who directed it. Pop the corn and pass the ammunition. Yippee cay yay.
Tombstone is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.39:1). Special features are presented in standard definition and include a 27 minute making of, 4 minutes of storyboards, 4 minutes of trailers, and 3 minutes of TV spots.
Sadly, some of the special features of the DVD set, mainly a commentary by the late director George Cosmatos, are missing. It feels like little effort was put into the disc as the transfer is a bit iffy and those missing features. However, the entertainment factor overpowers those niggles, huckleberry.
Those expecting history should never apply to Hollywood. Those expecting entertainment should be rewarded with Tombstone. There’s still some life left in the genre and Tombstone is a fine example of it.
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