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Tombstone (1993)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
6/20, 4/25
6/20:
I often read that Tombstone, supported by rave reviews of Val Kilmer's performance, was one
of the two best Western movies made during the 90's with the other being
Unforgiven, and after finally viewing it, I can see why.
Sadly, the history of Wyatt Earp is mostly inaccurate, having been repeated in many mediums due to the inspiration
of the 1901 novel The Virginian. It marked the beginning of the Western craze that would dominate
television and movies during the 50's and 60's and with a good reason: they brought in the highest ratings ever.
Therefore, it showed the Old West that wasn't, hence the public being spoon-fed with lies and myths.
Because of the impossible-to-separate mix of fact and fiction, nobody knows for sure what happened in either Dodge
City, Kansas, or Tombstone, Arizona. Wyatt Earp and his brothers didn't fight the so-called Cowboys over honor;
it was politics. They were also thieves and murderers more interested in making money illegally,
running whorehouses, and patronizing prostitutes than anything else. The famous gunfight didn't happen at the
O.K. Corral but six lots away, and the brothers got arrested, were held for murder, and had to appear in court
many times until they secured acquittal.
Back to Tombstone, it's quite good with Arizonian ambience and a strong cast of many showing off their
mustaches which are all real: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn
(who previously did the same for The Abyss), Sam Elliot (of course...),
Bill Paxton, Stephen Lang, Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Rooker, Billy Zane, Jason Priestley, Thomas Haden
Church, and Charlton Heston.
The unseen Robert Mitchum provides the narration after being slated to appear but fell off a horse and hurt
his back. Although uncredited, Kurt Russell directed the majority of Tombstone with George P. Cosmatos'
help due to the firing of Kevin Jarre who became overwhelmed by the task.
Unfortunately snubbed for an Oscar nomination, Val Kilmer takes the top acting honors by giving one of the
greatest performances of his career and has the best lines. There are rich scenes that make
Tombstone a highly regarded Western. However, it's not a focused picture as there's a lot of filler
that smacks of lazy filmmaking. The horseback riding scene with Kurt Russell and Dana Delany is ridiculous
and should thus be cut out; the same can be said for the unnecessary romantic subplot between their
characters, too.
All in all, despite the negatives, Tombstone has my strongest recommendation, thanks to Val Kilmer.
4/25:
What a shock to find out Val Kilmer had died unexpectedly at age 65, so I thought of seeing Tombstone again.
Once again, Val Kilmer steals the show in spite of having little screen time and going against a strong
ensemble cast. Kurt Russell has done a fine job. I like the ambience and how everything flows, story-wise,
but the last thirty minutes hurts the film a lot with insertions of mundane stuff not involving Doc Holliday.
Another mistake is making Powers Boothe the ultimate bad guy when it should've been Michael Biehn.
All in all, the Academy Awards did Val Kilmer injustice by not giving him an Oscar nomination for his
performance in Tombstone.