Tombstone Blazes New Trails

There have been many filmings of the Wyatt Earp saga, most done well. John Ford with his excellent "My Darling Clementine," two John Sturges films, "Gunfight at OK Corral," and "Hour of the Gun." Both excellent and hold up well. And along comes "Tombstone," not as heralded as versions that came before, but what a brilliant piece of movie-making. There has not been many westerns made recently and they used to be the staple of the screen. "Tomestone" injects new life into this time-worn story. Kurt Russell is a tower of strength as Wyatt Earp. His brothers are well played by Sam Elliot as brother Virgil and Bill Paxton as brother Morgan. The rest of the cast are finely cast and good in their roles. But the role that really galvanizes this movie to real greatness is Doc Holliday played by Val Kilmer. He totally inhabits the character, giving his many lines funny twists, like "I'm you're huckleberry," or "You're no daisy," all spoken in a prissy, hilarious Georgian accent, yet there is an underlining sadness about him-no mean feat with such a character. The action is furious, tragic and rousing. The photography by co-producer William Fraker is superb, with thunderstorms, swirling dust and wide distant Arizona vistas. After seening the overlong, slow "Wyatt Earp," basically going over the same themes, but with little spark, made me appreciate "Tombstone" all the more. Kudos to the the costume and set designers for a original, realistic look to the production. And one last kudo to Kevin Jarre for his wonderful, funny, screenplay. Scenes like Johnny Ringo (Michael Bien) and Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) dueling in Latin, then that great western icon, Harry Caray Jr. breaking in and saying "Boys, we don't want any trouble in any language." And pre "Sling Blade" Billy Bob Thornton being slapped and threatens to draw his gun on an unarmed Wyatt Earp and Wyatt says "Go on, skin those smoke wagons and see what happens." "Tombstone" evokes the time, the flawed people of the wild west, shows great attention to details and is a positively kinetic piece of movie making that makes the heart beat faster, entertains, and leaves us with the sadness of a west long gone, even if it is a west of legend, violent and confusing. How many films on video can claim so many strengths? That Tombstone won no awards is incredible. This movie was clearly one of the best if not the best movie of the year.

Awm your Huckleberry!

"Tombstone" is a wild ride through the violent western frontier. Of course, the Wyatt Earp legend has been embellished somewhat by Hollywood. Regardless, "Tombstone" is non-stop action with bad guys you love to hate and heroes you can't wait to see take them down. And what an all-star cast it has!

Val Kilmer, who is an underrated actor, steals the show with his excellent portrayal of the TB- ridden Doc Hoilliday. Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and western film veteran Sam Elliot as his brother Virgil Earp also give great acting performances, though it is hard to look past Kurt Russell's handlebar mustache. It also stars Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn and a brief role from Charlton Heston.

Though containing profanity and violence, I've seen harsher 14A movies that deserve more of an R rating compared to "Tombstone". If "Wyatt Earp" with Kevin Costner had the action and pizzazz of "Tombstone", what a great movie it could have been! "Tombstone" is a must see!

Absolutely riveting account of a well known story

This is probably the best telling of the Wyatt Earp/Doc Holliday saga I have ever seen. I have watched many movies about the legendary fight at the O.K. Corral, but none have been as enthralling as the characters in "Tombstone". Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer are more believable as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday than any other actors portraying those characters. The much praised John Ford Classic "My Darling Clementine" while a great movie, was riddled with inaccuracies even to the point of making Doc Holliday a surgeon rather than a dentist. "Tombstone" tried to stay as true to the actual characters as possible and in my opinion more than succeeded. On the heels of the slow, dragging Kevin Costner epic "Wyatt Earp", "Tombstone" is much faster paced and holds the viewers attention with drama, action and breathtaking scenery all the way to the tearjerking end. Well made movie that should hold it's own for a long time to come, I'm definately a fan.