We begin the Great Film Retrospective with one of top 10 movies of all time, "Tombstone." I would hold up this film as the best western of all time (blasphemy to some) and in the running for best action movie of all time. Beyond an over the top scene here and there it is essentially flawless and features a number of lines that are iconic.
I first encountered "Tombstone" in the 7th or 8th grade. Each year as we left for camp, my buddy Kyle and I would pick out a bunch of VHS tapes to take with us because his parents had a mini van with a TV in it (long before everyone and their dog had a mobile DVD player). On the way to camp we'd stay a night or two at his grandparents house which was a grand old time filled with playing cards, watching movies, and eating frozen canned peaches (I still miss those). One year we stayed up way too late watching "Tombstone." I knew I loved this movie from the first scene and my attachment to it only grew as the film progressed. When the movie ended, Kyle and I went downstairs to get a drink before we both passed out (being up after midnight was still a pretty big deal at this point). We got out some grape juice and, while searching for cups, came across a couple of shot glasses. In true Doc Holliday fashion, we filled the shot glasses with grape juice, chugged them, and slammed them back to the table upside down. You can imagine the laughs two 8th grade boys got out of this when they were up too late watching an R rated movie.
"Tombstone" is one of those movies that I've watched over and over again. My DVD copy is getting worn out which kind of makes me happy because it means I have an excuse to replace it on blu-ray when it finally comes out. It never grows old for me and in fact, some scenes just get better over time. This was the perfect movie to start The Great Film Retrospective.
Best character: Doc HollidayThis isn't even up for debate. Val Kilmer not only gives the best performance of his career, he gives us one of the iconic performances in the history of film. It is an absolute crime that he was not nominated for an Oscar here, especially in a year in which John Malkovich got a supporting actor nod. John Malkovich.
Best scene: When Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) ambushes the cowboys who have come to ambush him at the train depot. This is the moment where Earp frees the beast so to speak. You know from the look on his face and the tone of his voice that things are about to get serious.
Best line: It would be too easy to go with the film's tagline, "I'm your huckleberry." But no, the best moment of dialogue is:
Cowboy (approaching Holliday with knife): "You're so drunk you can't see straight. In fact, you're probably seeing double."
Holliday (whipping out a second revolver): "I have two guns. One for each of you."
An absolute classic. A+
-Brian
"Tombstone" through Lindsey's eyes:
I've had no desire to see "Tombstone" because it's a western and all actiony. I knew it was a "good" movie because everyone I've ever talked to has said that it is. Sure, it may be "good," but the question is, will I actually pay attention. This may be how I rate the movies during this experiment. I will tell you what went on in my brain, instead of paying attention to the storyline.
The movie starts out with a wedding scene, which turns into a shoot-em-up scene. I would have been so ticked if some group of cowboys interrupted my wedding by killing people. Then I began to notice the actors that I actually knew like Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer. The real excitement came when I saw the actor that I care about, Jason Priestly. Oh Brandon Walsh, trying to live his life as a tough cowboy. He couldn't get away with that rough crowd while wearing his dumb bowler hat. I think people wearing bowler hats are SOOO not intimidating. I also spent half of the time thinking that John Corbett was Paul Rudd. For some reason, I get those actors confused. It totally doesn't make sense, I know.
All in all, my response to the movie was "I can see why people like it." I paid attention to about 60% of the movie. I asked how much was left, I pulled out Sudoku, and even took "notes" so that I would pay attention. I'm just not cut out for these movies. I definitely appreciate them. Now that I'm an adult and I don't have to impress anyone, I can just finally give my honest opinion. I get bored with westerns and guns. If I had to watch a western shooting movie, I would choose "Tombstone."
Looking forward to a movie that doesn't require my 100% attention,
Lindsey
OK, Brian, I'm with you on this one to a point. It doesn’t suck. Val Kilmer’s pretty awesome in it (and he’s awesome despite lines like, “You’re so drunk...etc.” Presumably here the cowboy was thinking, “We need banter here, but I'm not smart enough to do it. How can I awkwardly set up a quip from this guy who’s about to shoot me? It’ll have to be the kind of wooden line no real human has ever uttered, though, because we’re in a film of characters, not human beings...”). As for the greatest Western ever made...really? Better than The Searchers? Better than High Noon? Better than The Good, the Bad and the Ugly? Two Mules for Sister Sarah? Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? Unforgiven? 3:10 to Yuma? No Country for Old Men? Blazing Saddles? The list goes on. That’s a whoooole lotta movies this thing’s supposed to be better than. I'm not convinced.
ReplyDeleteI was never a big fan of westerns as a whole and I always just lumped Tombstone with them. Sorry Brian. Reading Lyndsey's point of view made me crack up laughing! I can't wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteOK, first off I seriously question the merits of any movie watcher who doesn't think the "Two guns" line is brilliant. It's delivered perfectly and it personifies the Holliday character, a character that is generally considered to be one of the best ever.
ReplyDeleteTo your second point, "NCFOM" is not a Western, I don't think you can consider "Blazing Saddles" an actual Western, and even "Butch Cassidy" is less a Western as it is a buddy movie set in the Old West.
"Unforgiven" is one of the most overrated films in recent memory. It's just Clint Eastwood, being Clint Eastwood, in the same Clint Eastwood fashion that he's displayed in every Clint Eastwood directed film of the last 20 years.
Lastly, I would argue that, while the others you mentioned are fine films, it was a heck of a lot easier to make a good Western back in the 50s and 60s just by sheer luck. If you're making 120 Westerns a year, by default one or two of them has to turn out great. It's just the law of averages.
To contrast that, how many Westerns since "Tombstone" was released in 1993 have been even passable? They all suck. I seriously cannot think of one that I'd consider anything more than decent, including the "3:10 to Yuma" remake and "The Assasination of Jesse James." It's a dead genre. It is much more difficult to make a film that fits within a genre that nobody is doing correctly and make it good than it is to make one in the heyday of a genre. To an entire generation this is THE basis for what a Western is all about and it's darn good.
My sister, Dad, and I (this is Kyleen) love Tomestone! We watch it whenever we get together. I love the lines in it. I think Doc Holiday is the best, especially paired with Wyatt Earp. The characters are what keep me involved through the shoot 'em up action parts. I don't watch many westerns so this one is the best for me. I did watch Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp movie and it was TERRIBLE compared to Tomestone, terrible. I'm with Brian on this movie. It is a classic, larger than life western, and I absolutely love it.
ReplyDeleteSo, the truth finally is coming out about those trips to camp . . .
ReplyDeleteTombstone is a great flick IMHO, but I'm not sure I'd rank it as highly as you do. But I hate trying to come up with "The Best Of" lists.
This is going to be fun. I'm looking forward to it.
Definitely a great movie. I have to agree with Brian, to make a western in the 90’s was a reach, but to make a great one that would become an iconic classic is an amazing feat vastly more difficult than in the 50’s and 60’s.
ReplyDeleteI would argue with “essentially flawless” though. From Kurt Russell and Bill Paxton’s forced lines and failed western characterization, to Kurt Russell’s ridiculous mustache and block head that made me want to laugh with every close-up, to Johnny Ringo-the California cowboy (I though surely he was going to throw a “dude” out at one point), the flaws were there. Fortunately a great story, Sam Elliott (the quintessential supporting actor for a great western), amazing action sequences, and one of the greatest characters of all time in Kilmer’s Doc Holliday work to overcome the flaws and minimize their effect, producing a stellar production that by far outshines its contemporaries in the outlaw western genre.
Best line: without a doubt “I’ve got two guns…”
Best scene: I would say Johnny Ringo welcoming whom he believes to be Wyatt Earp to the gunfight site and Doc Holliday responding with “I’m your huckleberry.” The look of despair on Ringo’s face and the weak attempt to backtrack foretell his fate as he realizes he will soon, in fact, be a dead man.
Best sentimental moment: Jack Johnson: “Doc, you ought to be in bed. What… you doing this for?” Doc: “Wyatt Earp is my friend.” Jack: “[Shoot], I’ve got lots of friends.” Doc: “I don’t.”
I'm with ya Lindsey!! I was not too disappointed when I couldn't make this one. :)
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