Film Review: Tombstone (1993)

Film Review: Tombstone (1993) | Ecency

(source: tmdb.org)

Renaissance of Western in early 1990s, marked by Oscar triumphs of Dances with Wolves and Unforgiven, led Hollywood to express newly found appreciation for the genre in one of the more spectacular ways. In 1993 two studios were launching high budget prestigious projects dedicated to legendary personality immortalised for taking part in the best known armed confrontation in the history of the Old West. One was Wyatt Earp, biopic starring Kevin Costner and the other was Tombstone, directed by George Pan Cosmatos and with Kurt Russell in Earp’s role.

The plot begins in 1879 when Waytt Earp, made famous by bringing order as law enforcer to wild cattle town of Dodge City, decides to switch career and try starting less stressful life by following example of his brothers who are trying to make money in Arizona Territory. He and his common law wife Mattie Blaylock (played by Dana Wheeler-Nicholson) are greeted by older brother Morgan (played by Sam Elliott) and younger brother Virgil (played by Bill Paxton) and their respected families before they settle in Tombstone, a booming town found near recently discovered silver deposits. Earps’ business ventures include running saloon which would be frequented by Doc Holiday (played by Val Kilmer), professional gambler and talented gunslinger who came to the town at Wyatt’s invitation as his old friend. On the other hand, Earps’ attempts to get peaceful living are thwarted by arrival of The Cowboys, gang of street rustlers and armed robbers led by Ike Clanton (played by Stephen Lang) and whose members include vicious gunslingers like Curly Bill Brocious (played by Powers Boothe) and Johnny Ringo (played by Michael Biehn). Their violent ways result in Tombstone losing its city marshal Fred White (played by Harry Carrey Jr.) and Morgan, who was initially reluctant to get involved in public affairs, gets so revolted with rampant lawlessness that becomes new marshal. In the meantime, Wyatt’s private life gets complicated with Mattie’s laudanum addiction and his own attraction to travelling actress Josephine “Sadie” Marcus (played by Dana Delany). Slowly, the tensions between Earps and Clanton’s gang escalate into brief and spectacular gunfight at the O.K. Corrall which, in the end, would not end the feud or escalation of bloody violence.

In the contest between two films Tombstone won the initial race by being released months before Wyatt Earp. This happened despite troubled production. Scriptwriter Kevin Jarre, who was initially hired to actually direct the film too, has been fired from the set due to his inability to handle such big and demanding production. George Pan Cosmatos, director known for his 1980s action hits starring Sylvester Stallone, was brought as ad hoc replacement, but the real directorial work behind the scene was done by Kurt Russell, a fact revealed Cosmatos’ death a decade later and confirmed by most people involved. Cosmatos and Russell did a decent job, by streamlining Jarre’s sprawling original script which would have, if filmed as Jarre intended, resulted in bloated three-hour epic like Wyatt Earp. This film, on the other hand, is acceptable compromise between Jarre’s intention to treat the legendary Gunfight at O.K. Corrals with as much historical accuracy as possible on one hand and audience’s desire to see good old fashioned western with plenty of action and clear distinction between Good and Evil on the other. Even original Jarre’s script, with clear focus on happenings in small Arizona town in few years before and after the famous incident, was more coherent than meandering Wyatt Earp that tries to cover decades in protagonist’s life.

Although there are scenes that would probably delight Old West history buffs with their attention to detail and accuracy (which includes actual Gunfight at O.K. Corral and later showdown between Wyatt Earp and Curly Bill Brocious), Tombstone is the end of the day Hollywood entertainment and, unlike historians that debate about whether Earp was noble fighter for justice and law or opportunistic thug, takes very one-sided approach towards the character, closer to myth created by Hollywood films than actual historical record. Russell plays the character very well, only rarely allowing some darker shades to appear, whether in his unrestrained wrath against murderous Clantons and brief hints at some of the less than savoury details of Earp’s pre-Tombstone life, like working as pimp and brothel bouncer. To make Earp’s character unquestionably good Tombstone turns Clanton and his gang into unquestionably evil characters, with excellent character actors like Lang, Boothe and Biehn playing them over the top. The Cowboys presented in the film are, in essence, very much the reflection of the times in which Tombstone and people’s concerns over rampant and seemingly unstoppable lawlessness and violence in America’s inner city ghettos. The Cowboys are, unsurprisingly, portrayed as some sort of precursors to Bloods and similar gangs that 19th Century vigilantes had to stop when official law and order forces were unable and unwilling to do.

However, the most impressive and memorable thing about Tombstone is Val Kilmer in the role of Doc Holiday, fascinating, complex historical character of Southern aristocratic background and with excellent education who took some questionable life choices due to tuberculosis that were bound to make his life short and deprived him of proper career of dentist. Kilmer has prepared for the role very well, trying to make it as different from many great Hollywood actors who had played it in the past, and his effort paid off. For most audience, at least those in 21st Century, Val Kilmer is the best Doc Holiday that ever graced the screen. His work in many ways holds Tombstone over water and compensates for its flaws, which are many. Russell and Cosmatos haven’t worked around all of the issues in Jarre’s script, and once of them was multitude of subplots, including uneccessary and unconvincing melodrama involving Sadie Marcus, with Dana Delany obviously lacking proper chemistry with Russell. Many of the subplots were left on cutting room floor, but in a way that makes Tombstone look rough around the edges, an impression not helped with somewhat abrupt and anti-climactic (although historically accurate) ending. Yet, even with such problems, this is a film that many fans of the Western would probably find close to their hearts.

RATING: 6/10 (++)