Introduction
Welcome to my corner! Last week, I shared my thoughts on the film The World, the Flesh and the Devil. This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film Tombstone.
Val Kilmer died on April 1, 2025. I was devastated by the news. I grew up watching Val Kilmer (although it was only one movie on repeat). In honor of him, I wanted to write my column on one of his many films. I actually tried watching many of his films over the weekend, but I didn't think I could write a column on those ones. I'll mention them all later.
Tombstone
Tombstone is a 1993 American Western film directed by George P. Cosmatos, written by Kevin Jarre (who was also the original director, but was replaced early in production), and starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, with Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn and Dana Delany in supporting roles, and narration by Robert Mitchum.
The film is loosely based on real events that took place in the 1880s in Southeast Arizona, including the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the Earp Vendetta Ride. It depicts several Western outlaws and lawmen, such as Wyatt Earp, William Brocius, Johnny Ringo, and Doc Holliday. Tombstone was released by Hollywood Pictures in theatrical wide release in the United States on December 25, 1993, grossing $73.2 worldwide. The film was a financial success, and in the Western genre, it ranks number 16 in the list of highest-grossing films since 1979. Critical reception was generally positive, with the story, directing and acting receiving praise. Particular praise went towards Val Kilmer's memorable performance as the hard-drinking Doc Holliday. The film has become a cult classic since its release.
Plot: Wyatt Earp and his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, have left their gunslinger ways behind them to settle down and start a business in the town of Tombstone, Ariz. While they aren't looking to find trouble, trouble soon finds them when they become targets of the ruthless Cowboy gag. Now, together with Wyatt's best friends, Doc Holliday, the brothers pick up their guns once more to restore order to a lawless land.
Acting: What else is there to say but star-STUDded! The main four all gave strong performances, and were a lot of fun to watch. I've also seen many of their other films, as I'm sure you all have as well.
Kurt Russell played Wyatt Earp. I love him. No notes! Four of the films he's most known for (up 'til now) are: Escape from New York, The Hateful Eight, The Thing and Escape from L.A. Out of those four, I've only seen The Thing. My favorite Russell movie would have to be Overboard. I haven't seen a Kurt Russell movie I've disliked yet.
Val Kilmer played Doc Holliday. Another perfect leading man! Kilmer stole the spotlight in every scene he appeared in. Playing a dying gunslinger couldn't have been easy but he made it seem that way. Four of the films he's most known for are The Doors, The Saint, Willow and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. One of the movies I watched over the weekend for my Val Kilmer marathon was The Doors. I also watched Top Secret, the first movie Kilmer starred in. I decided to go with Tombstone for the column because it was also one of the sister, Jesi's, favorite movies. Her last tattoo actually included a Kilmer quote from the movie: "You're a daisy if you do." My favorite Kilmer movie will probably always be Batman Forever, as I grew up watching it over and over.
Sam Elliott played Virgil Earp. My mom's favorite! I like his voice as well as his mustache. Four of the films he's most known for to date are: A Star is Born, The Hero, Hulk and Road House. I've seen Road House and A Star is Born (multiple versions). I honestly don't remember him playing that big of a role in A Star is Born, so I was surprised to see that one at the top. Although he doesn't play a large role, nor is he in many episodes, my favorite project he's been a part of is Grace and Frankie.
Bill Paxton played Morgan Earp. Another devastating loss of an actor in my world. He died February 25, 2017. I swear the guy was in practically everything, or it seemed that way. I could be wrong, but I feel like he always played a good guy. The top four movies he's known for are: Aliens, Frailty, Apollo 13 and Twister. My favorite Bill Paxton movie is Mighty Joe Young.
Technical Aspects: The film was shot primarily on location in Arizona. Shooting began in May 1993.
I love it when they shoot on location. It makes films so much more believable and immersive.
The film was supposed to be screenwriter Kevin Jarre's first job as director but he was quickly overwhelmed by the job, failing to get needed shots and falling behind the shooting schedule. A month into filming, he was fired by producer Andrew Vajna and replaced with George P. Cosmatos.
I didn't realize a director could be fired from their own movie. I thought the director was kind of the top dog on the film set, but apparently not.
Meanwhile, Kurt Russell worked quickly with producer James Jacks to pare down Jarre's sprawling script, deleting subplots and emphasizing the relationship between Wyatt and Doc.
Russell has stated that it was he, and not Cosmatos, who directed the film, as Jarre's departure led to the studio's request. Russell stated that Cosmatos was brought in as a "ghost director" as a front-man because Russell did not want to be known that he was directing. Co-star Val Kilmer has supported Russell's statements about working heavily behind the scenes and stating that Russell "essentially" directed the film, but stopped short of saying that Russell did the actual directing.
It wouldn't surprise me if Kurt Russell had done a lot of the work behind the scenes. He's amazing!
Cosmatos was highly focused on accurate historical detail, including the costumes, props, customs and scenery to give them authenticity. All the mustaches in the movie were real except Jon Tenney's (Sheriff Behan) who had to be clean shaven for his prior project, and was thus the only fake mustache in the movie.
I love the little detail of the mustaches being real. that's awesome! Anything you can do to make it more realistic the better.
Final Thoughts: I'll be honest, I'm finishing this column a week after I finished watching the movie, so my thoughts are no longer fresh. However, I did enjoy the movie. And like I've said before, westerns aren't generally my cup of tea, so if I liked it, that's saying something. the acting was superb! I'm honestly a little surprised none of the top actors has this movie as one of the top four they were known for. But they all did have pretty lustrous careers, and that's good on them I suppose.
Where to watch it: Tombstone is available to watch on the streaming services Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Sling TV (according to Google), or you can purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to.
That's it for this week! What were your thoughts? Feel free to share them with us! You can call us, email us, visit us at the office, leave us a comment or message on Facebook, or even mail us something. Keep the comments, suggestions, questions, submissions, etc. coming our way! We'd love to hear from you!
