Tombstone Movie

By July 12, 2010 Media




Wyatt Earp along with his brothers and their wives move to Tombstone to start a new life putting his life as a lawman and gunslinger behind him. Also coming to Tombstone is Wyatt’s good friend, Doc Holliday. However, it turns out that “The Cowboys” a group of men, among whose members include The Clantons, pretty much act as if they are above the law. Wyatt would be asked to be Marshall but rejects the offer but his brother, Virgil who can’t stomach the violence around him accepts the job over Wyatt’s objections. Eventually a confrontation between them and The Cowboys is going to happen. And who will survive?

Great cast. Classic movie.

From Wikipedia:
“Tombstone is a 1993 Western movie written by Kevin Jarre and directed by its star Kurt Russell, with credited director George P. Cosmatos ghost-directing.[1] The film, which boasts an ensemble cast with 85 speaking roles, involves Wyatt Earp and his brothers moving to Tombstone, Arizona, where they and Doc Holliday face off against a band of criminals called the Cowboys. The movie is loosely based on historic incidents occurring in 1881-1882.

“Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell), a retired peace officer with a legendary reputation, re-unites with his brothers Virgil (Sam Elliott) and Morgan (Bill Paxton) in Tucson, Arizona, where they venture on towards Tombstone, a small but growing mining town, to settle down. There they encounter Wyatt’s longtime friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), a Southern gambler, expert gunslinger, and shady character who seeks relief from his tuberculosis in Arizona’s drier environment.

“All is not perfect, however. Wyatt’s wife, Mattie Blaylock (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), is slowly becoming dependent on laudanum (opium). Just as Wyatt and his brothers begin to benefit from a stake in a gambling emporium and saloon, they have their first encounter with the Cowboys, a band of ruthless outlaws. Led by “Curly Bill” Brocious (Powers Boothe), the Cowboy members are identifiable by the red sashes worn around their waist. Conflict is narrowly avoided upon Wyatt’s insistence that he is retired and no longer interested in pursuing a career in enforcing the law. This is also first face-to-face meeting for Doc Holliday and the sociopathic Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn), widely known to be one of the fastest guns in the West. They take an immediate dislike to one another.

“Also newly arrived in Tombstone with a traveling troupe of theatre performers are Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany) and her fellow thespian Mr. Fabian (Billy Zane).

“Wyatt, though no longer a lawman, is pressured to help rid the town of the Cowboys as tensions rise. Shooting aimlessly after a visit to a Chinese opium house, an intoxicated Curly Bill is approached by town Marshal Fred White (Harry Carey, Jr.) to relinquish his firearms before any harm is done. Curly Bill instead shoots the marshal and is forcibly taken into custody by Wyatt. The arrest infuriates Ike Clanton (Stephen Lang) and the other Cowboys, who threaten harm to Wyatt, his shotgun-toting brothers and Doc. Curly Bill stands trial, but is found not guilty due to lack of witnesses and released.

“The married Wyatt attempts to resist a strong attraction to Josephine, who unlike other ladies of her time is quite forward towards men. There is a spark between them that neither can deny.

“Virgil Earp, unable to tolerate the lawlessness of Tombstone, becomes the new town marshal and imposes a weapons ban within the city limits. This leads to a legendary showdown with the Cowboys, the battle at the O.K. Corral. Virgil and Morgan are wounded, three Cowboys are killed, and the allegiance of county sheriff John Behan (Jon Tenney) to the Cowboys is made clear at last. As retribution for the Cowboy deaths, including the death of Ike Clanton’s younger brother Billy (Thomas Haden Church), Frank McLaury (Robert John Burke) and his brother Tom, Wyatt’s brothers are ambushed: Morgan is killed, while Virgil’s arm is maimed for life.

“A despondent Wyatt and his family pack up to leave Tombstone and board a train. Followed by the Cowboys, Wyatt sees that his family leaves safely. But he surprises the assassins — Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell — who had come to finish him off. Wyatt announces that he has become a U.S. Marshal and that he intends to kill any man he sees wearing a red sash. Stilwell is killed, but Wyatt lets Clanton return to send this message. Wyatt, Doc, a reformed Cowboy named Sherman McMasters (Michael Rooker) and allies Texas Jack Vermillion (Peter Sherayko) and Turkey Creek Jack Johnson join forces to administer frontier justice.

“Wyatt and his posse are ambushed in a riverside forest by the Cowboys. Hopelessly surrounded, Wyatt strides unprotected into the river to seek out Curly Bill in single combat. Brocious obliges and a knee-deep water gunfight ensues, ending with Wyatt killing Brocious. Johnny Ringo becomes the head of the Cowboys.

“At one of their lower points, Doc’s health is worsening and they depend on the accommodations of Henry Hooker (Charlton Heston). At Hooker’s ranch, they reencounter Josephine, learning that Mr. Fabian (Billy Zane) was shot by Cowboys who tried to steal Josephine’s watch. Wyatt finally realizes he wants to be with Josephine, but is unable to commit to her because of his ongoing fight against the Cowboys.

“Ringo sends a messenger (dragging behind him McMasters’ corpse) to Hooker’s ranch telling Wyatt that he wants a showdown to end the hostilities and Wyatt is in agreement, though both Ringo and Wyatt know that Wyatt is hopelessly outmatched. Doc knows he is a better match for Ringo, but he is currently in no condition for a gunfight.

“Wyatt sets off for the showdown, not knowing that Doc (who was much healthier than he appeared) has already beat him to the scene. Doc confronts a surprised Ringo, saying they are just finishing their “game” from a previous encounter — “to play for blood”. They stare each other down as they circle around. As both men lift their guns, Doc gets the first shot off, hitting Ringo in the head and killing him. Wyatt runs when he hears the gunshot only to encounter his friend on his feet. They then press on to finish the job of eliminating the Cowboys, although Clanton escapes their vengeance by throwing away his red sash.

“Doc is later admitted to a sanatorium in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. After a visit from Wyatt, Doc looks at his bare feet and the condition of the bed in which he is lying: realizing he is about to die with his boots off (as opposed to “dying with your boots on”, i.e. in a gunfight), he passes away peacefully, muttering “I’ll be damned. Oh, this is funny”. At Doc’s urging, Wyatt pursues Josephine and the movie ends with an account of their long marriage together, ending with Wyatt’s death in 1929.”

If you have problems seeing the video below click HERE.

youtube::IPS7xnVh4qk::

If you have problems seeing the video below click HERE.

youtube::8yDgkvWh3JQ::

Share this: