THE REWATCHABLES · December 24, 2018
A 1993 western / drama directed by George P. Cosmatos, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The film starts with the cowboys slaughtering people at a wedding, establishing the villains’ cruelty.
About 24 minWyatt Earp confronts a terrified gambler and humiliates him before the famous 'skin it' challenge.
About 16 minThe climactic showdown is singled out as an iconic action sequence.
About 16 minBill loves the stylized shootout in the creek, likening Wyatt to Larry Bird walking on water.
About 16 minThe final one-on-one duel between Doc and Ringo is treated as a marquee moment.
About 16 minSean notes that some opening material, including the train arrival, is more clearly from Jarre’s original footage.
Opening minutes · medium confidenceThe long theater interlude is debated as useful for character and town politics but potentially overlong.
About 16 minMentioned as a key Russell-written emotional capstone for Wyatt and Doc.
About 1:04WHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsKurt Russell won because he saved and finished the film.
Chris RyanVal Kilmer won because he is the most memorable on-screen performance.
Sean FennesseyKilmer is the reason the movie is remembered, even if Russell kept it alive.
Bill SimmonsTombstone or Tango and Cash could qualify; Russell’s career has no single apex.
Sean FennesseyTango and Cash better fits as a career-sway point.
Bill SimmonsUltimately concedes Russell may have had a rolling set of peaks rather than one apex.
Bill SimmonsTop Gun or Heat are stronger candidates than Tombstone.
Sean FennesseyHeat is a strong peak because it reintroduced Kilmer as a major star.
Chris RyanShe overacts and the role is poorly written.
Bill SimmonsShe is effective and deserving of more credit.
Sean FennesseyIt helps establish Priestley and the town, but may be too long.
Bill SimmonsIt could have been much shorter or removed.
Calls it flawed, dated, too long, and still lovable.
Opening minutesFrames the movie as a bizarre, fascinating directing story.
Opening minutesArgues Russell is a hugely underrated star who had enough juice to keep the project alive.
About 8 minTreats Kilmer as the film’s most memorable performer and a near-perfect heat-check actor.
About 8 minSays he likes the Costner/Kasdan competing film but prefers Tombstone as entertainment.
Opening minutesSays the Russell-Kilmer pairing is unusual and central to the movie’s greatness.
About 8 minLoves the opening Wyatt/Billy Bob face-off as a perfect channel-flipping scene.
About 16 minLikes the last-act creek sequence as a signature rewatchable action beat.
About 16 minAdmits the theater sequence has some purpose but is likely too long.
About 24 minArgues the character’s drug-addled material is overdone and undercuts the movie.
About 56 minStrongly dislikes the performance and thinks the role is badly written and pointless.
About 56 minThinks Michael Biehn is excellent as Ringo and notes the role’s villain energy.
About 16 minAdmires the film’s hats, mustaches, gambling, brothels, and rough frontier texture.
About 32 minThe episode frames the movie as a fascinating case of a fired director, a ghost director, and Kurt Russell effectively steering the film.
Opening minutesRussell and Kilmer are treated as the movie’s central engine, with the rest of the cast adjusting around them.
About 40 minThey see Tombstone as a bridge from classic westerns to the more vulgar, violent style of later films like Deadwood.
About 32 minThe film’s mustaches, hats, swagger, and quippy masculinity are celebrated as part of its appeal.
About 24 minKevin Jarre reportedly did not shoot close-ups because he feared losing control of the movie.
Opening minutesKurt Russell later said he gave George Cosmatos shot lists and hand gestures while secretly guiding the film.
Opening minutesThe movie was originally supposed to be a more Godfather-like western.
About 16 minAll the mustaches in the film were real.
About 32 minVal Kilmer practiced a southern aristocrat accent and quick-draw speed for Doc Holliday.
About 1:04The hosts note that Johnny Ringo did not really die the way the movie shows.
About 1:04Bill claims George Cosmatos was drunk for much of filming.
About 48 min · low confidenceThey say the movie’s closing credits are four minutes of stylish walking close-ups.
About 32 minThe competing Costner/Kasdan film discussed repeatedly as Tombstone’s rival.
Opening minutesUsed as a benchmark for the tone Russell says the film was aiming for.
Opening minutesCited as an example of George Cosmatos ghost-directing with Stallone’s help.
About 8 minUsed to illustrate Cosmatos’s macho action style and Stallone’s directing pattern.
About 8 minCompared as a genre movie that unexpectedly becomes much more entertaining than its premise suggests.
About 16 minMentioned in a release-date showdown comparison with Deep Impact.
About 8 minCited as the more depressing rival comet movie in the same era.
About 8 minSean cites it as a better of two competing Prefontaine films.
About 8 minReferenced as the other competing Steve Prefontaine film that lost to Without Limits.
About 8 minUsed in debates over Kurt Russell’s apex mountain.
About 40 minUsed as an apex-mountain comparison for Val Kilmer.
About 48 minReferenced as a major Kilmer role and a career high point.
About 48 minUsed as a comparison point for Dana Delaney’s career and praised as a show.
About 24 minReferenced in discussion of Dana Wheeler-Nicholson and nostalgia for Chevy Chase comedy.
About 56 minCited as a fast, modern-feeling western-adjacent film made by Michael Mann.
About 1:04Repeated jokes about Stallone, Cosmatos, and who really directed various action movies.
Opening minutesThe hosts repeatedly joke that the movie’s huge mustaches and hats are part of its magic.
About 24 minA recurring bit in which the hosts keep circling back to how special Kilmer is in this era.
About 40 minAn extended, playful but real disagreement over whether Gail Stanwyck is miscast or great.
About 56 minThe hosts repeatedly assess career peaks for Russell, Kilmer, Priestley, and others.
About 40 min“Hell's coming with me.”About 16 min
“I'm your huckleberry.”About 16 min
“What I don't know could fill a book.”About 16 min
“I have not even begun to defile myself!”About 1:04
“It's the rounders of westerns.”Opening minutes
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Tombstone, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris RyanThe Rewatchables
Sean FennesseyThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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