Tombstone's timeless reckoning rides again

In 1881, Wyatt Earp, his brothers Virgil and Morgan, and Doc Holliday stormed into Tombstone's Fly's Boarding House, igniting a legendary 30-second gunfight that would forever entwine the fates of these four men. As romanticized as it is, the true story behind the Gunfight at the OK Corral was a brutal affair, part of a larger, morally murky conflict.

The 1993 western that made the gunfight iconic

Kurt Russell stars as Wyatt Earp in George Cosmatos' Tombstone, a film that manages to make this tale of vengeance and death a thrilling, feelgood ride. With a crackling script by Kevin Jarre and standout performances from Russell, Sam Elliott, and especially Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, Tombstone bursts with wit, humor, and self-awareness.

Kilmer's Doc is a prickly, pallid southern dandy with an apparent death wish, and his presence elevates the film from a paint-by-numbers Western into a uniquely rollicking and quotable ride.

One of the joys of rewatching Tombstone is anticipating and echoing Doc's fusillade of bon mots, from his signature line