Tombstone has held down a legacy as one of the best and most influential Westerns for over thirty years. It has also often been credited for revitalizing the genre for a whole new generation. Even though it’s influenced many of the Westerns that have since followed, that certainly doesn’t mean that it didn’t take any inspiration from the ones that came before. In one of the film’s best scenes, western fans may have noticed a few similarities between it and another famous scene from an equally beloved Western classic, and it is certainly no accident. As thematically different as the third and final chapter in Sergio Leone’s ‘Dollars’ trilogy, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, is from that of Tombstone in more ways than one, it did have a surprising influence on it that’s reflected in the climax of the former film.
Those who remember the climactic showdown between Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo no doubt remember just how much of a well-crafted sequence it is, from the charismatic acting down to the way the tension is built up in the editing. Taking a closer look at it, however, it’s easy to note the similarities and just how much Leone’s filmmaking techniques influenced, despite how different the two films really are in terms of the kind of Westerns they are.
The Showdown Between Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo is One of Tombstone’s Best Scenes
The Cinematography, Music, and the Performances of the Actors Help to Build Suspension in the Best Possible Way
Many iconic scenes in Tombstone gave Val Kilmer the chance to shine above his fellow cast members in the role of Doc Holliday, but the one that could arguably be considered the best, however, comes just before the film’s climax. After challenging Wyatt Earp to a private showdown, Johnny Ringo is shocked to see Doc show up in his place, greeting his opponent with the classic line, “I’m your huckleberry”, as he emerges from the shadows of the trees. Looking even sicker than he previously did throughout the film, Holliday is more than willing to risk taking a bullet on behalf of his friend, even though he already knows just how much faster he is despite his condition. This is where the antagonistic relationship that had been built up between Holliday and Ringo finally paid off, and how it was executed is just as satisfying as it is intense. While those who know the history behind the story of Tombstone already know which one of the two is going to be walking away, it certainly doesn’t take away from the tension of the scene.
Even though the performances of Michael Biehn and Val Kilmer are practically hypnotic in how they help make the scene as effectively tense as it is, the cinematography also does them a huge favor. With its use of quick back-and-forth cuts between close-ups of each other’s faces and fingers twitching over the handles of their guns in anticipation, along with the unsettling hum of the music building the tension even higher, it’s enough to bring any viewer to the edge of their seat no matter how many times they’ve seen it. As brilliantly done as this scene is, however, it wouldn’t have worked nearly as well had it not been for the influence that it took from Sergio Leone.
How Does Tombstone Pay Tribute to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?
The Showdown between Holliday and Ringo Echoes the Ending of the Clint Eastwood Classic
A similar sort of showdown takes place in the climax of the Sergio Leone classic, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. This time, however, it’s between not just two, but three men in a Mexican Standoff: Clint Eastwood’s Blondie, a.k.a. “The man with no name” (the good), Angel Eyes (the bad), and Sergio (the ugly). It’s basically just a scene in which three men stare back and forth at one another for nearly a minute and a half, but how it builds and suddenly releases the tension is nothing short of fantastic. The showdown between Holliday and Ringo very much mirrors the tension-building methods of Leone’s film: using similar quick-cut editing techniques with close-ups of the men’s faces and their hands hovering above their weapons, with the cuts between these shots getting quicker and quicker, all backed up by a sweeping score of Ennio Moricone’s music that makes the tension even greater than it would be otherwise. While Tombstone does take obvious heavy inspiration from this iconic scene, it does do a few things differently in its approach as well.
It’s no secret just how The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is different from Tombstone on so many levels. The former film is a spaghetti western that portrays a more mythic view of the old American West that blurs the lines of morality in its characters, while the latter is more of a traditional western that gives a more accurate representation of the period. There’s also a major difference in their styles of storytelling, and it really does shine through, particularly in these two specific sequences. Tombstone is also incredibly dialogue-driven, while The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, much like many of Leone’s other films, thrives off its minimal use of dialogue and uses the silent moments to the advantage of its tone and aesthetic. The fact that one film managed to have such an influence over the other, despite their many differences, however, is a testament to just how much it has affected the genre, one that Tombstone has also managed to bring in its own right.
Tombstone’s Influence Continues What The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Started
The Film Has Often Been Credited For Revitalizing the Genre For a Whole New Generation
For over three decades, Tombstone has been considered to be one of the best westerns ever made, and for very good reason. It came out during a time in which Hollywood studios and moviegoers had mostly lost interest in the genre, but it managed to bring it back in a way that appealed to the audiences of the time. It didn’t do anything that would bring it remotely close to being considered a spaghetti western, but it didn’t exactly feel like the kind of westerns that had come before it either. Rather than romanticizing the period like most of John Wayne’s movies did or depicting it with any kind of grand mythic perspective like Leone’s, it told a true story from American history that simultaneously captured the harshness of the West while also playing it off like an action-adventure film that audiences could have fun with. During a video interview for GQ, in which he discussed and broke down a select few of his most iconic roles, Kurt Russell touched on the film and discussed why he thought the film managed to become regarded as the classic that it is today.
Tombstone, in terms of Westerns, really was exciting and really different; wonderful script written by Kevin Jarre…He had this great way of understanding how these people spoke and lived, which I’d never seen before in a Western. Reading Tombstone, the first page said, “Forget everything you have seen or read about westerns, it’s untrue.” And then afterward, you know, it continued to show you that. Now it’s one of the best westerns ever made, so I’m happy about that.
Had it not been for Tombstone, the modern-day westerns of both film and television would most likely not be what they are today. The fact that it has influenced the genre about as much as Leone’s films had at their time, just goes to show how accurate the consensus of calling it one of the best westerns ever made really is.