If You Want To Get Into Western Movies, This 32-Year-Old Film With 72% On RT Is The Best Place To Start

The Western genre has been resurrected in the last few years, and if you're looking to get into it or familiarize yourself with its history, one movie acts as a perfect entry point to the genre: the 1993 classic Tombstone. Tombstone acts as a heavily fictionalized/dramatized retelling of the events around Tombstone, Arizona in the early 1880s. The movie specifically follows the events as they related to the famous lawman Wyatt Earp, notorious gambler and gunfighter Doc Holliday, and the outlaw gang known as the Cowboys.

Tombstone has an absolutely loaded cast of recognizable faces, anchored by Kurt Russell as Earp, Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, and Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton as Wyatt Earp's brothers Morgan and Virgil. The sheer number of past and current stars makes the movie an enjoyable watch even if the audience has no interest in Westerns. However, those seeking more after current neo-Western hits like Yellowstone or Longmire will find it a satisfying entry point for the greater Western genre.

Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell, and Powers Boothe in all their Tombstone

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Tombstone Is A Great Introduction To Westerns If You’re Not Familiar With The Genre

Several Factors Make It More Accessible For Non-Western Fans

Iconic still from the movie Tombstone featuring Val Kilmer, Bill Paxton, Sam Elliott, and Kurt Russell as the Earps and Doc Holliday.

For those who are not intimately familiar with the Western genre, Tombstone acts as a great entry point given how many Western tropes it hits on. Westerns are stereotypically full of gunfights, saloon showdowns, and horseback chases, and Tombstone has all of those elements in abundance. However, the very best Westerns also explore real human drama; examinations of the bonds of friendship, the price of freedom, and sacrifice in the name of justice are just as pervasive in the genre as a sheriff trading potshots with an outlaw.

Tombstone Key Details
Release Date	Budget	Box Office	RT Tomatometer Score	RT Popcornmeter Score
December 25th, 1993	$25 million	$73.2 million	74%	93%

Tombstone marries those human elements with the Western action elements beautifully. The well-paced script never detours too far from the classic Western elements that are so important to understanding the genre, but it also has a number of accessible character arcs that don’t require someone to be a huge fan of gunfights to enjoy. With outstanding acting performances, a good script, and an engaging story, it’s just a good drama on top of being an exceptional Western action movie.

Tombstone Is A Fantastic Western (But It Also Works For Those Who Aren’t Fans Of The Genre)

It Still Represents The Best Execution Of Many Classic Western Tropes

It’s that dichotomy of Western tropes and cinematic character drama that makes Tombstone the perfect entry point for a Western newcomer. The story of Wyatt Earp riding down an outlaw gang seeking a reckoning for the evil they’ve done is thrilling, while the friendship that he and Doc Holliday share is moving. Doc Holliday’s tense shootout with Johnny Ringo and the violent Gunfight at the O.K. Corral are some of the best traditional Western scenes in the genre, but just as important is Wyatt Earp’s rain-soaked revelation about what he needs to do to stop the Cowboys.

Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday is the standout, but Kurt Russell’s angry Wyatt Earp or Michael Biehn’s vicious Johnny Ringo are just as engaging for any audience to enjoy.

Tombstone also has several elements that are characteristic of great, memorable movies regardless of genre. For example, there aren’t many movies in American cinema that are as eminently quotable as Tombstone, and chances are the average moviegoer has heard someone say “You’re a daisy if you do,” or “I’m your huckleberry,” without even knowing they’re from Tombstone. It also has exceptional performances up and down the loaded cast; Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday is the standout, but Kurt Russell’s angry Wyatt Earp or Michael Biehn’s vicious Johnny Ringo are just as engaging for any audience to enjoy.

Tombstone Is Even Better If You Are Already Familiar With Western Movies

It's The Perfect Bridge Between Classic Westerns And Modern Sensibilities

Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp brandishing his Peacemaker gun in Tombstone

For those who are familiar with the classic Westerns of the 1950s and 1960s, Tombstone acts as an entertaining benchmark between the new and the old. It’s fun to compare the well-crafted traditional Western sets of Tombstone with those of John Wayne classics like Rio Bravo or Red River, or the committed performances of Val Kilmer and Sam Elliott with the Western legends of the past like Kirk Douglas or Glenn Ford. You can see how similar the old high-pressure shootouts are to the most impactful moments of Tombstone, like Wyatt Earp’s bold charge to take on Curly Bill Brocius.

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Feature image of Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner in Tombstone and Wyatt Earp

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It’s also interesting to see how far Western film making came over the decades since Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster carried the genre. Tombstone has a number of scenes that align directly with its predecessors, but are shot in a much more modern style; the best example is the Earp Vendetta Ride montage, when Wyatt Earp chases down the remaining members of the gang on horseback. Tombstone carries the best elements of the past with it while simultaneously using a more accessible approach, making it the perfect introduction to the Western genre.