Tombstone (1993)

26 quotes

★★★★☆

Starring: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Bill Paxton, Charlton Heston, Sam Elliott, Michael Biehn, Powers Boothe, Dana Delany, Jason Priestley

Genres: Action, Drama, Romance, Western

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Movie Quote Quiz

Josephine: I'm a woman, I like men. If that means I'm not "lady-like", then I guess I'm just not a lady! At least I'm honest.
Wyatt Earp: You're different. No arguin' that. But you're a lady all right. I'd take my oath on it.

Doc Holliday: Why Kate, you're not wearing a bustle. How lewd.

Wyatt Earp: How are you?
Doc Holliday: I'm dying, how are you?

Jack Johnson: Nobody move!
Doc Holliday: Nonsense. By all means, move.

Wyatt Earp: You could have been busted up back there, or killed.
Josephine Marcus: Fun, though, wasn't it?
Wyatt Earp: You'd die for fun?
Josephine Marcus: Wouldn't you?

Morgan Earp: Look at all the stars. You look up and you think, "God made all this and He remembered to make a little speck like me." It's kind of flattering, really.

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Mistakes

Continuity mistake: When Curly Bill is shooting up the town while drunk, he fires about 10 more rounds than his six shooter can hold without reloading (so too many shots even if he had a second gun), and still has a round remaining when he shoots Marshal Fred White. In the 1880 court hearing held after Marshal White's death, Curly Bill still had 5 rounds remaining in his pistol.

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Trivia

Trivia: The expression "I'm your huckleberry" spoken by Doc means "I'm the perfect man for the job." It is not a reference to Mark Twain's Huck Finn, as that book was published in 1885 and this movie takes place in 1881. And it's not a reference to carrying caskets by the huckle bearers. Kilmer's autobiography is entitled "I'm Your Huckleberry." End of discussion.

MovieFan612

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Questions

Question: What did Doc mean when he said "It's not revenge he's after. It's the reckoning"?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: A reckoning is like a judgment day, exacting retribution for one's actions. Doc was very well educated and had a very large vocabulary. He was correctly pointing out the subtle difference between revenge (to make Wyatt feel better about losing Morgan and about Virgil's crippling injury) and the fact that Wyatt was bringing about a judgment day (or reckoning) for each of the men who hurt his family.

MovieFan612

Answer: I've spent a lot of time thinking about this very question, and here's what I've come up with. I think there are at least two differences between revenge and a reckoning. First, I think it has to do with the scale of the response to an offending action. Revenge, in my mind, is an eye for an eye, i.e, "You killed my brother and wounded another, so I will inflict the same action on your family (or group, gang, whatever). " A reckoning is less a measured response to an offending action and more of a full-scale punishment, i.e, "You killed my brother and wounded another, so I will now slaughter your entire family-including those who were not directly responsible for the offending action." Second, I think there is also a difference in motivation. Revenge tends to be a very personal response to something, whereas a reckoning tends to be more of a response fueled by a need for justice. In Wyatt's case, it was both. He was enraged by what happened to his family, but was also a lawman.

Franklin Vaughn

Thank you for this response! I've only seen Tombstone a million times and asked the same question every time. It's hard to separate the difference between the two but I believe you nailed it. Well done.

I'm thinking the opposite in terms. Revenge is "Reflexive" and is generally any means necessary (out of an abundance of pain or rage) to hurt the other party. "Revenge is a dish best served cold." If one is exacting justice there's no need to be cold hearted. Therefore, Reckoning is (to me) a fair balancing of the "scales" hence "an eye for an eye." Not only consequences of actions as it were but a corrective action to an incorrect circumstance. Just my understanding.

The problem with that theory is there is no difference in the end because the end result was the same...the killing. True reckoning could have only been achieved though the apprehension and punishment by trial and jury, anything other than that is simply revenge.

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