Only 3 Western Movies Are Better Than 'Tombstone'

Tombstone is the kind of Western that makes respectable rankings nervous because it is too damn enjoyable. You can spend all day talking about genre history, frontier mythology, revisionism, widescreen composition, whatever. Then somebody puts this movie on and suddenly half the room is waiting for Doc Holliday to say something cruel while the other half is quietly remembering how absurdly cool Kurt Russell looks walking down Allen Street. It has gunfighters, grudges, gambling, romance, tuberculosis, moustaches with their own screen presence, and one of the most quotable supporting characters Hollywood ever produced. Pretending that pure rewatchability is somehow less important than serious greatness has always felt dishonest.