Cinema Kilmer gave us the best scene shooting in the modern western

The death of Val Kilmer On Tuesday, at age 65, due to pneumonia, he reached fans of western movies. In Tombstone – Justice is coming (1993), Kilmer delivered one of the most striking performances in the history of the genre as the dentist and a tuberculous player John Henry “Doc” Holliday. Tormented by coughing crises, alcoholism and a good deal of self -appreciation, the interpretation of Kilmer emphasized the human fragility of a legend of the Old West instead of the male bravado. Which does not mean that the Holliday of Kilmer – So fast with your Colt .45 as with the tongue – not feared.

Kilmer explored all these characteristics in the culmination of the film: an intimate duel, from man to man, against the gunslinger Johnny Ringo (interpreted in a diabolical way by Michael Biehn), which is undoubtedly the best fire battle of the modern age of the Faroeste – even if only two shots are made.

Supposedly bedridden in a ranch, weakened by tuberculosis, Holliday arises from the shadows of arid Arizona desert to surprise the fast Ringowho expected an easy confrontation against Wyatt Earpinterpreted by Kurt Russell. “I didn’t think you had the courage to do so,” Ringo Ironizes, assuming that the silhouette in front of him was Earp. “I’m Your Huckleberry”(“ I’m your partner ”), responds Kilmer in the role of Hollidaybefore dragging the words and adding: “Why, Johnny RingoIt seems that someone has just passed over his tomb, ”instantly adding two iconic phrases to the cinema canon.

While Ringo insists that the duel is between him and Earp, Holliday He interrupts him, recalling an earlier conflict in the movie. “We started a game that we never ended,” says Kilmerdropping a vulnerable cough as distraction. “Play for real.”

And then the duel begins. The two men circulate to each other, evaluating each movement, with their hands touching their Cabo de Madrepela revolvers. “Say when”, causes Holliday quietly. The eyes move quickly, the eyebrows contract, and Holliday let out a slight smile before withdrawing his gun and firing a certain shot on the forehead of Ringo. “You’re not a little flower!” He teases, while Ringo Staggers ahead like a zombie and shoots his weapon uselessly against the floor.

With Ringo dead, Earp arrives – too late for the duel that would have sealed his destination, if it were not for the loyalty of Holliday. “Ah, I wasn’t as sick as I made it seem,” he says Earp.

Thirty -two years later, the scene remains a subtle classic, proof that shootings need not be the exaggerated and noisy clashes that dominate so many commercial halves – Tombstone included. The big scene of the movie, the “Shooting at Ok Corral”, lasts noisy two minutes. The real confrontation? Just over 30 seconds.

+++ Read more: the letter Cher sent to Val Kilmer before his death (and as he answered)

*Text originally published in Rolling Stone USA On April 2, 2025