steve d
Slow at points but well worth your time.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
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Audience Member
Loved it! It's real! Vulgar vernacular but honest!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/10/23
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Audience Member
Worst movie about the Ok corral shooting, Morgan didn't die in the shootout, and the Earps didn't have shotguns, only Doc did, no Georgia accent from Stacy Keach, what a waste of time watching!
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
01/23/23
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I love revisionist westerns of t he 1970s, even the bad ones. "'Doc'" is not as great as "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" or "The Wild Bunch," but it's also much, much better than say "The Master Gunfighter" or "The Hired Hand." Like horror films, which I also dearly love, I can almost always find something to enjoy about revisionist westerns of any quality. This western is follows Doc Holliday (Stacy Keach), Kate Elder (Faye Dunaway) and Wyatt Earp ( Harris Yulin, a fine character actor everyone would recognize in one of his earliest roles) during their time in Tombstone, AZ. As opposed to being more concerned with the action and fighting usually seen in westerns about the Gunfight at the O.K. Coral, like Lancaster/Douglas version, this film is more interested in characters and lives of Holliday, Elder and Earp. The film does climax at the O.K. Coral, but it's not the portrayed as a monumental heroic event. Keech is fine in his role as Holliday, as is Yulin as Earp, but Dunaway, who I don't usually find all that likable (probably because of her choice of roles), is very likable and empathetic as Kate Elder. To some degree it's a prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold stereotypical role, but she pulls it off in a naturalistic way that seemed to transcend cliche. Directed by Frank Perry, who I'd never heard of before, who apparently also directed "The Swimmer" and the classic turkey "Mommy Dearest." The film was written by Pete Hamill, who I'd also never heard of before, who had written "Badge 373" and a number of TV movies I'd never heard of. This kind of surprised me because the film is intelligently written and directed and would have made me expect a filmography full of memorable films from director Perry and writer Hamill, which sadly was not the case. "'Doc'" is not one of the cinema of the first oder, but it's a pretty darn good revisionist western that takes time to develop characters and does a better job than most film of sticking to historical facts.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
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Audience Member
131105: I found Keach and Yulin a bit too stoic in their acting. They were extremely stiff almost to the point of being clumsy. But, I fully enjoyed this film. Fairly modern standards with nice costuming. An entertaining take on the infamous shoot-out. Recommended.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Western movies are often based on real-life characters and incidents
that filmmakers alter to accommodate their narrative agenda. One of the
most infamous Old West feuds occurred between Wyatt Earp and Ike
Clanton and culminated in their showdown at the O.K. Corral in
Tombstone. Several films have depicted this contentious relationship,
typically casting the Earps and Doc Holiday as the heroes and the
Clantons as the villains. "Frontier Marshall," "My Darling Clementine,"
and "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" are the best known oaters that
celebrated the virtuosity of the Earps and Doc Holiday and vilified the
wicked Clantons. "Magnificent Seven" director John Sturges changed
everything with his revisionist spin of the legend in 1967 with "Hour
of the Gun" as Wyatt Earp found himself not only hampered by the legal
system in dealing with Clanton, but also discovered that he had little
use for the legal procedure. He killed his enemies when he should have
brought them in for trial. James Garner's Wyatt Earp became a
quasi-villain. "David and Lisa" director Frank Perry and journalist
Pete Hamill have gone far beyond "Hour of the Gun" with "Doc" to turn
Wyatt Earp into an opportunistic villain. Unfortunately, "Doc"
qualifies as a heavy-handed sagebrusher that simplifies history,
reducing it to basics that distort history while delivering what
constitutes a below average western. Strong performances by Stacy
Keach, Harris Yulin, and Faye Dunaway, incomparable cinematography by
"Fail Safe" lenser Gerald Hirschfeld, stupendous production design by
Gene Callahan of "Hurry Sundown" fame cannot compensate for this
lackluster shoot'em up. Anybody who knows anything about the feud
between the Earps and the Clantons will be disappointed by this
shallow, sketchy western made by people who had no business making a
frontier fracas.
"Doc" is different from other Wyatt Earp melodramas because Perry and
Hamill filter their recreation of those momentous events through the
perspective of Earp's best friend Doc Holiday. Doc (Stacy Keach of "The
New Centurions") is riding to Tombstone when he gets caught in a
blinding sand storm and takes momentary refuge in a cantina. Talk about
stereotypes. The fat, lazy, whining, good-for-nothing Hispanic
bartender (Marshall Efron of "THX-1138") who runs the miserable little
cantina in the middle of nowhere has cold beer. Clearly, "Doc" had to
have been made in Spain because Mexican authorities were still reeling
from the racist depiction of their country since the 1953 western "Vera
Cruz" and had imposed censors on "The Magnificent Seven" set to make
the natives look majestic in their poverty. Anyway, Doc meets grubby
Ike Clanton (Michael Witney of "Darling Lili") while he is pawing Kate
(Faye Dunaway of "Bonnie & Clyde") as the Kid (Denver John Collins of
"Death by Invitation") sits by quietly. Doc challenges Ike to a card of
poker for Kate. Initially, Ike doesn't want to bet Kate against Doc's
horse because he is in love with her. Ike doesn't have any high regard
for Doc and refers to him contemptuously as 'dude.' Not only does Doc
beat Ike at cards but he also palms a derringer faster than Ike can
empty his holster. Later, after Ike and the Kid have left, Doc and Kate
wash up and ride off to Tombstone. They suffer in route because the
fat, slimy Mexican has given them a canteen of vinegar rather than
water.
Of course, Doc has gone to Tombstone to join his old Dodge City pal
Wyatt Earp (Harris Yulin of "Scarface") who is currently serving as a
U.S. Marshal but who wants to be sheriff. Wyatt sees Tombstone has a
gold mine that Doc and he can get rich mining. Wyatt is not the
generous hero that either Henry Fonda or Burt Lancaster played. He is a
dastard who would as soon pistol whip you than smile. Doc notices his
abrasive attitude, especially after he befriends the Kid. The
relationship between the Kid and Doc is reminiscent of a similar
relationship between Billy Clanton and Wyatt Earp in "Gunfight at the
O.K. Corral." The Kid worships Doc, particularly after Doc teaches him
how to handle a six-shooter. When Wyatt lets his hate for Ike extend to
the Kid, Doc takes objection. It seems that the stagecoach has been
robbed of $80-thousand in gold. Wyatt suspects that Johnny Ringo (Fred
Dennis of "Raging Bull") robbed it. With the upcoming sheriff's
election, Wyatt wants to make a deal with his dreaded enemy Ike. If Ike
will give up Ringo, Wyatt will give Ike the $20-thousand reward and
take credit for capturing Ringo. Unfortunately, The Kid shoots a man in
a dispute and lands in jail. Wyatt wants to use this as a way to
blackmail Ike into helping him. Doc upsets his plans when he bails the
Kid out. Not surprisingly, Ike backs out of his deal with Wyatt. This
disagreement sparks the final confrontation at the O.K. Corral.
Ironically, during the eventful shoot-out, Doc shoots the Kid in cold
blood after the youth holsters his own revolver.
"Doc" is a drag. Perry and Hammill must have been venting their spleen
against Nixon and the horrors of Vietnam. They seemed determined to
debunk western history while at the same time skewering good
entertainment. They make the Earps into first-class ruffians who see
Tombstone as something to exploit. The Clantons are cattlemen, but they
are never portrayed as big businessmen involved in cattle rustling.
Indeed, they look like poor cattlemen, living as they do in a shack.
Ike doesn't even pose a challenge as a villain. Mind you, all the
movies made about the feud have taken liberties with history in some
respect. "Doc" strays farther than any, to the point of neglecting
several important events that could have heightened the enmity betweenWyatt and Ike. Doc emerges as a tragic hero, and Kate is left to
languish in the last quarter-hour. The rugged, picturesque landscape
around AlmerÃa in southeastern Spain looks gorgeous. This is truly a
disappointing western, memorable only for its departure from the norm.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
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