The art of filmmaking

VISUAL LANGUAGE - Tombstone’s ok corral

Tombstone, 1879. Legendary Dodge City marshall Wyatt Earp, his wife Mattie and his brothers come to Tombstone hoping to seek thier fortune but Tombstone is a lawless municipality inhabited by a bunch of carousing locals known as the Cowboys.

When I first thought of breaking down the shootout from Tombstone, it sounded like a good idea at the time. Little did I stop to realize that it would come in at over 125 different cuts. I can’t even bother to count the Set-ups on this break down. My mind is already mush. But there doesn’t appear too many set-ups as it is, but more one cut after another from a handful of them.

There isn’t anything to run home and scream about in terms of cinematic brilliance with this film. Rudiment direction, cinematography and score, it is the ensemble cast that makes this film such a treat, most notably Val Kilmer’s portrayal of Doc Holiday. Make no mistake, it is one of my favorite films for sheer entertainment value. But I did notice some some things worth discussing whilst breaking this apart, mainly regarding the Axis Line. This can be a major hurdle (and obstacle) for any new filmmaker. Many do not even know about it and many more just can’t seem to grasp it. It can become a complicated mess on-set especially with an action sequence.

Cameron once complained on the T2 commentary that many filmmakers shoot action scenes with no sense of the axis line; just gathering coverage from all the angles and then putting it together in post. Often, the audience is left putting it all together in their head, even if on a sub-concious level.

Per Wiki

The 180° rule is a basic film editing guideline that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line.

Staging and blocking are paramount and unless a genius, boarding in advance and compiling a shot diagram before hand will help you to avoid these issues.

Another note to look for is the 30 degree rule during this breakdown. I don’t often see this rule violated but noticed more than once during this sequence.

Per Wiki

The 30° rule is a basic film editing guideline that states the camera should move at least 30° between shots of the same subject. This change of perspective makes the shots different enough to avoid a jump cut.

The images take a while to load, so be patient. First let’s look at the script segment. I could only find the 4th draft version, but it’s similiar enough to get the jist. Read it, imagine it and then review the film, shot for shot.

TOMBSTONE

An original screenplay
By
Kevin Jarre

                                           Fourth draft

                                           March 15, 1993

The Earps and Doc turn off 4th onto Fremont St. Creek Johnson
and Texas Jack Vermillion watch as they pass the grocer's.

                     JOHNSON
          There they go.  Look kinda like preachers.

                     VERMILLION
          Yeah.  Or undertakers.

The vacant lot starts to come into view and the Earps are
fighting nerves now.  Fists clenched, gritting their teeth,
eyes darting all over the street, they look all too human and
nothing like their legend.  It's only Doc, bringing up the
rear, who couldn't care less.  Wyatt narrows his eyes:

                     WYATT
          Virge, you're makin' the arrest.
          You make contact, I'll back you
          Up.  Morgan'll back me up, Doc'll
          Keep an eye out for trouble.  And
          Keep your hands on your guns.
          They even look like they're gonna
          Start something, buffalo 'em.
          Right over the head.

                     VIRGIL
          Wyatt, I know what I'm doin'.

                     WYATT
               (sees onlookers)
          Look at 'em all.  They love it.
          How in the hell'd we get
          Ourselves into this?

Just then Behan walks up holding up his hands, reassuring:

                     BEHAN
          You don't have to worry about a
          Thing.  I just went down there and
          Disarmed them.

                     VIRGIL
          You did?  Great, thanks.  Come on, boys.

The Earps quicken their step as Behan enters Fly's gallery.
Seeing the approaching Earp party, the Cowboys glance around
at each other, setting themselves.  Now at the end of the
sidealk, the Earps can see that the Cowboys are still armed
and their relief evaporates.  Wyatt mutters under his breath:

                     WYATT
          Oh, great.  Disarmed my ass...

The Earps slow their step, gathering themselves.  This is it,
no turning back now.  The Cowboys spread out.  As the Earps
get closer and closer, it seems as if the very air is electric
with tension.  But as they step into the street and fan out
for their final approach, they suddenly do look like their
legend, 4 tall figures in long black coats advancing in a
line, grim and unstoppable, a fleeting moment in time frozen
forever in our minds.  Finally they stop.  The 2 groups are
facing each other, perhaps 20 feet apart.  Doc raises the
shotgun, the Cheshire cat smile spreading over his face.
Virgil steps forward, his face set, holding up Doc's cane:

                     VIRGIL
          We've come to arrest you.  Throw
          Up your arms!

A weird moment of confusion where nobody seems to know what to
do.  Then Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury SLAP their hands to
their guns.  The Earps instantly tense up, hands on their
pistols.  Virgil waves his hands frantically, afraid they've
misunderstood:

                     VIRGIL
          Hold!  I don't want that!

Suddenly realizing what's happening, Fuller and Claiborne bolt
and dash into Fly's gallery.  Everyone else stands frozen,
breath short, pulses pounding, each staring into the other's
wide-open eyes.  Then something in Billy Clanton's eyes seems
to go dead and Wyatt groans under his breath as the awful
realization hits him:

                     WYATT
          Oh, my God...

Billy and Frank jerk their pistols and the scene EXPLODES,
everything happening in SPLIT SECONDS as Wyatt draws and
FIRES, knocking Frank down with a gutshot.  Morgan FIRES,
blowing Billy back against the wall of the Harwood house.  Tom
darts for the cover behind his horse as Ike dives onto Wyatt
shrieking like a woman:

                     IKE
          No, no, please!  I don't have a gun!

                     WYATT
          This fight's commenced.  Get to
          Fightin' or get away!

Wyatt hurls him aside.  Ike sprints for the gallery.  Tom
FIRES over his saddle at Doc who tries for a shot but is
blocked by the horse.  Billly bounces back up, howling, and
FIRES, the bullet piercing Virgil's calf.  He drops to one
knee.  Tom FIRES again.  Doc FIRES one barrel into the air,
the BLAST making the horse rear up, exposing Tom for a split
second.  Doc FIRES again.  Tom's side EXPLODES into red mist,
the full charge of red mist, the full charge of buckshot
SLAMMING him into the Harwood house.  Tom drops his gun and
teeters into the street, talking eerie little mincing steps,
already dead but still moving, like a chicken with its head
cut off.  Billy FIRES again, dropping Morgan with a hole in
his shoulder.

                     MORGAN
          I'm hit.

Doc pull his Lightning and FIRES DOUBLE ACTION 1-2-3 times,
hitting Billy in the abdomen while Frank bounds back into the
fight, FIRING wildly.  Virgil gets up, FIRING BACK.  The whole
scene now bathed in thick smoke, the fight starts swirling
into the street, each man jockeying for position.  Inside the
gallery, Behan and Fuller watch at the window as Ike dives in.
He snatches Fuller's pistol and FIRES through the window.
Ike's bullets WHIZ past Wyatt's ear.  He spins around, calling
to Doc:

                     WYATT
          Behind us!

In a flashing move taking less than a heartbeat, Doc pivots,
replacing the .38 in this right hand with his big .45, then
with one pass of his left hand RAPID FIRES quick as a machine
gun burst 1-2-3-4-5 times, the bullets RIPPING through the
gallery, showering Ike and the rest with splinters and broken
glass.

                     BEHAN
          Come on!

Behan hauls Ike up and they dash out the back door, Fuller and
Claiborne right behind, all frantically running for their
lives.  Outside Billy gets to his knees, seemingly
indestructible, and FIRES at Wyatt,  Wyatt RETURNS FIRE.  Eyes
wild and bulging, a bloody hand clutching his wounds, Frank
staggers across the lot, bearing down on Doc through the
smoke:

                     FRANK
          I got you now, you son of a bitch!

                     DOC
          You're a daisy if you do!

Doc opens his arms, giving Frank a clear shot at his chest.
Frank FIRES.  The bullet grazes Doc's holster.  Frank trudges
closer, about to fire again but Doc DRILLS him through the
heart while in the next millisecond Morgan FIRES from his
prone position on the ground, the big .45 BLAST carrying away
the top of Frank's head.  As the last shot echoes through the
hills, Frank flops limply to the ground like a rag doll while
out in the street his brother Tom finally runs out of steam
and pitches face first in the dirt, leaving only Billy,
leaning against the Harwood house, legs splayed out in front
of him, absolutely shot to pieces, clicking his empty gun and
wailing piteously as the smoke clears:

                     BILLY
          More cartridges!  Somebody load my gun...

He keeps repeating it with sinking volume as townspeople step
timidly into the street.  Fly bends down and takes Bill's gun
from his hand and the fight is officially over, having lasted
only some 20 seconds.

And now, the massive imagery that had me spinning while I broke it down and pieced it together. If I have left some frames uncommented on, they are basic and probably not pertinent to make one. i.e. Close Ups to increase the tension, et al.

I hope you enjoyed this analysis and breakdown of TOMBSTONE and the examining of its axis and pacing and the various other elements to communicate in film using Visual Language. Next time you set out to make a film, keep these ideas in mind. In order to break rules and create your own techniques you have to understand them from the beginning or you’ll be a a daisy.

Hitchcock said “If it’s a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on.” And that, my friends is visual language.

© 2008 Cineobscure.