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"You must be Doc Holliday."

3K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  Naren 
#1 ·


[Ringo steps up to Doc]
Ringo: You must be Doc Holliday.
Doc: [Careless, drunk, and not looking very well] That's the rumor.
Ringo: You retired too?
Doc: Not me. I'm in my prime.
Ringo: [Dubious and insulting] Yeah, you look it.
Doc: And you must be Ringo. Look, darlin', Johnny Ringo. The deadliest pistoleer since Wild Bill, they say. What do you think, darlin'? Should I hate him?
Kate: You don't even know him.
Doc: Yes, but there's just something about him. Something around the eyes, I don't know, reminds me of... me. No. I'm sure of it, I hate him.
Wyatt: [To Curly Bill and Johnny, holding up hands in placatory gesture.] He's drunk.

Now the good stuff!

DOC: In vino veritas.
JOHNNY: Age quod agis.
DOC: Credat Judaeus Apella, non ego.
JOHNNY: Iuventus stultorum magister.
DOC: In pace requiescat.

TRANSLATED

In vino veritas.
"In wine there is truth." A common enough Latin aphorism, meaning that alcohol consumption is like a truth serum. Doc is therefore overruling what his 'darlin'' has said; indeed, he hates Johnny.

Age quod agis.
The next line literally means, "Do what you do," but is better translated, "Pay attention to what you do" [i.e., you had better watch yourself]. Thus, Johnny responds that Doc ought to watch what he is saying.

Credat Judaeus Apella, non ego.
"Let Apella the Jew believe, not I." Horace's Satires, book 1, satire 5, lines 100-101. Doc's response is to quote the ancient satirist, who in this case is making fun of Jews who believe that there is divine power behind the gurgling action of a fountain. Horace, the "secular" Roman is suggesting the Jew is a fool to believe something like this is of divine origin. Thus, Doc's use of the line would suggest that Johnny Ringo is a fool to think that he can warn Doc to watch out for himself.

Iuventus stultorum magister.
"Youth is the teacher of fools." Johnny tries to be equally insulting by saying that Doc's youthful inexperience makes him foolish.

In pace requiescat.
"May he rest in peace." Doc's final words, a common enough phrase in Latin of all ages, suggests that Doc is just about ready to put an end to this conversation by finishing off Johnny. But a deadly result is averted for now.

Latin Dialogue in Tombstone
 
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#7 ·
I just watched this movie for the first time and absolutely loved it.
The only Western I've ever watched that made me cry.

Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday is my new hero. His word, delivery, loyalty as a friend is inspiring among men.

Funny, I don't know if you guys noticed. But the Rail Cart that seats people on train that Virgil was sitting on was No. 5150. :lol:

Glad to see so many of you guys love the film as well. Definitely my new favorite Western.

"You're no Daisy." ;)
 
#8 ·
I remember seeing this in the theaters as a kid, and years later seeing the Saint, and not realizing it was the same actor. Kilmer KILLS in this.

And yeah. It feels unfair to call this a western, somehow - it is, but it's so much more than that. Kilmer absolutely makes this movie.
 
#11 ·
Seriously, how much of a gift was the Doc Holiday role to an actor? OK, you're going to be a sharply dressed, well-educated, eloquent smartass with a terminal illness, alcoholism, and talents for gambling and gun play. Your career could end after that and you'd still be a legend.
 
#14 ·
I wonder how much of that was the way the role was written, and how much of that was just a brilliant interpretation on Kilmer's part?

I remember reading that the famous "I'm your huckleberry" line - sort of nonsensical and whimsical, yet all the more chilling for it - was originally in the script as "I'm your huckle-bearer," which I gather is slang for "pall-bearer." It was a basic, by-the-book threat - "hey, I'm going to carry your dead body out of here" - and Kilmer turned it into a wonderfully demented bit of lunacy, making his Holiday half mad and extremely dangerous. It kind of reminds me of Captain Jack Sparrow, who was written as a pretty traditional pirate character, and halfway through the filming the film execs wanted to know what the fuck Johnny Depp was doing ruining their movie with all his swaying and prancing. :lol:
 
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