Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) speaking Latin with Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) is one of the best scenes in Tombstone, and it’s even better translated.
- The Latin insults between Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo in Tombstone reveal the escalating animosity between the two gunslingers.
- The use of Latin phrases they would have learned as schoolboys adds complexity to their relationship as adversaries and makes their interaction more entertaining.
- Latin was commonly spoken in the Old West as part of a person’s education, and reciting it demonstrated sophistication and culture.
The volley of Latin insults exchanged between Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) and Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) is one of the best scenes in Tombstone, and the translation of the phrases makes it even better. Tombstone is based on historical events that occurred in the titular town in Arizona in the 1880s, such as the gunfight at the O.K. Corral between Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and best friend Doc Holliday against Johnny Ringo and his fellow outlaws, but one of the most interesting incidents is a verbal altercation between a very drunk (and dying) Holliday and an impetuous Ringo that allegedly took place in the saloon Wyatt Earp was dealing cards.
When the two meet for the first time they exchange snide remarks about their respective qualities as men that quickly turn personal, but Ringo surprises Doc by being able to keep up with him intellectually and proving he’s an educated man. Without subtitles, it’s difficult to know the meaning behind Doc Holliday’s lines or what these phrases mean translated into English, but each one plays an integral part in understanding the escalating animosity between these two famous gunslingers. The literal meaning of the Latin words helps to uncover the complexities of their relationship as adversaries while the schoolboy phrases themselves make a typical barroom interaction more entertaining the longer it goes on.