A Gunfight is a bizarre and gentle low-budget western with little action but featuring two solid acting performances from the leads. Kirk Douglas is as good as ever, but Johnny Cash is a revelation. He may have been better elsewhere, but I've never seen him be this accomplished as an actor.
The plot is slight although intriguing. Two ageing gunslingers who both have a need for money but who both don't care if they die decide to stage a paid gunfight to the death, effectively a version of a bullfight. Both men become friends quickly as the story fails to develop in the expected ways. No big problem arises that forces them to work together and resolve their issues without resorting to the fight or any of the other ways that the story could have veered them away from their chosen course. In the end the film is more an exploration of who these people are and why they have decided to fight.
The ending is an odd one, but curiously acceptable as both main characters have earned their moment in the spotlight. So this is worth watching if you'd like something that's quiet, unique and far removed from a traditional shoot-em-up.
