Review of Quigley Down Under

Introduction

Tom Selleck is perhaps the greatest movie star that never was. Indiana Jones may have had a moustache in addition to the whip and fedora, had history been any different. Instead Tom Selleck became a household name through television and the iconic Magnum character. It`s a bit of a shame really, as the films that Selleck has made, show that he has leading man qualities in abundance, though I don`t count mad robot thriller Runaway among them. Three Men and A Baby was a major success, and I always make time to watch High Road to China whenever it`s on. But perhaps one of his best movies is this `Australian` Western, Quigley Down Under.

Matthew Quigley is a marksman extraordinaire near the turn of the century who travels from the US to Australia with his custom built rifle, to take a job from landowner Elliott Marston. He is confronted at the dock by Crazy Cora who thinks he is her lost love Roy, and promptly gets into a brawl defending her honour. Unfortunately he is fighting the very men who have come to take him to his new employer. Once that matter is cleared up, the bruised and battered party head off on the lengthy journey to the Marston ranch. Upon arriving he meets Marston, a cruel and vicious man who demonstrates this by dealing harshly and terminally with two British Army deserters. Quigley proves his ability with the rifle but when Marston makes clear exactly what his job will be, dealing with the local aborigines the way the US dealt with the Indians, Quigley objects. Quigley is all set for a showdown there and then, but he gets bushwhacked. Both he and Cora are trussed up and taken out into the bush, days from civilisation to perish. Quigley manages to get the drop on his captors, and both he and Cora set out on the lengthy trek back, and Quigley swears vengeance against his erstwhile employer.

Video

Quigley Down Under gets a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer and it is pretty well accomplished. The image is clear and sharp throughout and the colours are strong and vibrant. This is all to the good as Quigley Down Under makes use of every last inch of the widescreen frame. A Western is best suited to barren wastes and arid deserts, and you can`t get much better than Australia for that. Mountains, deserts, endless blue skies, this film is worth it just for the scenery alone.

Audio

MGM once again package this disc with a wide selection of soundtracks. You get DD 2.0 Surround English, German, and French as well as DD 2.0 Italian Spanish. This is a little disappointing as most films of this age usually go the extra mile and have DD 5.1 remixes. Still the Surround track does as well as it can with the sound and takes you into the wide-open spaces of Western Australia. Quigley`s rifle gets special treatment as its report is similar to that of a small cannon and every shot reverberates for seconds afterwards around the hills. Basil Poledouris provides a grand western theme of the old school and provides a feel reminiscent of Elmer Bernstein at his best.

Features

Trailer and subs.

Conclusion

Quigley Down Under is a thoroughly entertaining Western like they used to make years ago, with an antipodean twist. It`s your standard good guys versus bad guys plotline, with a bit of romance and comedy thrown in for good measure. The new Westerns of recent years have been revisionist movies, often exercises in repentance for the genocide of Native Americans. Movies like Dances With Wolves and Last Of The Mohicans attempted to redress the balance. However no amount of revisionism and apology will erase the brutal history of American colonisation, and I often prefer the older movies that told it like it was. However Quigley Down Under lets an American safely take the moral high ground by focusing on depredations in another country. This time it`s the policy of pacification by force practiced by the British immigrants and exiles against the Aboriginal population of Australia. It`s a bit of an easy way out, but I don`t get the nagging voice saying `Bullshit!` in the back of my mind when I watch this film. There`s a brief homage to Zulu that is amazing in its scale that is worth keeping an eye out for.

Tom Selleck is excellent as Quigley, evocative of the western movie heroes of yore, preferring actions to words and living by his own code of honour. His rifle is almost treated as another character in the film and its report is quite individual. Laura San Giacomo is good as the unhinged Cora and sparks off well against Selleck. However the reasons for her detachment from reality are given as exposition in the film, and when the moment comes for her to face her problems head on, it feels contrived and trite. And then there is the bad guy, Elliot Marston. The brilliant Alan Rickman plays him, not long after his memorable turn as Hans Gruber in Die Hard. This should give you an idea of what a vicious sadistic bastard Marston is and of course Rickman pretty much steals the movie.

I had a great time watching Quigley Down Under, and it`s the sort of rip-snorting adventure that comes by too rarely for my liking. It`s a Western made just the way momma used to make, complete with moustache twirling bad guys (hiss, boo), and heroic and noble good guys to root for. It engages all the emotions and keeps you glued to the screen. The cast is great, the cinematography is breathtaking and the music is majestic. An underrated gem.