TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

Quigley Down Under [1990]


RRP: £12.99
Our Price: £5.76 (subject to change)

A pleasant hero (Tom Selleck), a nasty villain (Alan Rickman) and an interesting locale (the Australian outback)
Review date: 2008-03-10 Rating: 8 out of 10

"Matthew Quigley is really beginning to annoy me." That's Elliot Marston (Alan Rickman) speaking. He owns a huge cattle station in Australia's outback and he's hired Quigley (Tom Selleck) to come over from America's wild west and do some shooting for him. When Quigley arrives at the station, however, he finds out the shooting Marston has in mind is the killing of Aborigines. The Australian government has left the "problem" of Aborigines up to the land owners and calls it pacification by force. As Marston points out to Quigley, "As primitive as they are, they've still learned to keep themselves out of rifle range." But Quigley's having none of it, gets into a fight with Marston, and winds up abandoned with a woman he befriended, Cora (Laura San Giacomo), in the middle of the Australian desert. After many long slogs through the heat, the befriending of a group of Aborigines, encounters with Marston's hired guns and then seeing how Marston deals with the Aborigines, Quigley decides the solution to his problems is to take care of Marston once and for all. Marston, however, has decided that the solution to his problems is to take care of Quigley.

What we have is an Australian western, complete with fist fights, shootouts, galloping horses, buckboards, draggings and, of course, a dramatic shootout which the beaten-up hero doesn't lose. Quigley Down Under, however, began to annoy me when I realized that all of this in the two hour movie would have benefited greatly through editing out at least 20 minutes. Scenes go on too long. Characters say too much. Much time is spent seeing how innocent and true to nature the Aborigines are. Hours seem to be spent watching Quigley and Cora slog through one desert sequence after another.

And yet...I enjoyed the movie. Selleck, in my view, is a better light comedian than a brusque he-man. The film provides plenty of quirky, sly dialogue for both Selleck and Giacomo to work with. Alan Rickman, with those wet lips and that born-in sneer, makes a first-rate villain. He knows how to deliver a nasty line so that it drips onto your foot. The action sequences are well handled. The scenery of the Australian outback is austere. The portrayal of the Aborigines is matter-of-fact and respectful, at least until the end when they are used to create some sort of mystical experience that convinces the local British troops to leave Quigley alone. Marston's crew of crude henchmen are well portrayed. They look as grimy as men in real life were. In fact, the movie is pervaded by a feeling of heat and sweat. For most of the movie Selleck looks like you could smell him well before you could see him, and much the same goes for Giacomo. I think the griminess adds a lot of charm to the movie.

For me, Quigley Down Under is a movie with a pleasant star, an engaging villain and an interesting locale. It's worth watching every now and then. The movie could have been much better, however, with a hard-nosed editor doing some clipping.

The DVD presentation looks just fine to me.

Similar Products

Reviews


Half pretty good - Half pretty bad
Review date: 2007-12-25 Rating: 6 out of 10

This movie suggests what sort of career Tom Selleck might have had if Westerns were in vogue. I prefer this gruff and grizzled persona. And he seemed to put his heart into it.

It helped that this movie had a superb director of horse operas, Simon Wincer, the Aussi director of PHAR LAP, THE LIGHTHORSEMEN, and LONESOME DOVE. (I am particularly fond of his work in THE PHANTOM.)

There's a good supporting cast from Australia along with Britisher Alan Rickman who, as usual, kept stealing scenes as a rich rancher villain. Laura San Giacomo is a fine actress but she has an unfortunate role as a crazed American woman that joins the hero. Her role undermines the movie, taking away the "coolness" required of Westerns, probably becuz Selleck, as an actor, just can't compete with Laura.

But worse, there's a red gash across the plot of the movie called "hypocrisy". What does a white American have to teach white Australians about justice in the treatment of natives? Especially when the American situation is dismissed by Tom's character with one vague statement about the Indians not wanting to be forced from their lands. This is a situation that cries for clarification. But none is offered. Instead, along comes one of the most embarrassing plot turns political correctness has ever provoked: Laura San Giacomo's character finds and clings to an orphaned aboriginal infant as if it were her lost child.

I don't know if the Australian aboriginal people were that helpless -- where they need a fair-minded white man to rescue them. I know I don't like dark people depicted as helpless until a white person rescues them.

What's good about this movie -- Simon's direction, Tom's persona, Alan Rickman's villainy, the gunfights -- is dynamic and compelling. What's bad about this film -- the crazed lady, the hypocrisy and the political correctness -- is abysmal.

Terrific old-school Western adventure
Review date: 2005-11-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

Quigley Down Under is a terrific old-school western relocated to Australia that never found the audience it deserved. Originally intended as a Steve McQueen vehicle, Tom Selleck makes a surprisingly excellent replacement as the sharpshooter who goes to Australia only to find new employer and Wild West buff Alan Rickman (in typical sneering mode) wants him to kill the local aborigines. Naturally, Selleck and Laura San Giacomo's crazy woman find themselves dumped in the desert and on the other side with the expected results, but the pleasure's all in the telling, not least thanks to a well-crafted script by John Hill. Selleck's Quigley is a likeable, decent yet believable hero, Giacomo's character is surprisingly well drawn and Simon Wincer stages the action and character scenes with equal aplomb. Add superlative scope photography from Dean Semler and one of Basil Poledouris' best and most enjoyable scores and it adds up to the most purely enjoyable old-fashioned Western in the past few decades.

The R2 PAL DVD includes the original trailer but not the negligible 2 TV spots and brief featurette from the R1 NTSC release, but it's worth picking up just for the film.

A great (very western) Western
Review date: 2004-11-04 Rating: 10 out of 10

Matthew Quigley is an American sharpshooter hired by an Australian cattle baron, Marston, to help him get rid of an infestation. Quigley, with his custom-made, experimental rifle and ammunition, and an uncanny ability to hit whatever he aims at, no matter how far away, goes to western Australia and finds out that the task he is hired to do is not killing dingoes, as he had believed, but something much more sinister. Quigley is repulsed by his task, and turns against Marston. The feud between the two takes several twists before culminating in a showdown. Along the way, Quigley becomes the protector and companion of an American woman deranged by guilt over her tragic past. The two get thrown into the desert, hunted by Marston's men, hunted by dingoes, rescued by Aborigines, and sponsored by a nearby (as Australians measure it) town. The viewer also gets an interesting look at Aborigine culture along the way.

Tom Selleck plays Matthew Quigley. This might be Selleck's best performance. He is stoic, soft-spoken, gentlemanly, and as stubbornly strong in his beliefs and values as John Wayne ever was. Laura San Giacomo gives a wonderful performance as the semi-deranged woman, who is simultaneously fleeing her past and unable to escape it. This is probably her best acting performance as well. Alan Rickman (Severus Snape of the Harry Potter films) is exquisitely evil and, at the same time, almost pathetic, as the snide, sneering, and domineering land/cattle baron, Marston, who idolizes and idealizes the American West and is so insecure that he cannot handle anyone disagreeing with him.

The scenery is stunning, and the cinematography reminds me of "True Grit" where the struggles between men are juxtaposed against the vast, harsh, and stunning beauty of the Australian Outback. The music is truly stirring, and also reminds me of "True Grit". There are no slow spots in the story, although there are quieter interludes.

Warning: There is considerable violence and brutality in this film. It pulls no punches in showing the evil of Marston and the extremes that Quigley must use to oppose Marston. This is an excellent (very) Western for adults, with some complexity and thinking thrown in. It gives Americans a chance to look at racism from a different perspective. I'm surprised sequels were not made (e.g., "Quigley in China", "Quigley in Brazil"), and hope that happens someday soon.

brilliant western
Review date: 2004-04-27 Rating: 8 out of 10

something we need more of in this country is westerns and this, althoughnot a new one, is brilliant, it combines action, thriller and romance witha hint of comedy, and good performances from the actors (alanrickman,...), excellent feel good movie, and definately one to watch.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Chris Haywood
Alan Rickman
Ron Haddrick
Laura San Giacomo
Tom Selleck

Creators:
Tom Selleck (Primary Contributor)
Laura San Giacomo (Primary Contributor)
David Eggby (Cinematographer)
Peter Burgess (Editor)
Alexandra Rose (Producer)
Megan Rose (Producer)
Stanley O'Toole (Producer)
John Hill (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
EAN: 5050070010244
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2003-07-21
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 115 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1990-10-19
Language: English (Original Language)

Add to Cart

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional