“You know your weapons. It’s a lever-action breech-loader. Usual barrel length’s thirty inches. This one has an extra four. It’s converted to use a special forty-five caliber, hundred-and-ten-grain metal cartridge, with a five-hundred-forty-grain paper patch bullet. It’s fitted with double-set triggers, and a Vernier sight, marked up to twelve-hundred yards. This one shoots a mite further.”
It almost happened again. Lightning almost hit Tom Selleck for a second time, and I don’t mean in a good way. Tom Selleck was having fun and a tremendous amount of success playing Magnum P.I. on television. It was a character he got on the strength of a recurring character on The Rockford Files, and it was a huge hit. But in 1981 it didn’t seem so much like a blessing. Casting calls went out, and he was approached to play an archaeologist trying to beat the Nazis to some kind of a McGuffin or another. The Magnum commitment kept him from taking the role, and it went to Harrison Ford, who turned it iconic. But Selleck still had Magnum. Then a few years later he was approached to play an American sharpshooter in the Aussie Outback but once again had to turn the role down. That was 1984, and Warner Brothers was working on a John Hill script called Quigley Down Under. There were some delays, and the film ended up leaving Warner Brothers for MGM and losing director Lewis Gilbert for Simon Wincer. With that kind of turnaround issues, the film took until nearly 1990 to go into production. By then Magnum was off the air, and he checked in on that film again to find it had a new staff and new life, and yes, it was still available. Selleck finally got his swashbuckling part, but it’s really more Pale Rider (Eastwood) than Indiana Jones, and the new director would later know more than a little bit about Indiana Jones when he went on to direct several episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He would also return to the outback with the last Crocodile Dundee film, so this ended up being one heck of a circle. And in 1990 we got to check out Quigley Down Under.
It’s nearly 30 years later, and Tom’s in the middle of another huge hit playing the patriarch of Blue Bloods on CBS. There have only been some rather sub-par versions of Quigley on the home entertainment front, and there were some rights issues at one time. Now Shout Factory has come to the rescue to make us forget all about those older attempts with the release of the film in 4K on UHD Blu-ray. It’s quite a treat.
Matthew Quigley (Selleck) is a Wyoming sharpshooter in the years following the American Civil War. He answers an ad to come to Australia an interview for a job protecting the property of wealthy rancher Elliott Marston (Rickman) from dingoes. At least that’s what the ad says. He takes the three-month journey only to find he has to prove himself several times before he even gets the job and ends up hassled by a local American prostitute they call Crazy Cora (Giacomo), who won’t stop calling him Roy. It’s more than a little annoying. But he’s beyond annoyed when he finds out he’s not wanted for shooting animals. Marstan has been trying to eliminate the local Aborigines, who have learned to keep out of rifle range. He needs Quigley and his special gun and ammo to kill them from a greater distance. Quigley doesn’t take too kindly to the job offer and is beaten and left with Crazy Cora for dead in the desert of the Outback.
The couple get rescued by a tribe of Aborigines, and they are nursed back to health, all the while bonding with the people. When they finally get back on the road, Quigley ends up acting as a protector for the native folks, much to the chagrin of Marstan, who sends more and more men out to get Quigley. Mostly they don’t come back. But when Quigley is unable to stop an Aborigine massacre, he decides to take the fight to Marstan with the expected climax and result.
The film was shot in Australia, so there are some truly fantastic visuals in the film. There’s almost a huge John Ford feeling as we see some of these western sites not usually found in these films. Selleck is perfect in the role, and the character and his rifle become almost one, giving not only an authenticity to the whole affair, but a compelling drama. There’s some pretty good chemistry with Laura San Giacomo, even if it takes quite a while to develop. Giacomo is best known for her role as the fashion magazine editor in David Spade’s first television show, Just Shoot Me. The film allows her to break out of the mold even if there’s more than a little bit of her Maya character around the crazy edges of Cora. But the real thrill here is the recently departed Alan Rickman. He was a genius at bad guys, and while Marstan isn’t quite as compelling as his Die Hard villain, this comes a really close second. He eats up the scenery and enjoys strong chemistry with Selleck. I found myself disappointed that they didn’t share more screen time together. The film did some respectable box office but never really got the attention it deserves. This is a real chance to change that.
Video
Quigley Down Under is presented in a slightly altered aspect ratio of 2.35:1 from an original 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The ultra-high-definition image presentation is arrived at with an HEVC codec at an average of 70 mbps. The film was shot on 35mm, so is native 4K. The print looks better than anything before it. There’s a nice rich earth-tone style to the film that brings out the natural qualities of the Aussie environments. There’s enough grain here to capture the organic nature of the film, while there aren’t any issues with film debris or artifact. Black levels are better than average. There are a few dark scenes that don’t quite give you enough shadow definition, but there isn’t much going on in the dark here anyway. It’s a brightly-lit desert world here that reminds me of the Mad Max early films. Detail is pretty good here. The rifle is somewhat a character all its own, and you get a fine look at the weapon and ammo. Close-ups on the characters give you all of the stubble and grit you might expect to find. It’s a pretty solid release and worth checking out.
Audio
The DTS-HD MA 2.0 track isn’t going to blow you away, but that’s not the point. It serves the dialog and still manages to capture the grandeur of the thing. Anything more would ruin the atmosphere of the original film. It would be a mistake to try to expand the audio field. There’s no distortion, and a clean audio presentation is all I’m looking for here.
Special Features
The extras are found one the Blu-ray copy of the film:
This One Shoots A Mite Further: (23:09) A closer look at the gun and ammo at the center of the film and main character. Hollywood master armorer Mike Tristino gives us a pretty detailed look at the gun with plenty of history thrown in for good measure. He talks about the other weapons, but briefly.
Finding Crazy Cora: (17:51) An interview with Laura San Giacomo.
Rebirth Of The Western: (7:14) This is a vintage promo piece with trailer-like narration and some behind-the-scenes footage. Selleck is on hand to provide some insights.
Final Thoughts:
Shout Factory went the extra mile here to deliver on a film that most of you might have missed. That was a mistake, and I would be remiss in my own job if I didn’t help you correct those nasty mistakes, yeah? “No sense takin’ time to make it sound better than it is.”
